Motherboard Only Works with One Stick of RAM! Help!

BENBOBBY

BENBOBBY

BENBOBBY

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Hi,

I'm in the process of building my parents a computer out of some spare old parts. Its an ASUS P5N-E SLI motherboard with an Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 processor. However the computer only seems to work if I use one stick of memory! Any more than that when I boot up I just get a continuous 'beeeeeeeeeeeeeeep' and doesnt get past the POST screen.

At first I thought maybe the old memory (OCZ PC2 6400 Titanium 2GB 800MHz 4-4-4 2.2v DDR2) was broken, but I just bought some brand new sticks (Corsair XMS2 2GB 800MHz 5-5-5-18 1.8v DDR2) and still get the same problem :mad:

Its the latest version of BIOS and Ive tried resetting everything back to default. Also removed the CMOS battery. Do I need to change something in the BIOS settings perhaps? Need more voltage maybe? Or is the mobo broken?

Many Thanks :cool:



CPU: Intel Quad Processor Q6600 @ 2.4GHz
COOLER: Zalman CNPS8900
RAM: Corsair XMS2 DDR2 800MHz 8GB (4x2GB) planned
GPU: Asus 730 GT 2GB Passive Cooler
PSU: Corsair RM650 650w
SSD: Corsair Force Series 3 240GB
MOBO: Asus P5N-E SLI
CASE: Corsair Carbide Series 200R
OS: Windows 7 64bit
 
touch more cpu northbridge voltage

doe sit boot with a single stick in any of the ram slots? tested all one at a time
 
wazza300 said:
touch more cpu northbridge voltage
doe sit boot with a single stick in any of the ram slots? tested all one at a time
Click to expand...

Thanks for the quick reply wazza. Yeh it boots with a single stick in any slot.

Ok. Under "NB Core Voltage" I have the following options: Auto (default), 1.208V, 1.393V, 1.563V, 1.748V. Which one should I choose?

Also do I need to touch the "Memory Voltage" setting, which is currently also on Auto. Options are Auto, 1.920V, 2.013V, 2.085V, 2.178V, 2.259V, 2.353V, 2.424V.... On the side of the Corsair stick it says "1.80V". Is that the voltage it needs, as the settings dont go that low!

Nothing is overclocked and everything is on default. Cheers ;)
 
could try 1.920 memory voltage first then see if it lets you boot with both sticks

if not can try with 1.208v nb voltage
 
yh try with all your ram,i wasn't sure how much you had

im not an expert on q6600 either but you would need more dram and nb voltage with more ram

those voltages should be ok imo
 
Ok tried with all four at 1.920V.... still beeps unfortunately.

I did some more testing too and found out that actually one stick DOESNT work in all slots (sorry for the confusion, it was a while ago since I originally looked at the problem). I labelled the photo below to show which slots do and dont work:

0IEocvP.jpg


When in either of the two left slots, it just beeps and doesnt even show the POST screen - the monitor just stays blank.

Does this still indicate a voltage problem or do you think somehow the motherboard is faulty? Many Thanks.
 
if one stick doesn't boot from any of the four slots then its dead/faulty

the others should be ok if they boot from any slot
 
Sorry for not explaining it better. The memory isnt faulty - whatever memory stick I use if it goes in either slot 1 or 2 on the motherboard (marked in red above) then the speaker beeps continuously and the monitor just stay blank.

So would this indicate a voltage issue or is the motherboard broken?
 
ohh I see,im not sure on the older boards tbh

usually you have to install in the staggered slots so either yellow slots or black slots

usually the black slots for two sticks or all slots with 4 sticks

on later boards you can boot into windows with one stick in any of the slots but im not sure on older boards so might be normal

pretty sure its down to not enough cpu nb voltage
 
Hmm I see. Ive also tried two slicks with Black-Black and Yellow-Yellow: same problem.

Strangely though when I first installed the four new memory sticks this morning and replaced the CMOS battery it booted into Windows first time and registered the 8GB ram in System Info! But then a few seconds later the computer froze so hit reset and then the beeping issue started again. But I guess that means the slots are not completely dead, which is why I was thinking possibly its some BIOS setting?! Ugh. :(
 
try popping out the cmos battery for few minutes

it will reset any oc/bios settings tho so make a note of them if you can
 
Ok tried two sticks in slots 3 and 4 and works fine However its obviously not the ideal configuration and would like to use all four memory sticks if possible...

Should I try raising the NB voltage to say 1.563V and try with four again? Will it do any damage if I set it too high?
 
Right I unplugged the PSU and left the battery out for a while. Put all four memory sticks in and.... beeeeep. So obviously doesnt work with default BIOS settings.

Should I try raising the NB voltage then? Say to 1.563V? Will it do any harm to set it too high?
 
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