Problem adding RAM to Win 2000 Pro

[Andy]

I have had a machine running for about 6 months with 1GB
of ram. I have an Abit IC7 motherboard and it runs
great. I tried to add another gig and started having
problems.

My specs are:
Abit IC7; 4 DIMM slots; 4GB max memory
P4 2.8GHZ w/800mhz FSB
(2) 512MB PC3200 DDR RAM @ 400mhz
Radeon 9800 Pro 256MB
Windows 2000 Professional

The problem started when I tried to add 2 additional 512
sticks (same specs but different manufacturer). I know
that the memory is not defective. I'm able to boot up to
windows with 1.5GB of RAM and I've used all 4 sticks in
different combinations of 3 and they all work together
using but only 3 at a time. I've also rotated the memory
around all my DIMM slots to make sure they wer all
functional. Again, I could only get windows to boot up
using 3 sticks.

In addition to these tests, I can get to my motherboard
setup screen without any problem and the motherboard shows
2GB of RAM. The problem is when Windows tries to boot up,
I can't get past the Windows boot status screen. Right
before going to the desktop, it crashes to blue screen and
gives me a STOP ERROR: (KMODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED).

I think this is an issue with Win2K because the
motherboard doesn't give me any errors with the hardware.
But then again, Windows 2000 Pro should be able to handle
2GB of RAM so it may be motherboard related. Does anybody
have any advice???

 

[Dan Seur]

Andy - interesting problem. Have you talked with ASUS or the RAM
manufacturer about this? I know W2k is much more finicky than BIOS about
timing latencies and other specs, and it's always best to have all RAM
sticks the same spec from the same manufacturer. It might be interesting
to slow down the board's RAM access timing as an experiment, but even if
W2k runs that's no solution.

You're certain you've tried every combination of triplets? Do all
triplets work no matter which 3 slots they're in?

Is your ASUS driver set for the board the very latest? Does ASUS'
website anywhere have any record of similar problems? All I can think of
is either one of those RAMsticks very slightly different, which appears
not to be the case, or one of those slots just a tad too far away from
the bus itself, which could cause fetch failure. In which case ASUS
should be interested. They're very reputable.

Please post back when you get this resolved, and I hope somebody else
can come up with the actual solution quickly.

One always thinks of the videocard too because of the highspeed
transfers between it and RAM and the system's suicidal tendencies when
things go wrong there, but I hesitate to suggest anything specific. It's
beyond my ultramodest competence.

 

[Guest]

I appreciate your response. I'm positive that I've
checked all possible combinations and that each DIMM slot
and each RAM stick works. I've posted this problem on the
Abit tech forums and one person suggested using memtest86
or something - some memory diagnostic app.

I'm hoping to get some more suggestions and maybe hear
from Abit themselves. I'll let you know what the problem
is.

 

[Dan Seur]

Strange indeed. Thanx for response. My error Asus/Abit, but Abit's a
goodie too. RAM diagnostic's a good idea. Something flaky somewhere.

I notice the Abit website IC7 "Product Overview" page says "The 800MHz
FSB increases bandwidth and improves overall system performance (400MHz
FSB not supported)." Don't know whether this plays a role in the problem.

 

[Andy]

Yeah, I noticed that too. I ordered the 400 because
that's what was installed already (PC3200 400mhz) so I'm
not sure what's going on there. Also, I discovered that
when I started running applications with 3 sticks in (1
new, 2 old), I was getting crashes to blue screen anyway.
So apparently there are some issues here that I can't
resolve. I've updated the bios, increased the voltage
supplied to the memory from 2.6 to 2.7 to 2.8. Still have
the same problems so I decide to return the memory.
Anyway, thanks for your help.