Moved RAM, now Windows won't load.

[dynamic3]

So my pc was sporadically crashing (had been working fine for nearly 9 mos.) so I removed a stick of RAM in an attempt to troubleshoot (my CPU overclock was removed in the process). The computer booted fine with 1 stick and no crash going on 3 days.

I decided to reinsert the 2nd stick of RAM (in attempt to rule that the OC was causing the crash) and was greeted with a "Windows failed to start. A recent hardware or software change might be the cause." error while on the loading windows screen. Selecting "launch startup repair" yields no results and "start windows normally" gives a bsod flash for a nanosecond then reboots. I re-removed the 2nd stick and now the PC still won't boot even though it booted fine with 1 stick for the past few days.

I performed the following with no luck:

- cycled every slot / stick combo
- reset CMOS
- attempted to boot from the W7 cd (and was given the same error message)
- ran memtest86+ (0 errors), I did note that the memory displayed as 667 in memtest however its rated at 1333...could this be an issue?

I have a new set of ram coming on Wed. that I will test, though I'm apprehensive as the pc was fine with one stick, and now all of a sudden one stick won't even work...perhaps inserting the second stick tripped a setting (or using only stick created a setting)?

Would anyone be kind enough to point me in the right direction? Thank you.

 

[Shmee]

did you test the HDD/SSD? The one you have windows installed on?

 

[pandemonium]

I would unplug your HDD/SSD and plug it back in. As long as your BIOS is posting fine, the memory shouldn't be affecting Windows from loading unless voltages or timings were changed. I'd try loading fail-safe defaults or the like in your BIOS and see if that helps Windows to boot up.

Memtest will report your memory frequency as 667 because of the FSB multiplier. You need not worry about this.

 

[dynamic3]

I would unplug your HDD/SSD and plug it back in. As long as your BIOS is posting fine, the memory shouldn't be affecting Windows from loading unless voltages or timings were changed. I'd try loading fail-safe defaults or the like in your BIOS and see if that helps Windows to boot up.

Memtest will report your memory frequency as 667 because of the FSB multiplier. You need not worry about this.

I was under the impression startup repair runs a diagnostic on the HDD (SSD in my case, I also have a secon HDD for reference), however I will try this this evening nonetheless.

So you're saying if my memory was bad that I wouldn't even be able to get into my BIOS? On that note, I have reset CMOS and loaded default settings with no luck.

I should note that I attempted to boot from the W7 cd (by disabling all other boot options in the bios aside from the cd drive) in attempt to access some of the repair features, however I was given the same error as when trying to boot from my HDD. Would this indicate that it's a hardware issue exclusive of the HDD? A faulty HDD shouldn't affect booting from a cd right?

Thank you for your help.

 

[dynamic3]

I would unplug your HDD/SSD and plug it back in. As long as your BIOS is posting fine, the memory shouldn't be affecting Windows from loading unless voltages or timings were changed. I'd try loading fail-safe defaults or the like in your BIOS and see if that helps Windows to boot up.

Memtest will report your memory frequency as 667 because of the FSB multiplier. You need not worry about this.

On another note, while I didn't change anything manually, is it possible that when I first removed the 2nd stick and booted with 1 stick, a timing or voltage was changed to accomodate using only 1 stick, and when I re-inserted the 2nd stick, the timing or voltage wasn't adjusted back accordingly (or was adjusted incorrectly given the sequence of events) and as a result it's causing boot issues upon W7 trying to load? Something must have changed when I re-inserted the 2nd stick because I was at least able to boot with 1 stick before, and now I'm not.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, I can load srartup repair at the error screen and cycle through the windows menus, run the tests etc. (I can even access a command prompt if that helps); would I not be able to get this far with bad mem?

Thanks again.

 

[piasabird]

Duh the RAM or the memory controller could be damaged. Bad or malfunctioning RAM could be the cause of other things like corrupted files on the Hard Drive.

Another problem which can cause all of this is fluctuating or bad power supply. Everything starts with the Power Supply. Plugging too many items into one power line could be problematic.

Overclocking may have overheated some components or burned them out. A motherboard is a very complex electronic component. You can damage capaciters and the motherboard may work but become unstable.

 

[piasabird]

It could also be POWER related. You sure you have not unplugged your video card or cpu fan or something like that?

Normal procedure would be to unplug the hard drive/s and see if the computer will boot and give you a missing operating system message. It can also be the video card. You could pop in a different one that you know works. Check all the power connections.

After that you have to go back to square one and disconnect everything and start over. Your SSD could be bad or something like that. So you need to check every component. One at a time.

 

[dynamic3]

Duh the RAM or the memory controller could be damaged. Bad or malfunctioning RAM could be the cause of other things like corrupted files on the Hard Drive.

Another problem which can cause all of this is fluctuating or bad power supply. Everything starts with the Power Supply. Plugging too many items into one power line could be problematic.

Overclocking may have overheated some components or burned them out. A motherboard is a very complex electronic component. You can damage capaciters and the motherboard may work but become unstable.

I understand that, I was just hoping I could try and target the problem area given that the issues started happening as soon as I re-inserted the 2nd stick. It can't simply be coincidence.

Is it possible re-inserting the 2nd stick shorted my PSU in some way?

 

[dynamic3]

Did you stick the RAM back in the same place? Check the BIOS and see what it says. The RAM should be an exact match if you are using it together. The RAM slots used are dependent on the motherboard and BIOS. Each motherboard is a little different for RAM configurations. Might try clearing the BIOS and starting fresh, and then starting in SAFE mode, or using the Windows Install Disk and try starting from that. This will tell you if the problem is on the Hard Drive.

Yes, I reinserted the ram as it was initially, and I tried every other combo. The full 8GB is visible in the bios, but no luck. Also resotred default settings in the BIOS and cleared CMOS, no luck.

I tried both safe mode and booting from the W7 disc, and I get the same error screen as booting normally.

 

[dynamic3]

It could also be POWER related. You sure you have not unplugged your video card or cpu fan or something like that?

Normal procedure would be to unplug the hard drive/s and see if the computer will boot and give you a missing operating system message. It can also be the video card. You could pop in a different one that you know works. Check all the power connections.

After that you have to go back to square one and disconnect everything and start over. Your SSD could be bad or something like that. So you need to check every component. One at a time.

If my GPU went bad I wouldn't be able to see the W7 startup recovery screen right? I did unplug a case fan in the fan4 slot, I guess I could try plugging that back in.

I'll try unplugging my SSD tonight. What would a missing OS notification indicate?

I should note that the point in time when the boot crashes is on the loading windows screen (where the four colored dots fly together to make a windows logo)...however I can get into windows startup recovery and there is a notification that a recent hardware change occurred (sometimes it tells me that I recently plugged in a camera or usb drive, and to remove them...nothing plugged in aside from my KB/M, Xbox controller receiver and BT dongle which have been in for the past 9 mos). In startup recovery I was able to restore W7 to a time pre-issues, but it hasn't helped me.

The diagnostic issue I'm having is that this is my first pc build, and as a result I have no spare parts. Worst case I can pay Micro Center $70 bucks to run a diagnostic but there's a 8-10 bus day turnaround time which I'd like to avoid.

 

[dynamic3]

Unplugged my SSD as suggested by piasa, and was now able to boot using the W7 disc. So I installed W7 on my traditional HDD (thought I could keep my data but ended up losing ~2TB of movies/music unfortunately) and I'm up an running!

Looks like it was my SSD after all.

Any ideas as to why my SSD died when moving ram, or could it simply have been coincidence? I want to make sure I'm not the one causing the failures.

Thank you everyone, especially piasa!