MSI P67A-C45 with 4x4Gb Corsair Vengeance = random freezes in bios

[Vossekop]

Ok here is the problem i hope you guys can help me with. I recently bought the following rig:

- MSI P67A-C45 Motherboard
- 4x4Gb Corsair Vengeance memory.
- MSI N560GTX-Ti Twin Frozr II/OC
- Core i7 2600K

I am having the following issues:

Whenever i put in all the memory, the PC won't boot, it hangs even in the BIOS (at random pages). Everything seems to run fine (except for a minor detail which i will mention later) with 12 Gb installed (3 dimms that is). I have tried changing the voltage to 1.65v but this doesn't change anything. With 12 Gb (or even only 4Gb) installed there is only one weird thing happening:

Whenever the pc wakes from hibernation i get the following error:

?Your system's firmware did not preserve the system memory map across the hibernation transition. If you proceed with resume, your system could behave in an unexpected manner after resume completes. It is recommended that you save all your data and reboot after system resume finishes. Kindly check for a firmware update with your system vender as it may fix this problem."

Then after clicking resume it says i can't resume from the saved state and that it will be discarded (effectively doing a clean boot of the OS).

Can these two problems be related, and if so, is it a hardware problem or some BIOS settings i can try?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. 

 

[Bernhard]

Your system have a PSU ?
Is this a B2 or B3 board and what BIOS version have you got ?
Did you load the latest drivers ? see here http://www.msi.com/product/mb/P67A-C45--B3-.html#/?div=Driver&os=Win7%2064
In the meantime suggest you disable the EuP2013 and S3 state in the BIOS.
Your memory is supposed to be 1,5V even at 1600, thus instead of increasing the voltage to 1,65 I would rather recommend that you get it stable first with 2 modules and the add the other 2. You may have to run them at 1333 with 4 modules as that is the native memory spedd for the Integrated Controller.

 

[Vossekop]

Your system have a PSU ?
Is this a B2 or B3 board and what BIOS version have you got ?
Did you load the latest drivers ? see here http://www.msi.com/product/mb/P67A-C45--B3-.html#/?div=Driver&os=Win7%2064
In the meantime suggest you disable the EuP2013 and S3 state in the BIOS.
Your memory is supposed to be 1,5V even at 1600, thus instead of increasing the voltage to 1,65 I would rather recommend that you get it stable first with 2 modules and the add the other 2. You may have to run them at 1333 with 4 modules as that is the native memory spedd for the Integrated Controller.

- Yes my system indeed has a PSU, its a Seasonic Fanless 400W, but i have also tried my old trusty 650W from Hiper with the same results.
- Its a B3 Stepping board.
- I have loaded the latest BIOS (v1.b i believe).
- I will try that EuP2013 stuff.
- Its rock solid with 1, 2 and 3 dimms (except for the hibernation thing).

 

[Bernhard]

I have loaded the latest BIOS (v1.b i believe).

The question was if you checked the latest Intel Management Engine Driver and the Sandy Bridge Chipset Drivers, both dated  2011-03-11. Are these the ones that came on your installation DVD ?

 

[Vossekop]

The question was if you checked the latest Intel Management Engine Driver and the Sandy Bridge Chipset Drivers, both dated  2011-03-11. Are these the ones that came on your installation DVD ?

Why would i do that when the machine won't even boot, it hangs during boot and randomly in the BIOS.... AFAIK drivers have no influence on the BIOS right?

 

[Henry]

What OS do you have on it?

 

[HU16E]

Why would i do that when the machine won't even boot, it hangs during boot and randomly in the BIOS....
- Its rock solid with 1, 2 and 3 dimms (except for the hibernation thing).

Well, which is it, rock solid or won't boot? Recommend to only run with two RAM sticks until all this can be sorted out. I believe Bernhard is trying to rule out an Intel Management Engine firmware or driver problem. The ME is directly involved with the RAM initialization in BIOS.

 

[Vossekop]

Well, which is it, rock solid or won't boot? Recommend to only run with two RAM sticks until all this can be sorted out. I believe Bernhard is trying to rule out an Intel Management Engine firmware or driver problem. The ME is directly involved with the RAM initialization in BIOS.

Ah wait.... no i get the confusion.... i was thinking it was supposed to be a solution for the 4 dimms not working (this gives BIOS hangs). But it was a solution for the hibernation problem (which happens with the 1,2 or 3 dimms).... my bad  . I'll check those drivers when i get the chance. And i'll try not to fix two problems in one forum thread anymore. Oh and I have Windows 7 x64 Ultimate on it.

 

[Vossekop]

Well, it seems the hibernation thing i solved by either the EuP2013 setting, or the new drivers. So that is one less thing to worry about. Leaves me only with the 4 dims not working problem. Btw, i have already checked if the problem was with a specific DIMM or a specific slot, by trying different combination of 3 DIMMs in different combinations of slots, but those all worked.

 

[Bernhard]

1. Have you tested your mem sticks individually with memtest ? There is always a chance of a defective module.
2. Test the mem at 1333. Insert only 2, set it to 1333 manually in the BIOS, save and switch off.  Add all modules and see if it boots.
3. You may also want to reseat your CPU, whilst it's out, check the CPU contact pads for indentations and see if there are any pins on the socket that are bent.

 

[Vossekop]

1. Have you tested your mem sticks individually with memtest ? There is always a chance of a defective module.
2. Test the mem at 1333. Insert only 2, set it to 1333 manually in the BIOS, save and switch off.  Add all modules and see if it boots.
3. You may also want to reseat your CPU, whilst it's out, check the CPU contact pads for indentations and see if there are any pins on the socket that are bent.

1. I have tested with 1 mem stick, then with 2, then 3 and then 4 (memtest from bios seems to be the only thing not crashing with 4 mem sticks). So i have not tested everything individually, but in my opinion this should be thorough enough.
2. I have done this exact thing but then with 3 mem sticks, only adding the last one when switched off, then turning it back on again. I will try with the two so in dual channel, this might make a bit of a difference.
3. I have reseated the CPU once, it is not a fun thing with the Big Shuriken cooler i have , i'll try this as a last resort.

 

[Vossekop]

Well, it seems the hibernation thing i solved by either the EuP2013 setting, or the new drivers. So that is one less thing to worry about. Leaves me only with the 4 dims not working problem. Btw, i have already checked if the problem was with a specific DIMM or a specific slot, by trying different combination of 3 DIMMs in different combinations of slots, but those all worked.

It seems i was too soon to call that one, it just happened again, the hibernation still won't work.

 

[Vossekop]

1. I have tested with 1 mem stick, then with 2, then 3 and then 4 (memtest from bios seems to be the only thing not crashing with 4 mem sticks). So i have not tested everything individually, but in my opinion this should be thorough enough.
2. I have done this exact thing but then with 3 mem sticks, only adding the last one when switched off, then turning it back on again. I will try with the two so in dual channel, this might make a bit of a difference.
3. I have reseated the CPU once, it is not a fun thing with the Big Shuriken cooler i have , i'll try this as a last resort.

Well, tested all the above again, no luck, so its back to the store i bought it from. If they come to the conclusion there is nothing wrong with it (and the hardware just won't match) i'll go with an Intel board instead. If they find that the board is defect i guess i can give MSI another go.