New PC Wont Post

[mushi_mushi]

I just finished building an office pc for my dad, and when I turn it on I just get a black screen. The usual culprits are cpu/mobo/ram/bios. I uninstalled everything and just put one stick of ram in. The system boots with one stick of ram, I checked both my sticks this way and know they are both good, however as soon as I put the second one in I cant get the bastard to post. I've put one stick of ram in and tried adjusting some voltage settings in the bios but that didnt help either. It seems like one of the ram slots on the mobo might be foobar'ed but im trying to consider all the alternatives before RMAing the board. Any suggestions?

[Grogador]

Double-check that your motherboard supports that combination of size/speed sticks. Lower the memory/FSB speed. Raise the memory latency. Raise/lower the RAM voltage. Buy new, brand-name, compatible sticks of RAM... stuff is pretty much throw-away-able at today's prices!

Model#'s/specs of gear may trigger more smartass suggestions.

[Stealth22]

What kind of RAM, and what kind of board?

Do you get any beeping when you try to start it? Although after saying that, the beep codes probably won't help, since we know that its more than likely a memory issue.

[mushi_mushi]

Im using a Gigabyte g31m-es2l motherboard with mushkin HP2-6400 DDR2. There are no beeps, even without any ram in the mobo. The thing is the system boots up fine with one stick of ram but not with two. Both sticks are good as I tried to boot the system with both sticks, with only one stick being in the system at any given time. It seems like a bad ram slot, I mean both sticks of ram are good, the mobo posts with one stick of ram so im really not sure what else it could be, but ive been screwing around with it to no avail. I dont have any other sticks of ram laying around so im not sure if its some weird compatibility issue but the mobo is compatible with ddr 800 which is what I have.

[01RedDX]

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[mushi_mushi]

Originally posted by 01RedDX
How many RAM slots on the board? Is there an option to enable dual-channel in BIOS?

This is a matx motherboard with 2 ram slots. There doesnt appear to be any option in the bios to enable dual channel support. Im also running a corsair power supply so I dont think its anything wonky as a crappy power supply. All these parts are new, but obviously something isnt working the way it was intended.

[Thaco]

second ram slot int he board is faulty? try only one stick in the second slot

[mushi_mushi]

Originally posted by Thaco
second ram slot int he board is faulty? try only one stick in the second slot

I thought in order for a pc to boot up there has to be ram in the first available slot, nonetheless I tried what you suggested earlier and the computer didnt post.

[01RedDX]

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[95teetee]

not much information here because I can't remember the brands involved, but I had the exact same problem a few years ago with a system I built. I bought everything at Memory Express, so I called them up and talked to the salesman I dealt with- he basically said that he should have known better than to sell me the combo of ram and mobo that he did, because they weren't very compatible. I swapped to OCZ ram (like I say, I can't remember which brand I started with) and then it would post with both sticks installed.

[Grogador]

motherboard_memory_ga-g31m-es2l.pdf (http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/FileList/MemorySupport/motherboard_memory_ga-g31m-es2l.pdf)

[mushi_mushi]

Originally posted by Grogador
motherboard_memory_ga-g31m-es2l.pdf (http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/FileList/MemorySupport/motherboard_memory_ga-g31m-es2l.pdf)

I looked through the motherboards ram support sheet and realize that mushkin isnt on the list, but this motherboard does support ddr2 800. At this point im fairly certain its the mobo but the only way to be sure is to take it into memory express and ask them to test the system with different ram. I ordered the motherboard online, so if I wanted to RMA it I would have to send it back and way a week or two to get a new one. It works with one stick so im debating weather its worth the haste.