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General discussion

BIOS messed up after installing RAM?

by gert21445 Feb 9, 2010 5:37AM PST

So I just installed a new stick of RAM for my computer (now I have three sticks, and one empty slot), and everything runs fine. All the RAM is recognized by Windows. The problem is that right after installing the RAM and turning my computer back on, the first screen would be all staticky (eg. like what you get if you unplug the antenna or cable wire on a tv),and then the system would just hang. I held the power button down and restarted the computer, and everything worked fine again. BIOS screen showed as normal. I restarted my computer a couple times to double check, each time waiting 25 seconds before restarting the computer again, and everything went fine. But then, the next morning, the same staticky screen came out, and I did the same procedure, and everything became fine again. I've noticed that the staticky screen ONLY happens if I am starting the computer after a whole night of being turned off(nothing happens if I waited 2-3 hours between boots). I heard that this is something to do with RAM timings, but in my BIOS, there are no settings for RAM (the only thing in my BIOS about RAM is that it says I have three slots filled with a total of 3072 MB ram, and there are no settings). I have an HP Pavilion m7750n. Thanks!

Discussion is locked

8 Posts
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That happens with
by r. proffitt Forum moderator Feb 9, 2010 5:42AM PST

Older systems with BAD CAPS.

Google BAD CAPS to learn more. And sometimes a bigger power supply helps but it only delays the inevitable.

Bob

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Look at...
by Willy Feb 9, 2010 12:50PM PST

Older system do have or can have the "bad caps" issue. If that's not the case then its possible the PSU is starting to show its age. If you've added other devices or swapped them out, it adds to the PSU demands. If not, again wear&tear do take a toll on the PSU. Further, the system is DDR2 based. While you mentioned that only a 3rd ram stick was installed, its best to install in pairs for best operation under DDR2 mode. The manual should explain that or support website.

http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/ca/en/ho/WF06b/12132708-12133156-12133158-12133158-12133158-79481422-79912096.html

With only 3 ram sticks installed, it "auto-set" for the best ram mode if you did nothing. In some systems it will hang/freeze/ or stop period. Yours did do that but it recovered or does upon repeated reboots. So, take that into account. All this can be a problem as in a combo issue, more than one area to correct. if you remove the newly installed ram and it always seems to work, then the DDR2 mode is at fault. If not, then that added power demand could be it, the tipping point.

tada -----Willy Happy

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You'd have better results if you stayed with ONE thread.
by VAPCMD Feb 10, 2010 12:42AM PST

This is the third thread I've seen on essentially the same issue. If you really want to fix the problem, start trying the recommendations offered and reporting back. When you start new threads, you lose the knowledge and background of what has been tried, tested and suggested before.

Otherwise, your problems are not going away or getting better.

VAPCMD

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So is this that machine you had the stick in wrong and power
by r. proffitt Forum moderator Feb 10, 2010 4:26AM PST
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Yep... and this one too
by VAPCMD Feb 10, 2010 8:34AM PST
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Problem Fixed
by gert21445 Feb 10, 2010 5:50AM PST

Sorry for me leaving my threads hanging. Finally, after spending an hour with an HP technician, it was concluded that if this staticky screen did not cause any problems, I could just ignore the problem. Is this a good choice?

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HP tech is correct in that the static
by Steven Haninger Feb 10, 2010 6:05AM PST

isn't causing problems but that does not mean that the static doesn't have an underlying cause that might result in worse to come. Your decision becomes whether to investigate it further and fix it or just ignore it. Be assured that one never runs out of things to worry about. Hopefully no immediate threat but keep things backed up.

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Did you ever 'test the RAM' with something like
by VAPCMD Feb 10, 2010 8:42AM PST
Back to Desktops forum

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