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On Fri, Feb 25, 2011 at 9:33 AM, Dale <rdalek1967@×××××.com> wrote: |
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> Well, I think my machine is possessed or something. I'm getting random |
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> reboots here. When it does this, it is like hitting the reset button. It |
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> is sitting on the grub screen when it does this. I noticed the first time |
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> the other day and this was before adding the extra memory. I seemed to be |
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> stable at 4Gbs but I seem to be rebooting at random. I ran memtest |
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> yesterday, it checked fine. It didn't find a error but it looked like it |
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> was only testing part of it. Memtest recognizes all 16Gbs on the last run |
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> but it didn't seem to be testing it all. Is there a trick to getting it to |
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> test the whole thing? |
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When you say "memtest" what memtest are you using, exactly? The one |
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from the kernel? |
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I prefer memtest86+ as it is updated and has support for the latest |
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CPUs and memory configurations. You can install it from portage and |
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add an entry to your Grub menu and don't need to mess with bootable CD |
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or USB or anything like that. |
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You can test specific ranges, if you suspect the new RAM is causing |
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trouble. Full memory testing of all patterns with 16 gigs of RAM can |
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take forever, but in my experience tests 5 and 8 in memtest86+ are |
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typically the only tests that actually produce errors on modern |
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systems. If you're in a hurry you can just run test 5 and that'll give |
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you many more passes in a shorter time. I would at least want to run |
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this kind of test for 12 hours with no errors before trusting the |
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machine. 24 or 48 hours if you can afford the wait. :) |
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If it does not always recognize the full 16GB i would suspect you need |
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to increase the voltage to your RAM. You may also (or instead) need to |
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reduce the memory speed. |
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On my previous motherboard, an Abit, with Patriot DDR2 RAM, it could |
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handle 4GB of RAM (2x2GB) no problems, running at recommended voltage |
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and full speed. When I doubled that to 8GB (4x2GB) it crashed often, |
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but not constantly. It could not pass an overnight memory test. I |
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ultimately had to raise the voltage by 0.3 and reduce the speed from |
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800MHz to 667MHz. I ran memtest86+ for 3 days and it had no errors. |
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After that it worked like a champ for 2 years, no problems. |
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Also, if you're using DDR3 which contains XMP data (timing and voltage |
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presets, basically) beware that it can sometimes be wrong. I have used |
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2 different brands of RAM whose XMP data did not match the values |
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printed on the packaging. The manufacturers both times suggested I use |
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what's printed on the packaging and ignore what the chip itself tells |
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me. |
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And of course on my recent Core i7 920 build, I spent a month trying |
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to get OCZ Gold RAM to work properly with my Gigabyte motherboard. |
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After 2 DOA sticks exchanged and a month of trying everything I could |
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possibly think of it still failed memory tests (sometimes it would |
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only fail after 5 or 6 hours of testing) and I gave up and returned it |
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to the store for a refund. I ordered some Corsair XMS3 RAM online |
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instead, it worked right away with the recommended settings, no |
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messing around, and I've been running happily ever after. :) |
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