Is it MoBo? 4Gb memory Problem

[kingston73]

I have: a gigabyte AM2 board (with an updated BIOS), x2 4600 cpu, and xp pro.
- a 7950 vid card and an xfi extrememusic. (both with updated drivers)
- 4, 1 gig mem sticks, all identical Gskill memory.

My issue is, with all 4 sticks in it won't boot, it powers on and all the right sounds occur, but the lcd screen is just blank, zero signal.

If I take out 1 of the sticks it powers on fine. Doesn't matter what slot or which individual mem. module is taken out, it will only work with 3 sticks in.

I don't think its a power issue, I have a 550watt PSU and have enough power for everything. I went into my BIOS but don't see any obvious settings that I need to change, but maybe there are some NON-obvious things I need to do?

I understand the 4 gigs won't show up as 4 gigs, but I can't even get to the bios when all 4 sticks are in since I don't have a signal to the LCD. I've been searching for the solution on this forum and on the web, but haven't found anything that will help me.

I don't have the xp installation disk, and even if I did I don't want to re-install windows and start over again.

 

[howardb]

Hit DEL and go into the BIOS when booting up - once in the BIOS, press CTRL+F1 together - you should be given a few extra hidden advanced options in the various sections - I am not sure which section it's in, maybe Advanced BIOS Features, look for one called something like "Remap 4GB Memory Hole" or similar - enable this option, save and reboot.

 

[Thestealth]

Sounds about right howardb. Also kingston, if you're 32bit XP and you reinstall with all 4 sticks in, it'll probably BSOD during installation. Let us know if you manage to fix this one. BTW, which mobo are you using?

 

[kingston73]

Hit DEL and go into the BIOS when booting up - once in the BIOS, press CTRL+F1 together - you should be given a few extra hidden advanced options in the various sections - I am not sure which section it's in, maybe Advanced BIOS Features, look for one called something like "Remap 4GB Memory Hole" or similar - enable this option, save and reboot.

my MoBo is a GA-MA69G-S3H, it's not great but it works ok. I tried the advance features, and don't see any options to change mem settings.

 

[Lino]

Seriously weird problem this, have you tried updating your bios again?

 

[howardb]

When you boot your PC, what is the BIOS version - i.e. F5, F6, etc? usually toward the top left side of your POST screen.

If you have an X2 4600+ AM2 AMD, then your BIOS should be version F1, according to the Gigabyte CPU Compatibility website

 

[kingston73]

I have BIOS version F4a. I thought I had updated my Bios to the latest version, but it looks like the newest version is F6. Do you think I'd be better off going back to F1 or going up to the newest? I know Gigabyte's site recommends NOT updating unless there's a problem. I'm going to go back into my bios settings and see if maybe there's something I missed before I change the bios to either of those 2 options. I know its not my xfi card, took it out and still no boot with all 4 installed.

 

[howardb]

Maybe try going back to F1 first - then try F6. I found that my board would not boot unless I had an earlier version of the BIOS - weird, but it obviously makes a difference in some instances.

From what I can remember on my Gigabyte BIOS, the 4GB RAM setting is usually the last entry in the list of Advanced Chipset Features -> DRAM Configuration -> H/W MEM Remap (4G RAM Support) - you may only be able to access this after going into the advanced BIOS options by pressing CTRL and F1 at the first BIOS screen - there are only 2 options, enabled and disabled - select enabled.

 

[Lino]

Dumb question here, but whats the most amount of RAM your board can support?

 

[howardb]

Taken from the Gigabyte specs:

4 DDR2 DIMM memory slots, 4GB 32-bit XP (supports up to 16GB memory on 64-bit XP)

 

[kingston73]

Maybe try going back to F1 first - then try F6. I found that my board would not boot unless I had an earlier version of the BIOS - weird, but it obviously makes a difference in some instances.

From what I can remember on my Gigabyte BIOS, the 4GB RAM setting is usually the last entry in the list of Advanced Chipset Features -> DRAM Configuration -> H/W MEM Remap (4G RAM Support) - you may only be able to access this after going into the advanced BIOS options by pressing CTRL and F1 at the first BIOS screen - there are only 2 options, enabled and disabled - select enabled.

I've tried the ctrl/F1 and but I can't find the H/W MEM remap you talk about. The only setting I noticed was the mem clock was set to manual and I changed it back to auto, I'm going to try reverting back to F1 bios first and then see if that makes a difference.

 

[kingston73]

I've tried the ctrl/F1 and but I can't find the H/W MEM remap you talk about. The only setting I noticed was the mem clock was set to manual and I changed it back to auto, I'm going to try reverting back to F1 bios first and then see if that makes a difference.

OK, now I seriously screwed up. I tried to change the BIOS but now it doesn't boot, the fans turn on but the screen is blank, no picture. There's power to it but nothing else. What do I do now???!! Did I fry my mobo? Do I need a new board now?

 

[Lino]

1) Take out the cmos battery leave it out for about 10mins. Then put it back in
2) If there are jumpers on the motherboard to reset it, use them accordingly.

Hopefully that should reset the board

 

[QX6700RULZ]

If not hen it may be a messed up bios flash which then means you are screwed.

Peeps should not mess with things they know nothing about

 

[Lino]

If not hen it may be a messed up bios flash which then means you are screwed.

Peeps should not mess with things they know nothing about

Its not only peeps that mess things up

 

[kingston73]

If not hen it may be a messed up bios flash which then means you are screwed.

Peeps should not mess with things they know nothing about

thanks for the help, maybe when you have a problem I can be as much help to you. But Linoman, sincerely thanks for the help. I'm going to go try that and then get back to you on whether it worked or not.

 

[Lino]

thanks for the help, maybe when you have a problem I can be as much help to you. But Linoman, sincerely thanks for the help. I'm going to go try that and then get back to you on whether it worked or not.

I'll keep my fingers crossed

 

[kingston73]

I'll keep my fingers crossed

OK, so I took the CMOS bat. out and reset it, and still no go. Does this mean a new mobo? Have any of you ever used one of the bios fixing sites that claim to fix or replace your bios chip? Do these actually work, or would it be better to just suck it up and pay for a new board?

 

[Lino]

OK, so I took the CMOS bat. out and reset it, and still no go. Does this mean a new mobo? Have any of you ever used one of the bios fixing sites that claim to fix or replace your bios chip? Do these actually work, or would it be better to just suck it up and pay for a new board?

Sorry to hear that man, personally considering the fact you were already having problems with the board. I would say rather buy a new board

 

[kingston73]

Sorry to hear that man, personally considering the fact you were already having problems with the board. I would say rather buy a new board

OK, hopefully last question for you - if I replace this board with the same exact board, will I still need an OS cd for my current HD to boot? I bought my computer w/o an OS, so if I need to repair the xp installation I'll have to spend about $200 for an XP Pro OS along with the $90 the new mobo will cost. I guess either way is cheaper than a whole new system, but it'd be nice not to have to spend $200 if I can help it. If I do repair using a new XP cd, will my system be the same as it was?