Major problems since RAM upgrade

I recently purchased a 2GB set of dual channel 800MHz RAM, and the first thing I did was adjust the memory timings and voltage in the BIOS to what was recommended (4-4-4-12, 2.1v).

Immediately I started getting problems with my software, Windows loaded with the old grey taskbar and loads of error messages. I restarted and got a message pre-Windows that my install was corrupt and I needed to do a repair install, which I did.

Windows is now fine, but I have lots of other problems. Firefox is the worst culprit, shutting down at random intervals, usually when opening a new tab or clicking a link. But it seems every program is capable of fouling up, oftentimes Skype or WLM will crash on StartUp. I've tried reinstalling all these programs but the problem persists.

It seems reducing the voltage on the memory to 2.0v helped reduce the frequency of these crashes (not sure why it would), but that may have been a coincidence.

The worst problem still persists though: at random points, when opening a new program or even something as innocuous as accessing my external HD, the computer will reboot, no error message or BSOD, just straight to a black screen and then the boot sequence.

So I check my PC Wizard for possible overheating, but nothing is going over 50 degrees, so I doubt that is the problem.

I run an Orthos test to make sure this really is a hardware issue and I get this message about 30 seconds into the test

So it is a hardware issue, and I've heard rounding errors usually constitute problems with the RAM latency timings, so I dive back into the BIOS and set everything to automatic.

Loading Windows, I hit exactly the same issue as when I lowered the latency; a barrage of error messages and the old grey taskbar, which only a restart seems to fix. This time I didn't get a corrupt installation message, but the errors were back in full force.

Now I'm thinking these RAM sticks are faulty since the problem always seems to worsen when I do something to them, so I run memtest, but they pass with no errors.

So now I'm stuck. I'm inclined to do a full Windows reinstall, despite the hassle, just to see what happens, but since the problems began with a hardware change and Orthos tells me its a hardware issue, I'm not sure what that would solve.

I installed SP3 but the problems seem to be persisting.

I guess it could be a conflicting hardware issue? I'll try updating my mobo drivers if there are any updates available, and I'm fairly sure my BIOS isn't flashed to the latest iteration, so that may be the next step on my list, though I'm worried that my random reboot will occur in the middle of the flash.

Here's my system:

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System Information
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Operating System: Windows XP Professional (5.1, Build 2600) Service Pack 3 (2600.xpsp.080413-2111)
Motherboard: MSI MS-7369 (K9N Neo V3, nForce 560 Chipset)
Processor: AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 3800+, MMX, 3DNow (2 CPUs), ~2.0GHz
Memory: GeIL 2GB (2x1GB) PC2-6400C4 800MHz Ultra Low Latency DDR2 Dual Channel Kit
Video Card: HIS Radeon X1950 Pro IceQ3 Turbo
Sound Card: Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio
Power Supply: Tagan TG480-U01 480W

If you need any more info, just ask. Thanks in advance for any help, it's greatly appreciated.

 

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that I had a Vundo Trojan while all this was happening, and initially I thought that was the problem, but since ridding myself of it nothing much has changed.

 

Are you sure you rid of Vundo as it is probably the worst kind of malware? It will copy itself to a new process with the name of an existing one plus a space. Did you use safe mode to rid it? The only way, unfornately. With all of these:

FixVundo.exe
VirtumundoBeGone.exe
VundoFix.exe
--

Now that's out of the way. Do you have your old memory? If so, put them back, make sure everything works perfect, and flash bios. Some bios updates improve memory stability.

Regardless of bios versions, you should lossen the timings by setting them to 5-5-5-15@2T. The last bit is command rate. 2.1v to start with. If no luck, 2.2v. If the ram is good, it can take up to 2.5v. I used 2.2v on my Ballistix when I was overclocking it on AM2. Right now it's at 2.1v.

IMO, you shouldn't touch Windows until you're 100% the pc is stable. Cuz if you do & your pc is unstable, you can corrupt Windows. There are tools for this under DOS. Google Ultimate Boot CD. Burn it on cd/dvd. Boot it up. Do each for 8 hours:

CPU Tests > Mersenne Prime Test
Memory Tests > Memtest86+ 1.70

Then boot up Windows, in Orthos, do small fft's. If it passes, your cpu is ok. Next do large. If it passes, your memory is stable. Finally, do blend again. Each test should last 8-12 hours for max stability. Disable all other tasks while stress-testing. Including updates.

 

Are you sure you rid of Vundo as it is probably the worst kind of malware? It will copy itself to a new process with the name of an existing one plus a space. Did you use safe mode to rid it? The only way, unfornately. With all of these:

FixVundo.exe
VirtumundoBeGone.exe
VundoFix.exe
--

Now that's out of the way. Do you have your old memory? If so, put them back, make sure everything works perfect, and flash bios. Some bios updates improve memory stability.

Regardless of bios versions, you should lossen the timings by setting them to 5-5-5-15@2T. The last bit is command rate. 2.1v to start with. If no luck, 2.2v. If the ram is good, it can take up to 2.5v. I used 2.2v on my Ballistix when I was overclocking it on AM2. Right now it's at 2.1v.

IMO, you shouldn't touch Windows until you're 100% the pc is stable. Cuz if you do & your pc is unstable, you can corrupt Windows. There are tools for this under DOS. Google Ultimate Boot CD. Burn it on cd/dvd. Boot it up. Do each for 8 hours:

CPU Tests > Mersenne Prime Test
Memory Tests > Memtest86+ 1.70

Then boot up Windows, in Orthos, do small fft's. If it passes, your cpu is ok. Next do large. If it passes, your memory is stable. Finally, do blend again. Each test should last 8-12 hours for max stability. Disable all other tasks while stress-testing. Including updates.

 

How did you get rid of the Vundo infection? If you suspect it might have left traces, go through the read-and-run-me thread in the Malware Forum and post your logs. They are a but backed up right now, but they are very good at what they do. If there's anything left of Vundo, they'll help you get rid of it.

 

Have to agree with above comments let's make sure you have a fully cleaned system, so we can fully rule out the nasties:

http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=35407

Did you consult the "stress.txt file" from Orhtos?

You could also try this MemTest form within Windows and see if that highlights anything:

http://hcidesign.com/memtest/

Probably have to run 2-3 instants of it at a time to get all RAM, check your Page File Usage (Task Manager) as you run the app and make sure it using most/all system memory.

 

A trained advisor on the Attribune forums went through with me step by step on getting rid of Vundo, and I'm convinced it's gone, so you can rule that out.

I've already ran memtest several times and always the RAM passes with no errors (I did say that in my first post.)

I've flashed the BIOS and there was a significant improvement for a while, but then I had a major crash and couldn't get back into Windows (got as far as the Welcome screen and then went down.)

I've done a repair install and I'm currently backing up my data, then I'm reinstalling Windows.

 

Well, passing memtest is only the 1st step. Do orthos x2 as mentioned. You should do different methods to isolate the other part. Blend means both cpu & ram testing. If it errors out, it's not easy to pinpoint which is at faulty. After orthos, there are some other tests as well.

 

Ouch I hope you didnt lose data I have the best Repair XP without Data Loss technique (have done it 3-4 times for friends). Anyway once your back up I think we may try and loosen your timings right up....up your DIMM Voltage slightly and do some torture test. Lets hope it is just poor timings.

 

After my reinstall things seemed OK.

I ran the orthos CPU stress and it was fine, but the RAM stress errored out after 36 minutes.

I'm gonna try and up the voltage to 2.2v and try again, if there's still problems I'll just loosen the timings (I'm doing it in that order because I've heard you can get some success with that extra .1v, and since these RAM modules are meant to run at 4-4-4-12 I'd like to get them stable.)

 

Interesting, after upping the voltage and loading Windows explorer and DrWatson both crashed.

It seems to be stable now though, so I'll try the orthos test.

Man this is such a headache, on top of this I need to sort out my graphics card which crashes after 3 seconds of the ATITool cube rendering.

 

Did you try and loosen the timings on the RAM"

 

Well I would consider say 5-4-4-15 for the moment on timings and see if that helps improve stability. I would loosen timings then try before up Volts....increases in volts=increase in temps so keep an eye on your temps via EVEREST or even better " SiSoft Sandra 2005" which can give you a scrolling temp report so you can observe over time when stress testing:

http://downloads.guru3d.com/Sandra-XL-download-177.html

With the Video Card I hope you have your settings in BIOS as:

PCI Express Frequency: 100MHz

PCI Clock Synchronization: 33.3MHz

If these settings are on auto or tied to CPU they can mess with HDD, cause Video Cards to go to high (without any performance benefit) and cause system instability:

http://forums.overclockersclub.com/index.php?showtopic=71656

 

I loosened the timings to 5-5-5-18 and kept the voltage at 2.2v, and Catalyst still crashed upon start up (at the minute it appears to be the worst offender along with Firefox.)

I managed to run the RAM stress test for almost 4 hours without an error with the timings at 4-4-4-12, 2.2v, but then opening Firefox causing my whole computer to restart.

I am really at a loss.

 

I think the ram may be faulty. If you can rma it, do it.

 

Lets dump your last Driver and go with 8.3 (rock in my world)!

Lets use Drive Cleaner Pro to remove any and all uglies!

It dont seem to be RAM "directly"

Go to MOBO website grab latest BIOS.......but hang!

Lets scrub that f...ing reg first and try an old driver (8.3) rock!!

If and only if Vid aint directly involved we take next step.....Im brave! you are the only one who can lose! Then and only thne we look at BIOS

 

I'm fairly sure the VGA problems are caused by the insufficient amps on the 12V rail on my power supply (only supplies 28A and the x1950 needs 30A) but I'm not sorting that until this more serious error is corrected.

Akhilles: surely if the RAM was faulty I'd be getting errors on memtest?

Eagle: I've already updated to the latest BIOS version available and there's no point scrubbing the registry since I've done a complete reinstall of Windows.

I'm wondering if it's worth trying the RAM in the other two DIMM slots.

 

If you are having problems with your computer after installing ram check if that ram is compatible with your motherboard, if it is plugged in tight on both sides and if it is compatible with whatever graphics cards or other ram you may have installed

 

I seemed to have fixed both my problems.

I put my old RAM back in to test if the crashes went away, and they did, which pretty much confirmed it was the new RAM causing the crashes.

But then I put my new RAM back in on a hunch about power consumption, and for some reason everything seems to be fine.

I've also underclocked my GPU by 7 MHz and I'm no longer getting VPU recover messages, so I think that confirms there's a lack of power there (since overheating is out of the question.)