MSI P6N SLI Platinum and 6gb RAM problem

[Kabobi]

I just bought 4gb (2 x 2gb) patriot ram to add to my P6N SLI Platinum (Already has 2gb (2 x 1gb) Patriot in there). However, when i add the ram, my computer becomes incredibly slow. Startup takes ~ 5min and overall performance becomes unusable. I tried running each of the new sticks independently, and they both work fine. However, even when i run one of the 2gb sticks with the 1gb sticks, so total of 4gb ram, same thing happens. So pretty much, whenever i boot with 4gb+ ram, my computer performance dies. my own suspicion is that i need a BIOS update. I'm currently running v1.1 and i believe 1.6 is the latest.

However, i'm not exactly sure whats the best way to update the BIOS on MSI mobos. My ABIT came with a BIOS utility for updating but the one for MSI doesn't run on x64 OS.
So please provide me with some advice on what to do.
Do i even need a BIOS update? If not, then what can possibly be the problem? If yes, then how should i go about doing it?

Some additional info:
I didn't encounter this problem while running 6gb of ram on XP 64bit. It only occurs on Vista. I tried reinstalling Vista but that didn't help. Also, apart from switching from XP to Vista, the only other thing i changed was i added the 750gb WD, and i installed the Vista on that. I'm positive that the ram sticks themselves are functioning properly, and so is the rest of my computer, which is why i'm suspecting the BIOS.

Here are my system specs for reference:

MSI P6N SLI Platinum
EVGA 8800 GTS 640mb SC
E6600 STOCK
Creative X-FI XtremeGamer Fatality
WD 750gb AYYS
WD 320gb
Patriot 2gb (2 x 1gb)
Patriot 4gb (2 x 2gb) BOTH RAMS ARE RUNNING AT BIOS DEFAULT SETTINGS
SeaSonic ~600W
Vista Ultimate x64 SP1

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[akhilles]

Is the bios as responsive with any ram configs? Is the slowdown only in windows? If so, then it's windows. You can flash bios 1 mill times and it'll be windows that's the cause.

I'd contact Patriot for the current settings for your ram.

 

[Kabobi]

Everything runs fine when i have less than 4gb ram in my pc and the BIOS itself is fine no matter how much ram i have in there. The problems occur when windows is booting and within windows itself. Even when i am installing windows, the problems are evident. With all 6gb ram, during windows setup, after i click "next" on each menu it takes ~2 min for the next window to come up, and the setup itself takes around 5-6 hours to install (with SP 1). But with 2gb ram, the whole thing is finished under 1 hour. Therefore, as soon as i go back to 2gb, installation, windows and boot up are fine.

I dont see how it can be windows though. On my second pc, i have also have vista x64 ultimate with 4gb ram on an ABIT board with no problems (After i flashed my BIOS). And i understand that Vista had issues with 4gb+ ram, but those were resolved with the 929777 update and SP 1, both of which are installed on my system.

My ram is rated at 4-4-4-12 2.2v on a 2T command rate. I tried using default BIOS settings, and these Patriot factory settings, but neither solve my problem. As a matter of fact, when i change the DRAM config to 4-4-4-12 and 2.2v with all 6gb ram in there, the system doesn't even boot, and i'm forced to clear the BIOS.

Thanks for the help though, atleast i'm getting somewhere

 

[jonnyrehab]

check the cas latency to see if there is a difference between each memory module. also check the modules themselves to see any damage. inspect the pin coating on the bottom of the modules and look for discoloration. if so it means you fried the module! and make sure that your mobo can handle the ram. check out the manufacturers website for more info...or contact their tech support.
if this system of yours is over 2 yrs old then the problem could possibly be the mobo, if not try all options, then call tech support! sometimes the chipset says it can handle a certain amount, but when you speak to tech support they can say different! the final thing if nothing else works is to downgrade to windows XP or xp64!
good luck!!!