DS3 Troubles... Again. Need Help!

rangi said:

I have had simular problems with my ds3. This olny hppens to me when I've been too aggressive with my ram, I way I have fixed this is by removing one stick and booting up (I have found that it boots up with default bios settings)then shutting down the pc, then re-install the ram to it's original position, then re-boot.
This process works for me if I push it, I hope it helps you as well.

Oh btw ctrl+f1 in the bios gives you the means to alter the ram timings, instead of the auto settings select the ones relevant to the spec of the modules you have, this may help some as well.

Best of luck

rangi

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discobiscuits said:

So here's the story...

I went to a LAN party and won a COD4 tournament. The prize for the tournament was a Corsair memory set (2x2gb PC6400 4-4-4-12 XMS2.) Once the LAN was over, I took my computer home and decided to install the memory. I followed the normal installation procedure (shut down computer, turn off PSU, unplug PSU, wait 10-15 secs, then go in and install the memory.) The memory installed fine, and decided to post. I thought I might be able to squeeze some lower timings out of this memory in comparison to my last sticks, so I went ahead and turned the timings from 5-5-5-15 to 4-4-4-12. Saved the settings and exited, causing the system to shut down.

I then found myself in that famous boot-loop the DS3 is known for (where it turns on for 4 seconds, then when it fails to post it'll shut itself off for 2 seconds, then turn back on and repeat for as long as the power supply is on.)

I've gotten myself out of this situation by resetting the CMOS. If that doesn't work, putting in a backup memory stick will boot it eventually, but this time, the problem kept occuring over and over.

When I put the backup memory stick into the motherboard, the computer won't do the death loop, it'll turn on as if it was going to post and boot into Windows. The problem is that nothing comes up on the display, and the computer just acts like it's in standby mode or something.

I did notice one thing recently on the CPU heatsink. It seems as if the CPU fan's power is cutting in and out for some reason. The LEDs fade darken and brighten like the power going into it is really unstable... no idea what the cause of this is.

When I plug in a speaker I receive continuous short beeps, which means "Power error." At first, I thought it was my power supply. But after a test on my mom's computer, I found that it booted up fine, and the 12v and 5v rails were very stable.

So basically here's a list of things I've tried...

1) Use different sets of memory in different DIMMs.
2) Unplug all internal devices (cd-rom, hdds, sound card, etc.)
3) Replace the CMOS battery with one from a working computer
4) Switch key power connectors around (CPU1 -> CPU2, PCI-E1 ->PCI-E2)
5) Repeatedly clear the CMOS

I have no idea what is going on, and after I confirmed that the PSU is working, I don't know what to test next. I don't know how my motherboard would just fry up like that after doing something as simple as changing the timings of my memory to 4-4-4-12.

Any help would be greatly appreciated... I've put in so much time into trying to get this problem solved, any small advice would be of great help.


Rig

GIGABYTE GA-965P-DS3 Rev 3.3
Core2Duo e6300 @ 3.29ghz
Corsair XMS2 2x2gb @ 940mhz (rated 4-4-4-12 800mhz)
Leadtek PX8800GTS 640mb


Thanks
-Disco

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