Computer won't boot.

[neuen]

My computer (the one in my sig) will not boot. I recently bought a 8800 GTS 302MB and another gig of ram (2 512 sticks). I put my sticks in no problem and ran with my old gpu for a while with no errors crashes or anything.
When I got my 8800 I put that in and noticed my ram was running slower then it should (333 instead of 400 and 3.0 instead of 2.5). Now grant it is not great ram, corsair value ram but that is what the other gig is made of and ive had no problems running at that speed.
Now with my new GPU and correct speed with the RAM i boot my computer up with no problems. About 10 min in it locks up. We're talkin complete lockup screen freezes on what it was doin, no ctrl alt del nothing.
First time this happends no big deal just restart and boom back to normal. It goes for about 3-4 hours mostly sitting idling then when i boot WoW and play it for about 10 min then leave only to find out when i automaticaly got logged off it crashed.
When i rebooted this time it wouldn't boot im gettin all my detection red "there's something wrong" lights going off and nothing works. It turns on only to not have the screen turn on and to just sit there.
My guess is one of 3 things:
RAM is no good ( that happens but i reset cmos and still not boot)
GPU is no good ( doesn't happen often but never had it happen to me but a possibility)
Not enough power ( but everything turns on so that seems kinda weird plus its a 500W psu and would kinda surprise me)

What the hell is going on?
Any help on figuring out the problem and/or a solution would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.

 

[Burninate]

Maybe a PSU issue. What brand of PSU are you running and what are the ratings on it (ie 12V @ 20A, etc)? RAM, for me at least, usually gives me a BSOD when there's an issue, but RAM can be finnicky. Have you verified that all the fans are working on everything? Check to verify that the CPU and GPU fans are turning. No overclocking on the GPU or CPU either, right? It also sounds like heat may be causing your issues. Also, you're not getting any error codes (a series of beeps) when booting up? Also, you're running 4 sticks of RAM now? Try running with just 2 and see if that helps. Try each set individually to see if possibly one set is bad or to determine if your system is having issues running 4 sticks as opposed to 2.

 

[neuen]

Maybe a PSU issue. What brand of PSU are you running and what are the ratings on it (ie 12V @ 20A, etc)?

I believe my PSU is Antec or an off brand ( not at home, at work so i can't confirm), I've had better luck with the off brand cheap PSU then the expensive nice ones.

Have you verified that all the fans are working on everything? Check to verify that the CPU and GPU fans are turning.

All the fans are running properly. Also if there were a heating problem wouldn't it shut off a little while after boot?

Also, you're not getting any error codes (a series of beeps) when booting up?

None. However I've never had this mobo beep for anything. The "warning" LED's or whatever u may call them are all on. Which according the the manual mean...i have no idea the manual doesn't help .

Also, you're running 4 sticks of RAM now?

Yep. And i also have never had my computer completely not boot because of RAM. Unless it was at speeds it just wouldn't run but i had already booted with the settings.

Thanks for your help!

 

[Burninate]

All the fans are running properly. Also if there were a heating problem wouldn't it shut off a little while after boot?

That's usually the case, but I've had random freezes due to high temperatures a few times. It's always good to keep an eye on the temps just to verify that they're within specs. I think your system may not like running on the 4 sticks of RAM. Are they the same brand/speed/memory setup (single sided vs double sided)? I know mismatched RAM can cause strange issues that can sometimes leaving you running around in circles. Also, I've seen some systems that have had to run at 333 instead of 400 due to the fact of running 4 sticks instead of 2. Maybe try underclocking or loosening the timings to see if that alleviates the issue.

 

[neuen]

Are they the same brand/speed/memory setup (single sided vs double sided)?

They are all this RAM. And i will try switchin them around as well as only using sets of 2 when i get home.

I reset cmos as well and it wouldn't boot so either 1. didn't reset for whatever reason or 2. its not the timing.

I will also try swiching my GPU if they memory doesn't yield any results.

Again thanks for the help. Any other ideas are still welcome, i will make a list and try them all on my lunch break hopefully with "great success".

 

[neuen]

I got home and turned on the computer and it booted fine. The cmos seemed to have finally restarted and it booted without a problem, with the RAM at a slower speed (333 and 3CAS instead of 400 and 2.5CAS).

I've got it logging temps and doing stress tests to see if it is heat oriented. Hopefully its locked up when i get home /fingerscrossed.

My only question is why boot all of a sudden? I thought it might be temp related because that would be the only thing i could think of that would change. Or maybe the cmos didn't reset right away? Doesn't really make sense though.

Anyway I'm thinkin this is not over yet so any other ideas are welcome. Thanks again.