PC not booting when 4 RAM-Sticks are plugged in

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   Hello,
so a few weeks ago after Windows installed some updates my PC just wouldn't boot again. Not even the UEFI was started. So I unplugged 2 x 4 GB (one kit) of my RAM and left 2 x 4 GB (second kit) installed and it booted without any problems. Since i thought the problem is the ram kit i just unplugged i sent it back to the store i bought it from and got a new one (same type though). After installing the new one it still wouldn't work with 4 x 4 GB but 2 x 4 GB worked no matter which ram kit was installed. A few days later some other Windows update installed and i tried installing the second kit again and for some reason it bootet properly. The problem is that yesterday Windows installed some Updates again and the problem came back again. So i can work with 2 x 4 GB and 3 x 4 GB but not with 4 x 4 GB. So as soon as I plug in the fourth stick my pc would not go through UEFI. But it turns on and stays on until i press the power button for 5 seconds to turn it off (cpu fan is spinning but nothing to see on the screen).

Has someone else faced this issue yet? Any ideas what the problem could be?

My setup:
CPU: i7-6700 cooled by LC-CC-120
Mainboard: Asrock Fatality Z170 Gaming K4
RAM: 2 x Crucial Ballistix Sport DDR4-2400 8GB Kit
GPU: Sapphire R9 390 Nitro
PSU: bequiet PURE POWER 600W
SSD: 1 x Samsung 840 Series 250 GB
1 x Samsung EVO 850 500 GB
Monitor: ASUS VG248QE
Case: Antec P70 with 4 Fans in total.

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albino Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 10 Mar 2016 Status: Offline Points: 5	Post Options Post Reply Quote albino Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: PC not booting when 4 RAM-Sticks are plugged in Posted: 10 Mar 2016 at 8:19am
	Hello, so a few weeks ago after Windows installed some updates my PC just wouldn't boot again. Not even the UEFI was started. So I unplugged 2 x 4 GB (one kit) of my RAM and left 2 x 4 GB (second kit) installed and it booted without any problems. Since i thought the problem is the ram kit i just unplugged i sent it back to the store i bought it from and got a new one (same type though). After installing the new one it still wouldn't work with 4 x 4 GB but 2 x 4 GB worked no matter which ram kit was installed. A few days later some other Windows update installed and i tried installing the second kit again and for some reason it bootet properly. The problem is that yesterday Windows installed some Updates again and the problem came back again. So i can work with 2 x 4 GB and 3 x 4 GB but not with 4 x 4 GB. So as soon as I plug in the fourth stick my pc would not go through UEFI. But it turns on and stays on until i press the power button for 5 seconds to turn it off (cpu fan is spinning but nothing to see on the screen). Has someone else faced this issue yet? Any ideas what the problem could be? My setup: CPU: i7-6700 cooled by LC-CC-120 Mainboard: Asrock Fatality Z170 Gaming K4 RAM: 2 x Crucial Ballistix Sport DDR4-2400 8GB Kit GPU: Sapphire R9 390 Nitro PSU: bequiet PURE POWER 600W SSD: 1 x Samsung 840 Series 250 GB 1 x Samsung EVO 850 500 GB Monitor: ASUS VG248QE Case: Antec P70 with 4 Fans in total.

parsec Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Moderator Group Joined: 04 May 2015 Location: USA Status: Offline Points: 4996	Post Options Post Reply Quote parsec Report Post Thanks(1) Quote Reply Posted: 10 Mar 2016 at 9:58am
	You seem to be very sure that the Windows updates cause your memory problems, which happened more than once. You did not say which version of Windows you are using, but I'm guessing Windows 10? I've never had this problem myself, or heard of users having a problem with memory recognition after a Windows update. Windows updates can range from a simple update to the Windows Defender data, to a new build version of Windows itself. Do you know you can remove or "rollback" Windows updates? If one or more updates were really the problem, then removing the updates would fix the problem, right? When you have the memory problem, did you ever try clearing the UEFI/BIOS? Any time you change the amount of memory you use, whether adding, removing, or moving the DIMMs around, you should always clear the UEFI/BIOS before you start the PC again. What UEFI/BIOS version are you using?


albino Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 10 Mar 2016 Status: Offline Points: 5	Post Options Post Reply Quote albino Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 10 Mar 2016 at 9:37pm
	Hello parsec, thank you for your answer, it helped me solving the problem. I wasn't sure that the Windows updates directly caused the problem but I was sure that the problem came up after those. I tried going back to the previous working state of Windows which did not solve my problem. But your second advice helped here. I thought that resetting the UEFI/BIOS by clicking on reset in the UEFI-UI would be the same thing as taking out the mobo batteryfor a few minutes. Apparently it's not, because I did the first thing a few times (while having installed only 8 GB) but after removing the battery for a few minutes and starting the PC with all RAM sticks it booted perfectly fine. FYI: The problem first occured on UEFI-Version 2.40 which I tried to solve by updating to 2.60. The second time it occured on 2.60. I just hope that the next Windows updates won't mess up my UEFI again. Thanks again for the help. Cheers, Albino

parsec Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Moderator Group Joined: 04 May 2015 Location: USA Status: Offline Points: 4996	Post Options Post Reply Quote parsec Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 10 Mar 2016 at 11:31pm
	Great, glad clearing the UEFI/BIOS worked for you! The lesson learned here is removing the battery alone is not the same as using the "CMOS" clear jumper. I'm still curious about how and why the Windows updates seemed to cause the problem with your memory. I know Win 10 build updates has caused problems for me with the Intel network driver and the features it provides. If you're still visiting the forum, I'd like to know what version of Windows you are using.


albino Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 10 Mar 2016 Status: Offline Points: 5	Post Options Post Reply Quote albino Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 10 Mar 2016 at 11:52pm
	Seems like I celebrated too soon. My PC was running on 16 GB for a while today including some restarts etc. Then I updated my graphics card driver (AMD) and rebooted the pc. Wihle booting again I tried entering UEFI which didn't work properly. Some 'Pixels' of the UEFI were shown when I moved my mouse but in general it froze. So nothing happened for several minutes. After restart by Pressing Ctrl+Alt+Del the old problem of not reaching UEFI came up again. Since then not even clearing CMOS wouldn't fix my problem . I tried the RAM-Kits seperately again and now only one of the kits is working. When I try booting with the other kit it keeps restarting like it's stuck in a boot loop or something. It's the new kit i got from my RMA request I was talking about in the first post. I think I might go for another RMA and try to get my money back so I can buy 2 x 8 GB sticks and work with them instead of 4 x 4 GB. Sorry I forgot to answer your question about the Windows version. Currently it's Windows 10 Version 1511 (Build 10586.164) This is the weirdest issue that ever occured to me on a pc. It would be so much easier to figure out the real cause if it was a consistent problem. But the fact that it sometimes works and sometimes doesn't just drives me crazy. tl;dr: I'm still open for any solutions/suggestions.