Vista crashing with more than 2Gb of RAM in PC

jasonb

Hi there...

I've recently upgraded an oldish PC ( HP DX2000MT ) with more RAM ( got 4Gb ), a better processor ( P4 3.4Ghz HT ), better hard disk and a new graphics card ( 128Mb PCI ). I pretty much have this PC as highly spec'd as I can without replacing the motherboard.

Anyhow, I decided to install Windows Vista Home Premium on the new Hard Disk as I got a free copy at the launch last year.

Everything seems to be fine apart from one weird problem. I now have 4 1Gb DDR PC3200 DIMMs. If I put just 2Gb in the PC, everything's fine. If I put in all 4GB, the PC will Blue Screen ( Memory Management ) every now and then. Even if I put in 3Gb ( the PC doesn't need the RAM in pairs ) I'll get bluescreens.

When using 2Gb I've tried different DIMMs in different slots, so it's not a problem with the RAM or the Motherboard that I can see. I understand that a 32Bit PC can't access all 4Gb as it has a max of 4Gb of Memory Addresses and it needs some of those for other devices ( in fact, when all 4Gb is in, the Bios only reports 3228Mb as available ).

To me, it's a Vista problem. If I plug back in the Windows XP Hard Drive, I've no problems at all with all 4Gb installed.

Any ideas what I might be able to do to fix this? The Vista install is now SP1 and fully patched according to Microsoft Update. Any advice to get Vista behaving itself would be appreciated. Thanks!

J.

AlmightyCushion

I've heard that vista just doesn't like 4 sticks of ram. Not sure if there is any way to solve it, I thought sp1 was meant to fix it.

sink

I had the exact same problem and I was using 64-bit vista. I solved it by upping the voltage of my ram from 1.85v to 1.95v. Hope this helps.

jasonb

Hi Sink...

This may be a stupid question, but how exactly do I up the voltage of the ram from 1.85V to 1.95v?

J.

Stephen

In your PC BIOS, but I doubt that a vendor like HP or Dell will allow you to change voltages in their BIOS. For what its worth I'm running Vista x64 with 4GB (4 dimms) with no problems.

Blazer

There's a MSpatch for this and is a well known issue.
Always safer to install first with 2GB and then install the patch.
google for it
Of course if you have a slipstreamed vista SP1 then you'll be fine.

patch is below actually

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929777

you might need to install this with only 2gb in it..happened to me once..another fine it worked fine..

jasonb

Hi there...

Thanks for that advice. I'll try the patch this evening ( with only 2Gb in ) and see what happens!

J.

Rambo

also check for
Bios update

PogMoThoin

Mathew Reilly wrote: »

There's a MSpatch for this and is a well known issue.
Always safer to install first with 2GB and then install the patch.
google for it
Of course if you have a slipstreamed vista SP1 then you'll be fine.

patch is below actually

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929777

you might need to install this with only 2gb in it..happened to me once..another fine it worked fine..

Was a known issue, but he already has SP1, this patch is included

jasonb wrote: »

The Vista install is now SP1 and fully patched according to Microsoft Update.

jasonb

Well, as PogMoThoin said, that patch must already be installed as part of SP1, cos it wouldn't install it for me when I tried ( something along the lines of 'Not Applicable to this Computer'.

Also, I've got the latest BIOS installed for the Motherboard.

So, still not too certain what's causing this issue, or what I can do to fix it, apart from taking out 2Gb of RAM!

J.

Cork Skate

jasonb wrote: »

Also, I've got the latest BIOS installed for the Motherboard.

How would you go about installing a new BIOS? I dont need to do it but how is that done?

yoyo

Cork Skate wrote: »

How would you go about installing a new BIOS? I dont need to do it but how is that done?

Download the updated bios from the manufacturers website and flash your current one with the newer...

Nick

Explosive_Cornflake

Grab a copy of memtest and see what it makes of it.
A lot of live cd's have it on them if you have any lying around.

jasonb

Well, I think I've actually fixed this...

I decided, just because I couldn't think of anything to try, to remove the PCI cards ( one Video and one Sound ) and use the onboard Video and Sound instead. So I was basically grasping at straws...

So, I took out the PCI Sound Card first, booted up Vista with 2Gb and made sure it was happy with the onboard Soundcard, and it found the drivers etc.

I then added in the extra 2Gb to bring it up to 4Gb, and it ran the whole night without crashing. I ran two complete AntiVirus Scans ( just to give the PC something to do ) and they both completed ( something that I never got to work with 4Gb before ). I also installed a couple of programs and a few other bits and pieces, and so far no BSOD...

It'll take a while longer before I'm convinced that it is fixed, but so far it's looking good. No idea why taking out the PCI SoundCard worked, but hey, if it keeps on working I don't mind!

Thanks for all your advice...

J.

PogMoThoin

Glad You finally got somewhere.

Download Prime95 and run the blend test for a few hours to fully stress it to check for stability.

Also download Memtest, burn it to a cd and set cd to first boot in the bios. Run it overnight to rule out memory problems.