My BIOS hangs at “Testing Memory”, what could cause this?
Just last night, when I went to boot my computer, it's started hanging at the BIOS screen.
It beeps once, loads the main page, then hangs at the "Testing Memory" line... it doesn't display the device's and doesn't go anywhere.
I haven't made any hardware changes for months and it hasn't been acting strangly until then. It shut down perfectly normally the time before.
It's a Gigabyte GA-965p-DS3 motherboard.
My initial suspicion is something to do with the CMOS battery. Is my thinking correct?
memory bios freeze
add a comment |
Just last night, when I went to boot my computer, it's started hanging at the BIOS screen.
It beeps once, loads the main page, then hangs at the "Testing Memory" line... it doesn't display the device's and doesn't go anywhere.
I haven't made any hardware changes for months and it hasn't been acting strangly until then. It shut down perfectly normally the time before.
It's a Gigabyte GA-965p-DS3 motherboard.
My initial suspicion is something to do with the CMOS battery. Is my thinking correct?
memory bios freeze
add a comment |
Just last night, when I went to boot my computer, it's started hanging at the BIOS screen.
It beeps once, loads the main page, then hangs at the "Testing Memory" line... it doesn't display the device's and doesn't go anywhere.
I haven't made any hardware changes for months and it hasn't been acting strangly until then. It shut down perfectly normally the time before.
It's a Gigabyte GA-965p-DS3 motherboard.
My initial suspicion is something to do with the CMOS battery. Is my thinking correct?
memory bios freeze
Just last night, when I went to boot my computer, it's started hanging at the BIOS screen.
It beeps once, loads the main page, then hangs at the "Testing Memory" line... it doesn't display the device's and doesn't go anywhere.
I haven't made any hardware changes for months and it hasn't been acting strangly until then. It shut down perfectly normally the time before.
It's a Gigabyte GA-965p-DS3 motherboard.
My initial suspicion is something to do with the CMOS battery. Is my thinking correct?
memory bios freeze
memory bios freeze
edited Sep 5 '10 at 23:36
Tom Wijsman
50.1k23164244
50.1k23164244
asked Sep 5 '10 at 22:58
Alastair Pitts
2221314
2221314
add a comment |
add a comment |
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
Likely one of these things is happening:
It's far fetched, but maybe something has modified your memory timings (which are stored in CMOS). Utilize any "Clear CMOS" jumpers on your board (or go into BIOS setup if you still can and revert to defaults) and retry.
Something might be conflicting with BIOS RAM detection. Rather unlikely since you say no hardware changes, but maybe a failing expansion card is causing it. Try removing all expansion cards (including video cards) and retry.
Slight chance that the BIOS is scanning the USB bus, and maybe the BIOS doesn't clear the screen (or tell you what is going on) while it is doing it. Remove any USB devices and retry.
The most likely culprit though, is that you actually have bad RAM. Probably only one of your modules is bad. Switch, reboot, repeat until you find the bad module.
I have no idea why, but it was my iPod shuffle. I removed that and it worked perfectly. It's pretty slow getting through the post screen, but seems to be working fine. Thanks for your help.
– Alastair Pitts
Sep 6 '10 at 22:48
add a comment |
Your computer won't die when the CMOS battery is empty, it will just forget its settings; We can exclude this.
Can you somehow bypass this by hitting ESCAPE or ENTER to get past the test?
Can you enter the BIOS? If so, try to reset it to the fail-safe configuration.
The alternative is to boot once without the CMOS battery. ;-)
The important things involved sorted by possibility at that moment are:
The Memory
This is being checked, so it might be the main cause.
In case that you have two of them inserted you could try one and then the other.
The CPU
After months with a dusty fan, it could have had his time...
The power supply
Does it give enough power to the computer?
You didn't install a new video card so you might exclude this.
Everything in between
Although a lot less likely, check for dust in the fans, leaking condensators, etc.
I've got an 750W power supply. I'm running an nVidia 8800GTS, but this should be easily be handled by that power supply.
– Alastair Pitts
Sep 6 '10 at 0:26
add a comment |
Your Answer
StackExchange.ready(function() {
var channelOptions = {
tags: "".split(" "),
id: "3"
};
initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);
StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function() {
// Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled) {
StackExchange.using("snippets", function() {
createEditor();
});
}
else {
createEditor();
}
});
function createEditor() {
StackExchange.prepareEditor({
heartbeatType: 'answer',
autoActivateHeartbeat: false,
convertImagesToLinks: true,
noModals: true,
showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
reputationToPostImages: 10,
bindNavPrevention: true,
postfix: "",
imageUploader: {
brandingHtml: "Powered by u003ca class="icon-imgur-white" href="https://imgur.com/"u003eu003c/au003e",
contentPolicyHtml: "User contributions licensed under u003ca href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"u003ecc by-sa 3.0 with attribution requiredu003c/au003e u003ca href="https://stackoverflow.com/legal/content-policy"u003e(content policy)u003c/au003e",
allowUrls: true
},
onDemand: true,
discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
});
}
});
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function () {
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fsuperuser.com%2fquestions%2f185086%2fmy-bios-hangs-at-testing-memory-what-could-cause-this%23new-answer', 'question_page');
}
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
Likely one of these things is happening:
It's far fetched, but maybe something has modified your memory timings (which are stored in CMOS). Utilize any "Clear CMOS" jumpers on your board (or go into BIOS setup if you still can and revert to defaults) and retry.
Something might be conflicting with BIOS RAM detection. Rather unlikely since you say no hardware changes, but maybe a failing expansion card is causing it. Try removing all expansion cards (including video cards) and retry.
Slight chance that the BIOS is scanning the USB bus, and maybe the BIOS doesn't clear the screen (or tell you what is going on) while it is doing it. Remove any USB devices and retry.
The most likely culprit though, is that you actually have bad RAM. Probably only one of your modules is bad. Switch, reboot, repeat until you find the bad module.
I have no idea why, but it was my iPod shuffle. I removed that and it worked perfectly. It's pretty slow getting through the post screen, but seems to be working fine. Thanks for your help.
– Alastair Pitts
Sep 6 '10 at 22:48
add a comment |
Likely one of these things is happening:
It's far fetched, but maybe something has modified your memory timings (which are stored in CMOS). Utilize any "Clear CMOS" jumpers on your board (or go into BIOS setup if you still can and revert to defaults) and retry.
Something might be conflicting with BIOS RAM detection. Rather unlikely since you say no hardware changes, but maybe a failing expansion card is causing it. Try removing all expansion cards (including video cards) and retry.
Slight chance that the BIOS is scanning the USB bus, and maybe the BIOS doesn't clear the screen (or tell you what is going on) while it is doing it. Remove any USB devices and retry.
The most likely culprit though, is that you actually have bad RAM. Probably only one of your modules is bad. Switch, reboot, repeat until you find the bad module.
I have no idea why, but it was my iPod shuffle. I removed that and it worked perfectly. It's pretty slow getting through the post screen, but seems to be working fine. Thanks for your help.
– Alastair Pitts
Sep 6 '10 at 22:48
add a comment |
Likely one of these things is happening:
It's far fetched, but maybe something has modified your memory timings (which are stored in CMOS). Utilize any "Clear CMOS" jumpers on your board (or go into BIOS setup if you still can and revert to defaults) and retry.
Something might be conflicting with BIOS RAM detection. Rather unlikely since you say no hardware changes, but maybe a failing expansion card is causing it. Try removing all expansion cards (including video cards) and retry.
Slight chance that the BIOS is scanning the USB bus, and maybe the BIOS doesn't clear the screen (or tell you what is going on) while it is doing it. Remove any USB devices and retry.
The most likely culprit though, is that you actually have bad RAM. Probably only one of your modules is bad. Switch, reboot, repeat until you find the bad module.
Likely one of these things is happening:
It's far fetched, but maybe something has modified your memory timings (which are stored in CMOS). Utilize any "Clear CMOS" jumpers on your board (or go into BIOS setup if you still can and revert to defaults) and retry.
Something might be conflicting with BIOS RAM detection. Rather unlikely since you say no hardware changes, but maybe a failing expansion card is causing it. Try removing all expansion cards (including video cards) and retry.
Slight chance that the BIOS is scanning the USB bus, and maybe the BIOS doesn't clear the screen (or tell you what is going on) while it is doing it. Remove any USB devices and retry.
The most likely culprit though, is that you actually have bad RAM. Probably only one of your modules is bad. Switch, reboot, repeat until you find the bad module.
edited Sep 6 '10 at 9:35
Nifle
27.9k2393128
27.9k2393128
answered Sep 5 '10 at 23:48
ultrasawblade
661
661
I have no idea why, but it was my iPod shuffle. I removed that and it worked perfectly. It's pretty slow getting through the post screen, but seems to be working fine. Thanks for your help.
– Alastair Pitts
Sep 6 '10 at 22:48
add a comment |
I have no idea why, but it was my iPod shuffle. I removed that and it worked perfectly. It's pretty slow getting through the post screen, but seems to be working fine. Thanks for your help.
– Alastair Pitts
Sep 6 '10 at 22:48
I have no idea why, but it was my iPod shuffle. I removed that and it worked perfectly. It's pretty slow getting through the post screen, but seems to be working fine. Thanks for your help.
– Alastair Pitts
Sep 6 '10 at 22:48
I have no idea why, but it was my iPod shuffle. I removed that and it worked perfectly. It's pretty slow getting through the post screen, but seems to be working fine. Thanks for your help.
– Alastair Pitts
Sep 6 '10 at 22:48
add a comment |
Your computer won't die when the CMOS battery is empty, it will just forget its settings; We can exclude this.
Can you somehow bypass this by hitting ESCAPE or ENTER to get past the test?
Can you enter the BIOS? If so, try to reset it to the fail-safe configuration.
The alternative is to boot once without the CMOS battery. ;-)
The important things involved sorted by possibility at that moment are:
The Memory
This is being checked, so it might be the main cause.
In case that you have two of them inserted you could try one and then the other.
The CPU
After months with a dusty fan, it could have had his time...
The power supply
Does it give enough power to the computer?
You didn't install a new video card so you might exclude this.
Everything in between
Although a lot less likely, check for dust in the fans, leaking condensators, etc.
I've got an 750W power supply. I'm running an nVidia 8800GTS, but this should be easily be handled by that power supply.
– Alastair Pitts
Sep 6 '10 at 0:26
add a comment |
Your computer won't die when the CMOS battery is empty, it will just forget its settings; We can exclude this.
Can you somehow bypass this by hitting ESCAPE or ENTER to get past the test?
Can you enter the BIOS? If so, try to reset it to the fail-safe configuration.
The alternative is to boot once without the CMOS battery. ;-)
The important things involved sorted by possibility at that moment are:
The Memory
This is being checked, so it might be the main cause.
In case that you have two of them inserted you could try one and then the other.
The CPU
After months with a dusty fan, it could have had his time...
The power supply
Does it give enough power to the computer?
You didn't install a new video card so you might exclude this.
Everything in between
Although a lot less likely, check for dust in the fans, leaking condensators, etc.
I've got an 750W power supply. I'm running an nVidia 8800GTS, but this should be easily be handled by that power supply.
– Alastair Pitts
Sep 6 '10 at 0:26
add a comment |
Your computer won't die when the CMOS battery is empty, it will just forget its settings; We can exclude this.
Can you somehow bypass this by hitting ESCAPE or ENTER to get past the test?
Can you enter the BIOS? If so, try to reset it to the fail-safe configuration.
The alternative is to boot once without the CMOS battery. ;-)
The important things involved sorted by possibility at that moment are:
The Memory
This is being checked, so it might be the main cause.
In case that you have two of them inserted you could try one and then the other.
The CPU
After months with a dusty fan, it could have had his time...
The power supply
Does it give enough power to the computer?
You didn't install a new video card so you might exclude this.
Everything in between
Although a lot less likely, check for dust in the fans, leaking condensators, etc.
Your computer won't die when the CMOS battery is empty, it will just forget its settings; We can exclude this.
Can you somehow bypass this by hitting ESCAPE or ENTER to get past the test?
Can you enter the BIOS? If so, try to reset it to the fail-safe configuration.
The alternative is to boot once without the CMOS battery. ;-)
The important things involved sorted by possibility at that moment are:
The Memory
This is being checked, so it might be the main cause.
In case that you have two of them inserted you could try one and then the other.
The CPU
After months with a dusty fan, it could have had his time...
The power supply
Does it give enough power to the computer?
You didn't install a new video card so you might exclude this.
Everything in between
Although a lot less likely, check for dust in the fans, leaking condensators, etc.
edited Oct 16 '15 at 23:01
Grammargeek
1034
1034
answered Sep 5 '10 at 23:46
Tom Wijsman
50.1k23164244
50.1k23164244
I've got an 750W power supply. I'm running an nVidia 8800GTS, but this should be easily be handled by that power supply.
– Alastair Pitts
Sep 6 '10 at 0:26
add a comment |
I've got an 750W power supply. I'm running an nVidia 8800GTS, but this should be easily be handled by that power supply.
– Alastair Pitts
Sep 6 '10 at 0:26
I've got an 750W power supply. I'm running an nVidia 8800GTS, but this should be easily be handled by that power supply.
– Alastair Pitts
Sep 6 '10 at 0:26
I've got an 750W power supply. I'm running an nVidia 8800GTS, but this should be easily be handled by that power supply.
– Alastair Pitts
Sep 6 '10 at 0:26
add a comment |
Thanks for contributing an answer to Super User!
- Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!
But avoid …
- Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.
- Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.
To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.
Some of your past answers have not been well-received, and you're in danger of being blocked from answering.
Please pay close attention to the following guidance:
- Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!
But avoid …
- Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.
- Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.
To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function () {
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fsuperuser.com%2fquestions%2f185086%2fmy-bios-hangs-at-testing-memory-what-could-cause-this%23new-answer', 'question_page');
}
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown