majorly confused by RAM!

I posted a few days ago about a problem with my pc not booting up after installing a new 512MB stick of RAM.

See post: http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=213284

I resolved the problem of my computer freezing but never got to the bottom of the RAM upgrade...

I was advised that the DDR400 would not work with the DDR333, nor would it work in my system at all. Having been on the Crucial site I am led to beleive that DDR400 will work on my setup although will be limited to 1GB. Anyway, that aside, I have now bought a stick of Crucial RAM DDR333 at 512MB to add to my existing stick of RAM also DDR333 and 512MB. The problem is that this is still not working. I cannot even access the BIOS. Nothing other than the fans powering up is working.

Each of the RAMs work individually and in either DIMM1 or DIMM2

The DDR333 Crucial RAM in DIMM2 with the DDR400 in DIMM1 allows me to get into the BIOS and there I can see that both slots are occupied with 512MB RAM and both at DDR333 (the DDR400 finding the lower rating of the DDR333 and thereby adjusting). This setup though does not continue to a successful bootup of windowsXP.

The Crucial RAM is low density RAM. I'm not sure if the other module is (it has chips on both sides of the stick). The Crucial website does suggest, though, that I can mix different densities and different speeds of modules. It also states that I do not have dual-channel memory configurations.

For your info my spec is:

AMD Athlon XP3000+ at 2100MHz
Asrock K7VT4+ plus MOBO with an AMI BIOS
nVidia GeForce FX5700LE graphics card
Safecom SWLPR-5410 Ralink Turbo Wireless LAN Card
Currently installed in DIMM2 I have 512MB Crucial unbuffered DDR SDRAM (1 rank, 4 banks) PC2700 (166MHz)
I have a 400W PSU

I have also just noticed on my MOBO manual that there is a flexibility option which "will allow better tolerance for memory compatibility when it is set to [Enabled]". I am going to check what this is set to and alter it to "enabled" if it isn't already.

In the mean time if anyone can shed some light onto my situation it would be appreciated.

Thanks :confused

 

I'm a bit confused here, do you have 2 DDR333's or a DDR333 and a DDR400?

 

I now have 2 DDR333's and 1 DDR400 but only 2 DIMM slots to fill. It seems they do not want to work with each other in any combination (other than the Crucial DDR300 and the DDR400 allowing me into the BIOS)

 

Ah. ok, thankyou for that.

Do both the 333's work with the 400?

Just to make sure we are not working with faulty sticks, please run memtest86+ from a bootable CD by burning the ISO. file to disc using InfraRecorder.

Run the test for about 30 mins with each stick INDIVIDUALLY.

 

Ok.

I'm onto it.

It's only the Crucial DDR333 stick that works with the DDR400 stick (and it wont allow windows to boot up but it does allow access to the BIOS)

What's your opinion on that Flexibility option???

Thanks for your help by the way!

 

Why infrarecorder by the way?

Wouldn't NERO burn the disc?

 

Great, i might not post till later, cos it's my birthday, :celebrate , but will get back to you before tomorrow.

I just prefer IR, i suggest it to everyone, and it seems to work well, if you can use NERO, then that's just as good.

 

Nice one.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

I'm away from the pc for a while too as I've got visitors for the weekend arriving this afternoon. I might get a bit of time to check the thread though...

Enjoy

 

Just to clarify, Nero works fine for pretty much any task of burning, it's preference and Burrell is always trying to get recruits for his way of thinking :-D

Both work fine from my experience.

 

Ok.

Done the memtest. All sticks are fine.

I have not tried that flexibility option which I'll try now and let you know if that makes my life any better.

I burnt the disk on InfraRecorder but I think I'll continue using Nero since it supports the Lightscribe technology on my new Plextor drive.

Nice to have the choice though i guess....

 

Fair 'nough.

Good, it was just a thought that we could be trying to fix the layout of the stick or settings when one of the sticks was dead anyway!

I'll try and ask Mimsy if she can take a look at this, as she is the pro here concerning RAM.

 

Update.

Changed the flexibility setting in the BIOS and suddenly windows booted up using the 2 DDR333 sticks. I've a feeling that this resolves the RAM issue. Tell me if I'm wrong....

New issue though.

After the third memtest with the original DDR333 stick in DIMM2 I booted up and am receiving huge hardware interrupts. I'm not sure how to identify the cause of these now. The interrupts are rythmical with 6seconds worth of 100% (pretty much) CPU usage happening every 20 seconds or so when idle.

I've now got the Crucial DDR333 stick in DIMM1 on it's own and still I'm getting interrupts. I'm now going to detach the newly installed Plextor DVD drive (installed before the RAM issues) since that is the last bit of hardware installed.

Will keep you posted....

 

This sounds familiar :cry... sorry that I can't offer any help, but I'm gonna follow this post to see if you get any answers that might help me.
good luck gingerninja.

 

I heard my name..?

Do these interrupts happen when you put in the DDR400 memory by itself? Do they happen regardless of whether the DDR333 is in DIMM1 or DIMM2?

I have an idea... give me some info to work with and we might be able to figure this out.

 

Hi Mimsy,

Thanks for joining the thread and trying to help me with my problem. Sorry it's taken so long to get back to you - had a busy saturday...

I've tried reboots with just the DDR400 and am still getting the interrupts (with it in DIMM1 or in DIMM2). The same is the case for the Crucial DDR333 stick.

I'm not entirely sure how to classify the other module that I have since my BIOS states it is PC2700 and EverestHome220 claims it is PC3200. I think that the pc seems much more responsive with the DDR400 and the non Crucial DDR333 (or is it actually DDR400??) sticks installed together.

Anyway, I'm still getting the interrupts with any of the combinations and so I'm still needing your help. What's your idea? I'm intrigued...

Last night I disconnected the Plextor optical drive but still had interrupts after booting up. I also tried with the WLAN card removed and still had interrupts. I also had a nightmare trying to reinstall the WLAN card and eventually succeeded by moving it to a new slot on the MOBO which has finally allowed me to access the internet (and the forum at last). Is there a chance that the MOBO is itself causing the interrupts? Is there any sort of test that I can carry out to discover the source of the hardware interrupts other than removing the components one by one?

I really would appreciate your help - I hope I haven't left it too long since my last post....

Thanks

 

Yes, there is. No, there's unfortunately not.

I did some research on your motherboard. A part of your problem is that you have a VIA chipset on it, the KT400A. It's notoriously temperamental and gets confused over nothing, and from what I've seen, is not the most widely supported either...

You can try to un-confuse it by flat out telling it what to do. Next to the Flexibility Option in your BIOS you should have an option to set DRAM frequency. By default, it sets itself to "auto". Manually set that to 166MHz, that's DDR333. Under Advanced > Chipset Configuration, manually set your DRAM CAS# Latency to 2.5 instead of auto. Try the RAM again and see if it works now.

 

With which RAM installed though? I mean that if I've got the DDR400 installed and the other module that I'm confused over which actually turns out to be DDR400 installed too, then if I set the frequency to 166MHz then is that likely to do damage? :confused

Just want to make sure in case I do more damage than I am likely to do off my own back (which could be loads given my inexperience with computers!) :-o

 

No, not at all. As long as you don't touch any voltage settings, you'll be fine. RAM is designed to clock backwards when it needs to (that's how a DDR400 and a DDR33 can work together). If my idea is right, your problem is that your motherboard can't figure out how to do that properly. By manually setting these numbers you'll force it to do it right. If I'm right (not the "if" LOL) this'll let you run on 2GB total.

 

:-D

I have entire faith in your knowledge.

I'm on it and will let you know asap.

Ta

 

Am sad to report that the interrupts persist. :cry

It's taken 13 minutes after bootup for me to be able to open Firefox and access the forum. Pretty frustrating to say the least. I was feeling really confident in your idea too since it makes perfect sense.

Is the problem now looking more like a device issue? Is there a process to work through such that I can disconnect all hardware back to bare bones and rebuild which might remove the issue - or at least identify it?

Are you able to help me tomorrow as it's been a long day and my brain has decided to enter stand-by which can't be good for computer repair sakes...

Thanks loads for your help so far. It is truely appreciated.

Ta

 

Incidentally, with 15minutes gone since process explorer was starter (as soon after bootup as I could get it working) the interrupts are minimal with occasional spikes to 50% CPU or so.

Not sure if that helps identify anything or if I'm clutching at straws..

Speak later. :wave

 

There is. It's time-consuming though, as it involves taking literally everything apart and bit by bit piecing it back together again. Educated guess at this time is, your motherboard is probably causing the issues, but it's not 100% certain... how was the RAM installed back when everything was working fine? And does it still work fine if you put it back that way?

It's not good at all. Matter of fact, you should put all tools down and step away from the computer right away! And yes, I come by MGs every day, I'll be around.

Thank burrell. I do RAM tech support every day at work, so I do my best to hide from it around here.... I tend to hang out in the Lounge and the Games forum these days. However, I've been getting so much help here at MGs over the years, so when burrell sent me the PM I came over to look. It's only fair to give something back if I can. I would never have noticed this thread without the PM though.

 

Sadly the interrupts are happening in the original configuration too. They only started happening after I ran the memtest prog.

I'm pretty sure I was thorough in grounding myself and removing the power cable from the system when changing the RAM. I guess there is a chance that I may have annoyed the MOBO though. How easy is it to replace the MOBO? You're not the only one to say it's not up to scratch. rolleyes What I mean is that will I need to do a complete reinstallation of the OS so that everything can talk to one another? I'm not sure I want to do a MOBO swap but I will if I have to and it's easy!

Thanks again and I look forward to hearing from you.

Thanks to burrel too if you're watching! Hope you had a good birthday. :cool

 

Just wanted to add to the last post.

I'm not sure if this has any beaing on the problem (is it a cause or an effect?) but Event Viewer is telling me a couple of errors from Service Control Manager.

The first is Event 7009

"Within a specified time period after a new service starts, it notifies Service Control Manager (SCM) that it is ready to connect. In this case, the service did not notify SCM within the time period.

The service might be stuck in a loop or waiting on a system resource, such as additional memory."

The other is Event 7000

"Service Control Manager (SCM) could not start the specified service, probably because the service is not configured correctly."

Not sure if that helps either but again I'm clutching at straws.

 

Well, if you have a metal case you touched it when opening it, and if you kept your feet planted that should have grounded you.

There are lot so of things that can confuse and annoy an old and finicky motherboard. Normally I would suggest looking at a BIOS update, but you really don't want to run one of those on an unstable system. Try a CMOS reset instead... unplug the system and pull out the CMOS battery, press the powerbutton to get rid of all residual power. That resets everything to factory defaults (including the changes you mad to memory settings).

And it's weird that you're saying the interrupts started happening after you ran memtest, that program isn't exactly known to cause overheating or push hardware to where it breaks...

We're starting to run out of straws to grasp.

 

Did the CMOS reset and am still getting interrupts.On rebooting the system it told me the CMOS settings were wrong so I entered setup (F2) and changed the time/date and also changed the settings as you told me before (ie DRAM freq to 166MHz and Latency to 2.5T). I presumed this was the right thing to do rather than go for the F1 option of defaults because of the fact that I've got the DDR400 and the DDR333 modules in the DIMM slots. Should I have done the F1 option??

If I did the CMOS reset correctly then am I faced with the last straw of removing all hardware (and uninstalling the drivers etc) currently attached and then reinstalling each one at a time? If so then how do I overcome the fact that I can only plug my monitor in to the graphics card (ie there's no vga port on the back of the motherboard)?

Can you give me some idea of the ease of replacing a motherboard too? I mean is it a nightmare job to do if I find that it is the mobo at fault?

Thanks again for your advice so far.

 

If your motherboard is bad, it sadly won't matter either way... But yes, you want to set the memory speed and latency with the two different ones in there.

That probably depends on your definition of "nightmare job". I'm a lazy geek, so I hate doing it because it takes forever and if something ends up not working it's a very labor intensive process to troubleshoot. But beyond taking a lot of time and energy, it's not really that difficult. Just... tiring. But once again, I'm lazy.

Basically, to replace a motherboard you take everything out, mount your new mobo, and then you reinstall all your old components. If you did it right, when you have put everything back together your computer will boot, and Windows will tell you that it's on a new computer and since that's border-line piracy you have to call Microsoft to reactivate your license. LOL Personally, I find that to be the more annoying part of he process by far.

If you decide to replace it and can't find the exact same model, I'd suggest starting a new thread about motherboard selection since that will get you more attention from the motherboard experts. I'm just the RAM girl.