Added RAM, system unstable

  • Thread starter Thread starter Dave
  • Start date Start date
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Dave

Hi, I've had my box

Intel Pentium 4HT, 2400 MHz (3 x 800)
Asus P4C800 Deluxe
Intel Canterwood i875P Chipset
1536 MB DDR SDRAM (Corsair, running at 200MHz)
ATI Radeon X700 Pro 256 MB
Sound Blaster Live! 24-bit
Windows XP Home

for over two years now and it was perfectly stable through two video card
upgrades and even a sound card upgrade. Recently I bought some RAM for my
system, a gig to be exact. It was 512 MB before the upgrade. Since then I am
getting FREQUENT system shut downs due to "stop errors" and an "unknown
device driver". Micro$oft is unsure of what is causing the problem. Now this
stick of RAM is the same brand, Corsair, the same specs, almost identical to
the stick of 512, except its 1024. My BIOS is the latest out from Asus and I
keep my drivers updated. Any suggestions? If more info is needed, just ask,
I will provide as the need arises. TIA, all.
 
Dave said:
Hi, I've had my box

Intel Pentium 4HT, 2400 MHz (3 x 800)
Asus P4C800 Deluxe
Intel Canterwood i875P Chipset
1536 MB DDR SDRAM (Corsair, running at 200MHz)
ATI Radeon X700 Pro 256 MB
Sound Blaster Live! 24-bit
Windows XP Home

for over two years now and it was perfectly stable through two video card
upgrades and even a sound card upgrade. Recently I bought some RAM for my
system, a gig to be exact. It was 512 MB before the upgrade. Since then I am
getting FREQUENT system shut downs due to "stop errors" and an "unknown
device driver". Micro$oft is unsure of what is causing the problem. Now this
stick of RAM is the same brand, Corsair, the same specs, almost identical to
the stick of 512, except its 1024. My BIOS is the latest out from Asus and I
keep my drivers updated. Any suggestions? If more info is needed, just ask,
I will provide as the need arises. TIA, all.
Click to expand...


Hi Dave,

Have you tried running a standalone memory test program like Memtest+ or
Doc Memory? You'll need to make a bootable floppy, boot to the floppy,
and run the test program.

Jim
 
On Thu said:
Hi, I've had my box

Intel Pentium 4HT, 2400 MHz (3 x 800)
Asus P4C800 Deluxe
Intel Canterwood i875P Chipset
1536 MB DDR SDRAM (Corsair, running at 200MHz)
ATI Radeon X700 Pro 256 MB
Sound Blaster Live! 24-bit
Windows XP Home

for over two years now and it was perfectly stable through two video card
upgrades and even a sound card upgrade. Recently I bought some RAM for my
system, a gig to be exact. It was 512 MB before the upgrade. Since then I am
getting FREQUENT system shut downs due to "stop errors" and an "unknown
device driver". Micro$oft is unsure of what is causing the problem. Now this
stick of RAM is the same brand, Corsair, the same specs, almost identical to
the stick of 512, except its 1024. My BIOS is the latest out from Asus and I
keep my drivers updated. Any suggestions? If more info is needed, just ask,
I will provide as the need arises. TIA, all.
Click to expand...

Have you tried running the new RAM by itself to see if you still get the
same problems? It could be you just got a bad stick of RAM.


Joe
 
Hi, I've had my box

Intel Pentium 4HT, 2400 MHz (3 x 800)
Asus P4C800 Deluxe
Intel Canterwood i875P Chipset
1536 MB DDR SDRAM (Corsair, running at 200MHz)
ATI Radeon X700 Pro 256 MB
Sound Blaster Live! 24-bit
Windows XP Home

for over two years now and it was perfectly stable through two video card
upgrades and even a sound card upgrade. Recently I bought some RAM for my
system, a gig to be exact. It was 512 MB before the upgrade. Since then I am
getting FREQUENT system shut downs due to "stop errors" and an "unknown
device driver". Micro$oft is unsure of what is causing the problem. Now this
stick of RAM is the same brand, Corsair, the same specs, almost identical to
the stick of 512, except its 1024. My BIOS is the latest out from Asus and I
keep my drivers updated. Any suggestions? If more info is needed, just ask,
I will provide as the need arises. TIA, all.

Hello Dave.
I have the same motherboard, and also upgraded the Ram to 1.5 Gb from 512
Mb. Crucial (256 Mb x 2) and Corsair Value
Select (512 Mb x 2).

Have you read your manual's Ram configuration info? You must!

Your motherboard supports up to 2 Gb of DDR 400 ram. This ram must be fitted
in exact pairs (same size, same type, same brand), using 2 slots per pair
(there are 4 slots). Note that the slots have 2 colours (2 slots of each),
and that you must use the right slot colours in conjunction with the correct
slot numbers.
I think that you can configure your ram differently (don't ask me), but it
won't be DDR ram.

Sylvain.
 
Ok, I found and read my Asus manual and I read something that caught my eye.

"Always install DIMMs with the same CAS latency. For optimum
compatibility..."

So I used AIDA32 to check out the CAS latencies. The 1024MB module Highest
CAS Latency is 3.0 and 2nd Highest CAS Latency is 2.5. The 512MB module
Highest is 2.5 and 2nd Highest is 2.0. I suspect this is my problem. Is
there anything I can do here??
 
Well, I got this from my BIOS, maybe this will reveal something

DRAM CAS# Latency 2.0 Clocks
DRAM CAS# Precharge 2 clocks
DRAM RAS# to CAS# Delay 2 clocks
DRAM Precharge Delay 5 clocks
DRAM Burst Length 8 clocks

Those are the Settings. If you need more info, just ask.
 
Dave said:
Well, I got this from my BIOS, maybe this will reveal something

DRAM CAS# Latency 2.0 Clocks
Click to expand...

This is at least part of the problem. You have modules with rated CAS
latency of 2.5 and 3 and you are running at 2.0 which is too fast.

I assume this isn't set on automatic timings? If not, set it to "Auto"
or "By SPD" and see what that does.
 
thank you for all your help. i increased the latency to 2.5 and increased
the DIMM voltage from 2.75V to 2.85V and no more worries.
 
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