Problem with 1GB DDR Memory

Hi there,

I'm having a problem with my computer at the moment - when I built it, I put
in 1GB of Corsair PC3200 DDR memory. However, I have recently been having
problems with totally random lockups.

Anyway, what I have found out, is that with the full 1GB of ram installed, I
get these lockups, however if I pull out one of the 512mb sticks, leaving
512mb remaining, the problems disappear. Neither of the sticks seem to be
faulty, as I can have either of them installed without problem, its only
when they are both installed I get lockups.

My system is as follows:

AMD Barton 2800+
MSI K7N2 Delta nForce 2 Motherboard
1024mb Corsair PC3200 DDR
ATI Radeon 9800 Pro 128mb
Windows XP Pro

I've fresh installed Windows so thats not the problem.

Anyone have any ideas? Perhaps a BIOS setting? Or maybe just a dodgy
motherboard?

Thanks,

-
Adrian

"Adrian" wrote in message ...
Hi there,

I'm having a problem with my computer at the moment - when I built it, I
put
in 1GB of Corsair PC3200 DDR memory. However, I have recently been having
problems with totally random lockups.

Anyway, what I have found out, is that with the full 1GB of ram installed,
I
get these lockups, however if I pull out one of the 512mb sticks, leaving
512mb remaining, the problems disappear. Neither of the sticks seem to be
faulty, as I can have either of them installed without problem, its only
when they are both installed I get lockups.

My system is as follows:

AMD Barton 2800+
MSI K7N2 Delta nForce 2 Motherboard
1024mb Corsair PC3200 DDR
ATI Radeon 9800 Pro 128mb
Windows XP Pro

I've fresh installed Windows so thats not the problem.

Anyone have any ideas? Perhaps a BIOS setting? Or maybe just a dodgy
motherboard?

Thanks,

-
Adrian

Actually, one of the modules could very well be faulty - just because they
work separately, doesn't mean they'll play nicely together. It's like kids -
siblings can play nicely on their own but, put them together and they're
trying to decapitate each other within seconds!

On Sun, 1 Feb 2004 15:36:19 -0000, "Adrian" wrote:

Hi there,

I'm having a problem with my computer at the moment - when I built it, I put
in 1GB of Corsair PC3200 DDR memory. However, I have recently been having
problems with totally random lockups.

Anyway, what I have found out, is that with the full 1GB of ram installed, I
get these lockups, however if I pull out one of the 512mb sticks, leaving
512mb remaining, the problems disappear. Neither of the sticks seem to be
faulty, as I can have either of them installed without problem, its only
when they are both installed I get lockups.

My system is as follows:

AMD Barton 2800+
MSI K7N2 Delta nForce 2 Motherboard
1024mb Corsair PC3200 DDR
ATI Radeon 9800 Pro 128mb
Windows XP Pro

I've fresh installed Windows so thats not the problem.

Anyone have any ideas? Perhaps a BIOS setting? Or maybe just a dodgy
motherboard?

Thanks,

-
Adrian



Since it had 1GB of memory from the very start, even the base OS files
are potentially corrupt. For piece of mind I suggest reinstalling
EVERYTHING after you've resolved this.

Test the memory with http://www.memtest86.com , for several hours or
longer after any changes, before using the system.

You might be able to gain stability by relaxing the memory timings in
the BIOS, choosing larger numbers.

There might be many fellow users of that board at a web forum like the
following, users able to help or at least report what works for them.
It could be the memory, or motherboard (more likely), or both, in
combination with it being an nForce2 chipset.

http://forums.amdmb.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=12

Hi there,

Yes ive reinstalled windows many times, however the problem remains.

As for Memtest86, I have also tried this, and everything seemed to check out
fine, even with both sticks installed at the same time, which is kinda
confusing.

Regards,

-
Adrian


"kony" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 1 Feb 2004 15:36:19 -0000, "Adrian" wrote:

Hi there,

I'm having a problem with my computer at the moment - when I built it, I
put
in 1GB of Corsair PC3200 DDR memory. However, I have recently been
having
problems with totally random lockups.

Anyway, what I have found out, is that with the full 1GB of ram
installed, I
get these lockups, however if I pull out one of the 512mb sticks, leaving
512mb remaining, the problems disappear. Neither of the sticks seem to
be
faulty, as I can have either of them installed without problem, its only
when they are both installed I get lockups.

My system is as follows:

AMD Barton 2800+
MSI K7N2 Delta nForce 2 Motherboard
1024mb Corsair PC3200 DDR
ATI Radeon 9800 Pro 128mb
Windows XP Pro

I've fresh installed Windows so thats not the problem.

Anyone have any ideas? Perhaps a BIOS setting? Or maybe just a dodgy
motherboard?

Thanks,

-
Adrian



Since it had 1GB of memory from the very start, even the base OS files
are potentially corrupt. For piece of mind I suggest reinstalling
EVERYTHING after you've resolved this.

Test the memory with http://www.memtest86.com , for several hours or
longer after any changes, before using the system.

You might be able to gain stability by relaxing the memory timings in
the BIOS, choosing larger numbers.

There might be many fellow users of that board at a web forum like the
following, users able to help or at least report what works for them.
It could be the memory, or motherboard (more likely), or both, in
combination with it being an nForce2 chipset.

http://forums.amdmb.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=12

On Sun, 1 Feb 2004 16:24:25 -0000, "Adrian" wrote:

Hi there,

Yes ive reinstalled windows many times, however the problem remains.

OK, but what I mean is, until you get the memory problem resolved, you
cannot trust the files... you need an error-free memory subsystem in
order to be sure windows itself is intact. You might get the memory
problem resolved, but still have errors every now and then if any of
the files are corrupt.

As for Memtest86, I have also tried this, and everything seemed to check out
fine, even with both sticks installed at the same time, which is kinda
confusing.

Everyone has their own idea of what a stable system is... myself, I
test memory (similarly to other parts) with the memory bus clocked at
least 5% higher than it'll be running, to help ensure a larger margin
of stability. If a system, based on CPU, is spec'd to run at 166MHz
memory bus, I insist that it test stable at 175MHz memory bus. I have
seen instances where systems just barely tested stable for over a day
with memtest86, but booting to, running windows, errors would result.
Overclocking the bus (by that 5%) showed the errors in memtest86.

Ya i see what your on about. I've downloaded the latest bios, so I am going
to try that later, and im going to try fiddling with the memory timings as
well see if that makes any difference.

Cheers,
-
Adrian


"kony" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 1 Feb 2004 16:24:25 -0000, "Adrian" wrote:

Hi there,

Yes ive reinstalled windows many times, however the problem remains.

OK, but what I mean is, until you get the memory problem resolved, you
cannot trust the files... you need an error-free memory subsystem in
order to be sure windows itself is intact. You might get the memory
problem resolved, but still have errors every now and then if any of
the files are corrupt.

As for Memtest86, I have also tried this, and everything seemed to check
out
fine, even with both sticks installed at the same time, which is kinda
confusing.

Everyone has their own idea of what a stable system is... myself, I
test memory (similarly to other parts) with the memory bus clocked at
least 5% higher than it'll be running, to help ensure a larger margin
of stability. If a system, based on CPU, is spec'd to run at 166MHz
memory bus, I insist that it test stable at 175MHz memory bus. I have
seen instances where systems just barely tested stable for over a day
with memtest86, but booting to, running windows, errors would result.
Overclocking the bus (by that 5%) showed the errors in memtest86.

*** top-posting repaired ***

Adrian wrote:
"kony" wrote in message
"Adrian" wrote:

I'm having a problem with my computer at the moment - when I
built it, I put in 1GB of Corsair PC3200 DDR memory. However,
I have recently been having problems with totally random lockups.

Anyway, what I have found out, is that with the full 1GB of ram
installed, I get these lockups, however if I pull out one of the
512mb sticks, leaving 512mb remaining, the problems disappear.
Neither of the sticks seem to be faulty, as I can have either of
them installed without problem, its only when they are both
installed I get lockups.

.... snip ...

Anyone have any ideas? Perhaps a BIOS setting? Or maybe just
a dodgy motherboard?

Since it had 1GB of memory from the very start, even the base OS
files are potentially corrupt. For piece of mind I suggest
reinstalling EVERYTHING after you've resolved this.

To the OP: Not just the OS, everything!


Test the memory with http://www.memtest86.com , for several
hours or longer after any changes, before using the system.

You might be able to gain stability by relaxing the memory
timings in the BIOS, choosing larger numbers.

A possible mechanism is: The output lines of the second chip have
capacitance. That is an additional load on the other chip, and
the signals no longer rise fast enough. The cure is to give them
more time.


There might be many fellow users of that board at a web forum like
the following, users able to help or at least report what works
for them. It could be the memory, or motherboard (more likely),
or both, in combination with it being an nForce2 chipset.

http://forums.amdmb.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=12

Yes ive reinstalled windows many times, however the problem remains.

See above. EVERYTHING. After you get it under control.


As for Memtest86, I have also tried this, and everything seemed to
check out fine, even with both sticks installed at the same time,
which is kinda confusing.

That just means it didn't detect a problem, not that there isn't
one. The proper cure for this sort of thing is a system with ECC
memory, and ECC capable chipset. The few dollars spent on this
will pay back many times over in peace of mind and reliability.

Please don't toppost. Your answer goes after, or intermixed with,
the material to which you reply, with things that are not germane
snipped out.

--
Chuck F ) )
Available for consulting/temporary embedded and systems.
http://cbfalconer.home.att.net USE worldnet address!

"Adrian" wrote in message ...
Hi there,

I'm having a problem with my computer at the moment - when I built it, I
put
in 1GB of Corsair PC3200 DDR memory. However, I have recently been having
problems with totally random lockups.

Anyway, what I have found out, is that with the full 1GB of ram installed,
I
get these lockups, however if I pull out one of the 512mb sticks, leaving
512mb remaining, the problems disappear. Neither of the sticks seem to be
faulty, as I can have either of them installed without problem, its only
when they are both installed I get lockups.

My system is as follows:

AMD Barton 2800+
MSI K7N2 Delta nForce 2 Motherboard
1024mb Corsair PC3200 DDR
ATI Radeon 9800 Pro 128mb
Windows XP Pro

I've fresh installed Windows so thats not the problem.

Anyone have any ideas? Perhaps a BIOS setting? Or maybe just a dodgy
motherboard?

Thanks,

-
Adrian

I had exactly the same case, wiyh the same memory chips but an Asus P4P800.
I suffered 4 months with this problem and tried about everything.
Underclocking fsb and memory settings, exchange memory, reinstalling
everything, changing VGA card and even the motherboard. Still the same.
Until I started to think that if the system shuts down, a PSU problem cold
be the reason. I replaced the PSU with a new Enermax 450 W, and duddenly all
my problems were gone !
Then I examined th old PSU, which was a brand unit of 400 Watt. I noticed
that the main fan had a speed of only 500 rpm instead of 2000, which caused
short overheating peaks at high power demands, and resulted in shut downs. I
replaced the fan and just for the fun reinstalled the PSU in my PC. No more
problems...
Of course, there could be other reasons in your specific case, but I want to
tell you this story because PSU is the last thing you think of, especially
when everything seem to run fine, until you get some power demand peaks.

"CBFalconer" wrote in message
...

Please don't toppost. Your answer goes after, or intermixed with,
the material to which you reply, with things that are not germane
snipped out.


Thank you for enlightening me in the ways of the newsgroup, I must have been
sleeping when they taught me that at university, perhaps I should consult my
solicitor before I post again.

"ElJerid" wrote in message
...

I had exactly the same case, wiyh the same memory chips but an Asus
P4P800.
I suffered 4 months with this problem and tried about everything.
Underclocking fsb and memory settings, exchange memory, reinstalling
everything, changing VGA card and even the motherboard. Still the same.
Until I started to think that if the system shuts down, a PSU problem cold
be the reason. I replaced the PSU with a new Enermax 450 W, and duddenly
all
my problems were gone !
Then I examined th old PSU, which was a brand unit of 400 Watt. I noticed
that the main fan had a speed of only 500 rpm instead of 2000, which
caused
short overheating peaks at high power demands, and resulted in shut downs.
I
replaced the fan and just for the fun reinstalled the PSU in my PC. No
more
problems...
Of course, there could be other reasons in your specific case, but I want
to
tell you this story because PSU is the last thing you think of, especially
when everything seem to run fine, until you get some power demand peaks.


Funny that you mention that, I did actually buy a new Antec 550w PSU as
thats what I initially thought the problem was, however as you can probably
guess it didnt fix the problem :-\

-
Adrian