Asus Maximus Forumla X38 USB FINAL problem

[Acksaw]

Hey guys, turned my monitor on this morning and my PC was displaying 6:36 as the time, thought this was dodgy as it was 8:30. Couldn't move the mouse or anything, reset it and it gets stuck on DET DRAM, had this once before but seemed a one off, took out 1 RAM stick and it booted fine then put the stick back in and I was all good and working. This time however, if I take a stick out, regardless of what stick, I get USB FINAL on the CMOS Poster that comes supplied with the motherboard.

Removed all USB connections, including the headers on the motherboard and I get the same problem, unplugged everything and same problem. With all 4 sticks of RAM inside my PC it gets to DET DRAM which is before USB Final and it will stick there with my 8800GT fan spinning at full tilt.

As far as I can tell it appears to be the motherboard has gone bump, if anyone can shed some light or offer a solution or something to try that might get it working it would be appreciated if you could post.

PC Specs:
OS: XP 64bit
CPU: Q6600
RAM: 4x1gb Crucial Ballistix 1066
GPU: 8800GT

EDIT: Doesn't seem to be RAM, wish it was as thats easier to replace but alas, I just put a stick of 256mb DDR2 in and got stuck at the DET DRAM thing.

[this_is_gav]

Tried a CMOS reset just to rule BIOS settings out?

Does sound like a faulty board though.

How about using only 1 stick of the Ballistix (rather than removing 1) and in different slots - if that doesn't work, 1 of the other sticks? I wouldn't worry too much about the 256mb stick not working if it stops at another point in the boot process.

[Acksaw]

Looks like I may have a faulty stick of RAM so far.. Put 1 stick in every slot, went to the next, first slot, booted, lets see if the rest go in.

EDIT: Every stick works in the slot closest to the front, every stick works in the next slot to that, and the next slot to that, i can boot the PC with 3 sticks in the first 3 but as soon as i put a stick in the last slot, doesnt boot, no matter what stick is in..

[hermeticist]

Faulty slot? Check for bent/missing pins or as you`re using 4 sticks check RAM/northbridge voltage is high enough for all sticks - are you overclocking?

[Acksaw]

Ok, PC will not run longer than say 10 minutes before crashing, everything USB powered gets turned off, no power getting to them from the motherboard so definatly some sort of motherboard issue, still cannot use 4 sticks of ram, it was OC'd, the RAM was actually underclocked but running at the specified speed, stuck it on 1066 after overclocking my CPU to 3ghz so thats all good, 2.2v as specified by the manufacturer, RAM seems to work fine, going to have to talk to Scan about RMAing this motherboard.

[hermeticist]

Running 4 sticks of RAM, may require an increase in the Northbridge volts as this houses the memory controller. Whether it is this causing the crashes...... Does it run fine with the 2/3 sticks or do you continue to get the USB problems?

[Acksaw]

It's working fine with 2 sticks and has worked fine with 4 sticks for 3 months

[hermeticist]

Might be worth upping the Northbridge volts slightly, to check for stability before going to the hassle of RMAing. Can you confirm what you mean, when you say: "RAM was actually underclocked but running at the specified speed"?

[Acksaw]

What I mean is after overclocking the processor I set the RAM to run at 1066, it was running at an underclocked speed basically, as if I left it on stock, the motherboard would of pushed it to a faster speed, I underclocked it which then, after overclocking the processor, clocked it to the 1066MHz speed.

[hermeticist]

I presume that it`s been running fine with the overclock for some time, you don`t feel there is any connection? I can`t see why you should have any dirt/damage in the last slot, but have you checked? Have you made any recent changes to BIOS or software that may account for the problems?

[Acksaw]

I presume that it`s been running fine with the overclock for some time, you don`t feel there is any connection? I can`t see why you should have any dirt/damage in the last slot, but have you checked? Have you made any recent changes to BIOS or software that may account for the problems?

Been overclocked since I bought it in December, running 100% fine, on for up to a week most of the time, I have fan filters but dirt/damage of course is a possibility. No recent BIOS changes or software changes, reset my CMOS as well and still nothing. I've never changed voltages before so I am a bit wary upping the northbridge voltage but if its easy I am sure I can do it Anything to get my PC back to 4GB RAM!

[hermeticist]

Just try increasing the volts slightly, you can find out what increase others recommend by doing a quick Google - Don`t overdo it though with the X38s passive cooling! To be honest though, if you`ve tried a single stick in slot 4 only & it`s not working, it looks like that may be your problem. If you`ve had the memory in all slots, dirt etc. shouldn`t really have entered.

[arthurleung]

Sound like a problem with the power supply, failed 5V standby (USB) rail could cause motherboard not to boot up.

[hermeticist]

Good point, hadn`t thought of that!

[Acksaw]

Sound like a problem with the power supply, failed 5V standby (USB) rail could cause motherboard not to boot up.

Which would make sense if the PC didn't work at all, it does, just not with 4 sticks in. It has also stopped coming up with the USB FINAL and just comes up with the previously mentioned DET DRAM with 4 sticks in, crashes with 3 still.

[hermeticist]

Still think that if you`ve put just one stick of memory in the `board @ slot 4 & it`s not working, then you do have a problem with the actual `board. Have you tried updating the BIOS? If you are using an early one there may have been a problem that has now been cured. Then again if it`s also crashing with a three stick configuration (presumably that is not using slot 4), then we possibly come back to a voltage problem.

Have you tried upping the volts to the Northbridge?

What PSU are you using?

Perhaps you should also run Memtest on your sticks to take them out of the equation.

I think there is/was a known problem with DET DRAM running 4GB on Maximus `boards. Also a possible conflict with Ballistix and Asus..........

....."make sure that you DISABLE " Transaction Booster" option in the BIOS, the crucial memories do NOT like it at all."