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Memtest86 can't start

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svetko

Member
Joined
Mar 3, 2004
Location
New York
i've never tried memtest86 befor but because i ran into some crazy problems lately i tried to run it and i think it just couldn't start. on the first screen i clicked 1) and instantly got at the bottom "Loading memtest.....ready." then nothing happens for like a minute and then this appeared:

img0574li.jpg


i couldn't click anywhere, so after 2-3 minutes it went in to this screen on its own:



i waited for 5 minutes - nothing was moving, so i restarted.. is this normal?
 
Try Memtest86+ instead, specifically the "Auto-installer for USB Key (Win 9x/2k/xp/7)" version if you have a thumb drive...

http://www.memtest.org/
'

cool, thanks - just got it and restarting to test!

edit: the USB thing didn't work (wouldn't boot) but the iso file did and is running nice and smooth so far (almost 2 hours).

it found one error on the 5th minute and i realized i don't know what it means.. i googled but there's so much documentation on this that i go crazy... does it mean my memory is bad? also can i tell by this code "0000c169fb0" which module gave that error?

 
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Try manually setting the timings for 9-9-9-24 and make sure the ddr voltage is set to 1.5v. If that doesn't work you could need more VTT.
 
the USB thing didn't work (wouldn't boot) but the iso file did and is running nice and smooth so far (almost 2 hours).
In case you didn't know, the *.exe needs to be run from within Windows, which extracts the contents to a thumb drive and makes it bootable.
 
In case you didn't know, the *.exe needs to be run from within Windows, which extracts the contents to a thumb drive and makes it bootable.

that's what i did - and selected a usb drive and formatted it and made it bootable, but for some reason it wasn't recognized as a bootable.. maybe something's wrong with my usb ports..


memtest been running for almost 12 hours - it found more:



15 hours:



could it be also the PSU not being able to supply those voltages? i'm asking because i've been using this RAM for a year on stock voltages with no problem.
 
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Try manually setting the timings for 9-9-9-24 and make sure the ddr voltage is set to 1.5v. If that doesn't work you could need more VTT.

alright - i did and memtest86+ is now running on 9-9-9-24-2T

i left the voltage on Auto since it was showing 1.5V

i bumped slightly the clock speed up to 558 MHz.

16 minutes passed with no error - good sign? :popcorn:



edit: 93 minutes passed with no error, i'm stopping it right here and going to test in windows. i so hope the clock-speeds was the problem!!
 
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CRAP..... i was so happy 15 minutes ago...... i guess this fixed some issues but not the main one :(



could the problem be coming from a bad windows installation, since i installed when the memory speeds were bad? maybe it installed with fatal errors that are showing up now?
 
Make sure you're running the latest v26.6 of Prime specific to your architecture...

http://www.mersenne.org/freesoft/

And instead of just raising the BCLK to 139 for an effective DDR3-1117 on the x8 DRAM multiplier, lower the BCLK back down to the default of 133, and change the DRAM frequency to DDR3-1600 (x12 multiplier). This at rated timings of 9-9-9-24 and DRAM voltage set to 1.55V.
 
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Make sure you're running the latest v26.6 of Prime specific to your architecture...

http://www.mersenne.org/freesoft/

And instead of just raising the BCLK to 139 for an effective DDR3-1117 on the x8 DRAM multiplier, lower the BCLK back down to the default of 133, and change the DRAM frequency to DDR3-1600 (x12 multiplier). This at rated timings of 9-9-9-24 and DRAM voltage set to 1.55V.

yup - i'm running the correct version. and i'll go make the changes right now.

edit: something is VERY wrong,,,
 
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just made the changes and started prime95 - "lower the BCLK back down to the default of 133, and change the DRAM frequency to DDR3-1600 (x12 multiplier). This at rated timings of 9-9-9-24 and DRAM voltage set to 1.55V." - exactly these.

Prime 95 gave me the same errors and then blue screen when i tried to exit.

shutdown, removed 2 of the sticks and left only ONE stick (#1) on slot 0 - it wouldn't enter windows.

shutdown, went to BIOS and loaded defaults (on that one stick) - it let me login in windows but when attempted to start prime95 - blue screen before it even started (that's on stock - 1 module on slot 0 only)

replaced the stick with another one, same errors, at least running though...

1stick1.jpg


- placed the same stick into slot 2 (on stock) and started Prime95 - running but with the same errors.

- replaced the second stick with stick #3 and placed it in slot 2 (still on stock - last time - will go try the suggested clocks in a sec) - running Prime95 with the same errors.

- changed the stock clocks to the suggested ones - same errors:




(will bump QPI/VTT now)
 
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my BIOS doesn't list exactly, so is this the QPI/VTT?



I changed it as shown above - same errors..

should i reinstall windows? maybe that first stick i tested single is bad and windows just didn't install correctly?
 
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alright, almost got it!

tested stick#1 with memtest86+ and got many errors!


sneaky *******!

obviously that's a bad stick, but why would the other ones give me errors in Prime95?
 
I see the BIOS automatically added +200mV to the VTT for whatever reason = 1.30V (default VTT = 1.10V). Check to make sure the latest BIOS revision 83 is installed, then enable XMP Profile #1 which should auto-adjust all of the necessary timings and voltages to match the DDR3-1600 SPD settings. Also take the MCH Strap setting off Auto, and manually set it to 1600MHz. And if after enabling XMP the IOH Vcore isn't auto-adjusted above the 1.10V default, manually increase it to 1.20V.
 
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I see the BIOS automatically added +200mV to the VTT for whatever reason = 1.30V (default VTT = 1.10V). Check to make sure the latest BIOS revision 83 is installed, then enable XMP Profile #1 which should auto-adjust all of the necessary timings and voltages to match the DDR3-1600 SPD settings. Also take the MCH Strap setting off Auto, and manually set it to 1600MHz. And if after enabling XMP the IOH Vcore isn't auto-adjusted above the 1.10V default, manually increase it to 1.20V.

i double-checked everything to make sure i set it exactly as here and i also re-installed windows.

but - am still getting "Possible hardware errors have occurred.." in Prime95. I'm running only on the 2 (good) sticks that memtest86 didn't find any errors in. the rest of my stuff runs with almost no errors but a couple times i got missing files or "couldn't copy because blablafile wasn't found.."..

what can i do next?

 
bah, i started having even worse problems, so i am not sure the problem is just in the one bad memory stick we found. my computer just randomly shuts down now and when it shouts down it has problems starting back up, so i have to disconnect the power completely, or go to BIOS and load defaults and stuff like this.. it sometimes runs stable for the whole time i am using it, like 4 hours without a problem, but when i shut it down and start it up again - it can't..

i also randomly here those clicking sounds at starting up, coming from the motherboard. i don't think they are coming from the hard disk. when they click i see the reset/power light on the motherboard blinking together with the sounds. sometimes the click is more like a automatic weapon burst type...

i don't have an extra psu to test. is there any way i can test it directly, or the motherboard?
 
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