Memory Upgrade 4 slots

I'm trying to upgrade my computer to 4x1GB DDR memory, I had 2x1GB and that was working fine. Worked for a while putting all of them in but then the OS f up. Think it's not the memory at this point. Then I formatted the hd and I had to take the new memory out so the computer would start. I've tried to change something in the bios not to much and I flashed the bios and nothing works.

Mainboard: MSI K9N SLI Platinum Model MS-7250
BIOS: V1.11
CPU: AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 6000+
Memory: Corsair DDR2 800mhz 2x1GB paired (own two exactly the same)
Videocard: NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT
OS: Windows Vista Ultimate 32 bit

Can anyone help me ? :confused

 

Are you saying NOTHING works? you get no screen, no beeps, nothing. Is this right after a successful flash of the bios?

 

No I flashed to try to fix this. Windows doesn't start. When there suppose to be Microsoft Corporation and a green bar there's just a blank screen. The DDR is ok all four of them but not when I put them all four in. :confused

 

Your board should handle upto 4GB with no problem Windows 32bit will only see 3GB.

 

Hi Oak,

Im not positive about this, but will a 32bit file system o/s support 4gb?

I heard of some users having trouble with xp recognising 4 gb even though its supposed to as a max.

Hopefuly you backed up your original bios first?
Hope you havent altered the ram latency / timing setting.
Also check your fsb isnt (1033 was it) i heard people had issues with this, but nothing definite relating to ram.

To get your pc going, this sounds a bit amature but and they certainly dont teach you this in tech class, try this, this has worked for me in the past on different units that wouldnt start.
You can unplug the power wait 10 or 20 seconds and press the power button on and off, about 10 times or so, or alternatively remove the usualy silver round cmos battery over-night incase the cmos battery has issues or is corrupted.
Handle this with care and keep it in a antistatic bag if possible and hold it on the sides when removing / installing.

On another note more and more mother boards have dual bios's im not sure how you flash one bios and keep the unit running to flash the other bios..

Also you could have a bad stick or shorted it, there could be a hair or something in the ram slot itself, check all the gold pins in the ram banks, ensure they arent pushed in, they should be in a straight line with none out of place, if one is jammed back into the slot this can cause issues.

Possible or accidentally bump of a pci card slightly out of the socket, press them all down to make sure the connection with the pci bus/slot is secure as this also cause a system to hang. Try this first perhaps as it will be the quickest option after powering the unit off and doing the power switch thing.

You may have staggered dual channel ram slots, if ddr dual channel is an option bank 1-3 is one dual channel and banks 2 and 4 the second, check your manual, as each mobo has different variations and try the old ram in one ddr bank (two ram sticks/slots) and the new in another.
The ram may be same brand and spec, but i have heard that to make sure dual channel ram is gauranteed 100% match you had to buy it from the same batch. Yes even if it is the same brand this maynot be important with cheap ram but the more expensive stuff maybe more prone to subtle variations...although in saying this i havent experienced this first hand, so am a bit loath to say its a definite option.

Thats my two cents, hope something in here or someone can help you out.

 

Thx for the reply

The computer is fine and I'm using it right now and I've tried to switch DDR and slots and every thing works, but when I put them all together then it wont start. They are bought from the same place and exactly the same type. I tried changing the 1T and 2T thing. Would upgrading to a 64 bit OS help or is it a BIOS thing ?

:confused

 

Does everything work up until that point? Do you get POST messages, motherboard logo, et cetera? If yes, try booting to setup (to verify all four are recognized), then try booting to safe mode.

If you ca get into safe mode, reinstall your graphics drivers from there then reboot to normal mode and see if things work now.

 

I put all four in and changed to 2T and enabled same clock for all dimm and now windows starts. I thought I've tried this before, but now I get blue screen after few minutes. :cry

 

Okay, now we're getting somewhere. Going from nothing to windows starting is progress.

So you set all of them to run at 800MHz and set command rate to 2T? What timings do you have set?

 

Most of the settings are on auto.

 

Next question then, what is the voltage set to? Several of Corsair's gaming modules are rated and built for a higher voltage than the 1.8V industry standard. That means they may not run stable on 1.8V, in some cases may not even boot. Running at too low voltage can also damage the memory, so you want to make sure you run it at the correct number. You can find the voltage rating by searching for your Corsair part number on their website. They provide pdf spec sheets for all their modules, and the voltage they tested the parts on is on that sheet.

 

It's suppose to be ok on 2.10V

 

That pictures looks like you have it set to 2.0V. Take it up to 2.1V (yes that small difference makes a difference). If you want to use all four slots you sometimes need to increase the voltage a little bit. If 2.1V doesn't work, try 2.2V. Don't go higher than that though. We're trying to trouble-shoot the modules, not fry them

 

Thx I will try this.

On another subject, Dynamic Overclocking. How high can I go in % with everything orginal (including CPU fan) ?

 

I don't do a lot of over-clocking, especially not recently, so I'm not the best person to answer that question. I will say though, that back when I used to do it, I would never have tried to over-clock a CPU using only the cooler and fan that came with it. I would upgrade that first, then over-clock.

 

Windows didn't start on 2.10V or 2.20V :confused

 

Okay. Back to basics. Test the sticks individually. Then test each individual slot with a know good stick.

If all four of the memory sticks work, and if all four of the slots work, but they refuse to work when you put in all four together, the blame probably lies with your motherboard.

 

Do paired stick work individually ?

 

Every stick works and slot but can't get 3 or 4 sticks to work

 

Yes. Individual sticks not working is a limitation of the motherboard, not of the memory sticks.

Unfortunately, if three or four refuse to work, it's most likely your motherboard causing it. Sometimes that just happens. Oddly enough, just switching to a different brand can sometimes solve the problem. Sometimes.

 

So there's nothing I can do with this hardware ?

 

That depends on what you mean with "hardware". You could try getting an RMA for two or all of the modules and see if that solves anything. Alternatively, try getting one for the motherboard, if it's still under warranty.

 

If there's anything I can do I would really appreciate it

 

Well, you do have Corsair memory, which is lucky for you. They have very good support for their products (including a tech support forum of their own--out of courtesy to MG's owners I will not link to it here), and they stand by their parts and they honor their warranty. Contact them about a memory exchange, they'll set you up.

 

I stopped trying this. But know I'm using Ubuntu 9.04 amd64 and it is great so I tried putting all 4 rams in and it works like a charm. I all so have Windows 7 x64 on the same computer but I get blue screen when I load to many programs.

Any thoughts ?

 

Win7 is in Beta. Expect issues

No, seriously... I wouldn't say it's because it's in Beta, but if another OS runs stable on the modules, there is nothing wrong with either them or the motherboard. The problem, sadly, is caused by software, in your case, Windwos 7.

 

DW lol ... alot of posts have been made between the time i last read the thread and I posted ...

My suggestion has already been tried ;P

 

I bought me some new Geil 2x2GB DDR2 800Mhz CL5 and I have Win7 RTM x64 to try this but windows doesn't load but sometimes it does and the I get blue screen. The motherboard supports 8GB but windows doesn't work. Linux still works.
Can there be something wrong with the motherboard or is it bios or what ?

Can any one please help me ?

Thanks.

 

it should say then I get blue screen