Booting issue - please help!

jpnole

Edited for clarification on 4/8/18:

I have a custom build PC from a few months ago, built myself and has been running great until 2 days ago. In the past 2 days I have had it start to go into a boot loop. PC boot loops code 4C (not in manual) with some intermittent 31 & 34s but mostly 4C then finally C1 before it reboots to start the cycle over again. So what I do that has worked every time is remove & replace the battery and swap RAM slots. After this fix, I can reboot, reset, turn on and off normally but if left overnight or for a day or so I get the vicious boot loop again. Very tedious to use a PC every day like this.

Yes I'm aware of the 1 stick issue but I wanted 64GB RAM at some point so I bought the single 16 to save money long term....LOL. SO anyway, any further advice? I wish I had a second stick to test but while I'm up and running I will run a MEMtest or whatever that thing is. Again thanks for all your help and please keep any suggestions coming. 

I have run the Windows Memory Diagnostic Tool with neg results. 
I have run my Sandisk SMART diagnostic tool on my SSD, neg results.


Gigabyte Auros Gaming 7 (Z370)
Core I5 (latest gen - fall 2017)
Corsair Supernova G3 PSU
16 GB RAM GSkill (single stick)
Corsair H60 (working)
Zotac GTX 1070
Windows 10 updated
Spyware/Antivrus checked thoroughly

Cleffy

Did you enable the XMP profile?

Kyleran

Why I buy gaming laptops and desktops with a full warranty for as many years as they will sell me.

I no longer have the patience to figure this stuff out, prefer to just ship it off and let someone deal with problem 

Good luck and I hope you figure it out quickly.

AnOldFart

Personally I think it sounds like faulty RAM because you can boot without the RAM and the error persists when changing the slot. 

Email/Phone the RAM support AND explain the issue and see what their solution is, it might be to send them the RAM stick for them to test. Since its only a few months old you also might be able to contact the store you purchased it from and get a replacement.

It sucks but I'm the long run it's a better idea

Quizzical

The usual advice here would be to try swapping out various combinations of memory modules to see if you can isolate the bad one.  But why did you try building a computer with only one memory module?  You didn't take advice from Gdemami, did you?

Ridelynn

Quizzical said:

You didn't take advice from Gdemami, did you?

That made me chuckle, thanks. It appears so...

I would try a couple of things - it sounds like a BIOS issue. Replace the battery, that costs like $0.60 and doesn't hurt anything. Reset the BIOS to factory settings (usually a button or jumper on the motherboard) and see if the problem persists. If it still happens after that, try reflashing the BIOS using the latest revision available.

And then, there's the common sense way of fixing this problem: just don't shut down your computer.

Gdemami

Quizzical said:

But why did you try building a computer with only one memory module? 

Because the builder likely relied on factual evidence rather than only back up ever being stuff pulled right out of very own arse which happen to be your case...

Kyleran

Gdemami said:

Quizzical said:

But why did you try building a computer with only one memory module? 

Because the builder likely relied on factual evidence rather than only back up ever being stuff pulled right out of very own arse which happen to be your case...

Such irony,  so reminds me of a favorite movie quote from the Watchmen. 

"Why are so few of us left active, healthy, and without personality disorders?" 

Walter Kovacs / Rorschach

Never change dude, never change.

Vrika

Try going to your BIOS, from there select M.I.T, then Advanced Memory Settings.

Switch Memory Boot Mode to Disabled Fast Boot, and see if that helps with your problem.

Cleffy

Gdemami said:

Quizzical said:

But why did you try building a computer with only one memory module? 

Because the builder likely relied on factual evidence rather than only back up ever being stuff pulled right out of very own arse which happen to be your case...

There are 2 benefits of using 2 dimms instead of 1. Having twice as many memory modules at half the capacity is cheaper than 1 memory module at double the capacity. You have double the memory bandwidth.

Aethaeryn

I had a similar issue, the only thing that worked was leaving the ram in  holding the power button down to shut it off while it was in the boot loop and NOT restarting it for like 30 minutes plus.  After that it would start fine and I could turn it off and on again / reset no problem until I did a hardware / os change.  I never figured out what it was - but might be worth a shot.  Completely new PC in my future.

Quizzical

Gdemami said:

Quizzical said:

But why did you try building a computer with only one memory module? 

Because the builder likely relied on factual evidence rather than only back up ever being stuff pulled right out of very own arse which happen to be your case...

Such as the factual evidence that if he had two modules, he could try booting with just one of them to see if the other is defective?

jpnole

Thanks for the posts everyone. So it was the same deal again tonight. Let me clarify and I will update the OP as well. It turns out I actually do have to swap the RAM slot to get it to boot (and post) normally. I got it confused in my OP. So to reiterate:

PC boot loops code 4C (not in manual) with some intermittent 31 & 34s but mostly 4C then finally C1 before it reboots to start the cycle over again. So what I do that has worked every time is remove & replace the battery and swap RAM slots. Very tedious to use a PC every day like this. Yes I'm aware of the 1 stick issue but I wanted 64GB RAM at some point so I bought the single 16 to save money long term....LOL. SO anyway, any further advice? I wish I had a second stick to test but while I'm up and running I will run a MEMtest or whatever that thing is. SO I can reboot, reset, turn on and off normally but if left overnight or for a day or so I get the vicious boot loop again. Again thanks for all your help and please keep any suggestions coming. 

jpnole

Cleffy said:

Did you enable the XMP profile?

No, running stock at 2133

jpnole

Quizzical said:

The usual advice here would be to try swapping out various combinations of memory modules to see if you can isolate the bad one.  But why did you try building a computer with only one memory module?  You didn't take advice from Gdemami, did you?

haha no. I updated my OP to explain why I went with one 16GB stick. It was working great for months! I ran Windows Memory Diagnostic which was neg.

jpnole

Ridelynn said:

Quizzical said:

You didn't take advice from Gdemami, did you?

That made me chuckle, thanks. It appears so...

I would try a couple of things - it sounds like a BIOS issue. Replace the battery, that costs like $0.60 and doesn't hurt anything. Reset the BIOS to factory settings (usually a button or jumper on the motherboard) and see if the problem persists. If it still happens after that, try reflashing the BIOS using the latest revision available.

And then, there's the common sense way of fixing this problem: just don't shut down your computer.

Haha running 24/7 now there's an idea! So yeah I tested my CMOS battery on a tester and it came back full strength. I will buy a new one anyway though if you think it's worth it. I actually had the problem occur under the F4 bios that I built the PC with. It also occurs with the F5 (latest) which I tried the first time I got the PC booting again when the issue popped up the other day. Happens under both bios.

jpnole

Vrika said:

Try going to your BIOS, from there select M.I.T, then Advanced Memory Settings.

Switch Memory Boot Mode to Disabled Fast Boot, and see if that helps with your problem.

I went ahead and did what you said. It was set to automatic so I changed it to disabled. When I first read your reply I read it as fast boot which has always been disabled. I didn't know there was a memory fast boot setting. 

Heretique

Ever check your QVL for that ram?

jpnole

Heretique said:

Ever check your QVL for that ram?

Not at the time but I went ahead and put my motherboard with the RAM that I have on PC Part Picker and it said no compatibility issues. Again, it was working for months.

Heretique

jpnole said:

Heretique said:

Ever check your QVL for that ram?

No but it has worked for months. 

Just saying, stuff can work even if it's not officially "supported" but when problems occur, sometimes can be the reason.

Best of luck.

jpnole

I also noticed that windows fast startup (not BIOS fast boot) was enabled so I disabled it. I read that it puts your PC in hibernation mode and writes to your RAM on boot. Worth a try.

Ridelynn

Another couple of suggestions:

Try slightly overvolting the RAM. I had a PC that, even though the DIMMs were rated for 1.5V, would only really run stable if I had the BIOS set to 1.55V ~~ even though I wasn't even overclocking. Sometimes the motherboard is off by just enough....

If you are overclocking the RAM - stop, take it to default clocks and timings. If you have it at stock, try loosing the timings with slight underclock. Just a troubleshooting step to see if you can find a more stable point.

I've had some pretty poor luck with XMP profiles and their ability to actually set stable clocks on a lot of different motherboards. Try keying in the "stock" profile by hand in the BIOS, rather than allowing XMP to automatically detect something.

Gdemami

jpnole said:

Thanks for the posts everyone. So it was the same deal again tonight. Let me clarify and I will update the OP as well. It turns out I actually do have to swap the RAM slot to get it to boot (and post) normally. I got it confused in my OP. So to reiterate:

PC boot loops code 4C (not in manual) with some intermittent 31 & 34s but mostly 4C then finally C1 before it reboots to start the cycle over again. So what I do that has worked every time is remove & replace the battery and swap RAM slots. Very tedious to use a PC every day like this. Yes I'm aware of the 1 stick issue but I wanted 64GB RAM at some point so I bought the single 16 to save money long term....LOL. SO anyway, any further advice? I wish I had a second stick to test but while I'm up and running I will run a MEMtest or whatever that thing is. SO I can reboot, reset, turn on and off normally but if left overnight or for a day or so I get the vicious boot loop again. Again thanks for all your help and please keep any suggestions coming. 

Sadly, there isn't much you can do unless you have all key spare parts - CPU, MB, RAM, PSu, to make proper testing.

Instead of trying random things blindly, I would focus my effort on finding spare parts/computer so you can run proper elimination process.

Phry

There is a way of verifying the RAM, and the CPU for that matter, and that is Prime95, its a free app by mersenne, basically run the torture test and select the one that tests just the RAM, that should at least give you the peace of mind that its not the problem.

jpnole

Ridelynn said:

Another couple of suggestions:

Try slightly overvolting the RAM. I had a PC that, even though the DIMMs were rated for 1.5V, would only really run stable if I had the BIOS set to 1.55V ~~ even though I wasn't even overclocking. Sometimes the motherboard is off by just enough....

If you are overclocking the RAM - stop, take it to default clocks and timings. If you have it at stock, try loosing the timings with slight underclock. Just a troubleshooting step to see if you can find a more stable point.

I've had some pretty poor luck with XMP profiles and their ability to actually set stable clocks on a lot of different motherboards. Try keying in the "stock" profile by hand in the BIOS, rather than allowing XMP to automatically detect something.

Not OCing RAM but will consider your light overvolt trick. Cames across that elsewhere on the net as well.

jpnole

So I had the issue again last night but this time something different took place. Upon login, a Gigabyte firmware update popped. Next thing I know my bios is back at F2 from 9/17. I went ahead and re updated bios to F4. In the meantime I am using sleep instead of power off. My PC reboots fine as long as little time has passed from a successful boot. The bootloop only happens when the PC is powered off for some time. So for now I am "sleeping" with a daily reboot to keep things fresh and updated. Not an ideal solution but this beats reseating the RAM on a daily basis. Of course any short power loss at my home and I am back to square one.