Problem going from 2gb to 4gb ram xp

[jonnyjay88]

Hello I've been searching for too long now without a solution so I'm going to put this problem out there!

my problem...
simply upgrading from 2x1gb ram to 4x1gb ram, but when they're all in the computer won't boot.

what I've already tried...
1.changing DRAM voltage from the auto 1.8v to 2.2v (what is written on the sticks)
2.tried every individual stick in every slot to make sure no slot or stick is faulty

PC specs...
xp professional 32bit SP3
Intel Pentium III Xeon, 2800MHz
Gigabyte ga-ep45-ds3 mobo
Intel P45 chipset
NVIDIA GeForce 9600 GT 512mb
4 identical kingston 1gb pc2-8500 DDR2 sticks of ram

any help will be so appreciated I'm desperate!

Thankyou

 

[GhislainG]

Try to run the modules at 800 MHz instead of 1066 MHz. Your CPU description is incorrect.

 

[jonnyjay88]

ok sorry that was from everest, on my comp props it has
Intel Core 2 Duo CPU
E7400 @ 2.8 ghz
2 gb ram
I'll try that now

 

[jonnyjay88]

aaa we're getting there!! gets me all the way to the desktop but then crashes soon after. I tried lowering it more didn't seem to help. and once I got a blue screen of death. Does it matter what voltage its set at for not crashing? What combination should I try next?

Thankyou so much your obviously on the right lines as I haven't been able to boot with them in before!

 

[GhislainG]

What are your current settings (timings, voltage and frequency)? You sure didn't make your life easier by using overclocked memory.

 

[jonnyjay88]

OK I'll go have a look and right them down. Thing is I don't want to overclock or make things complicated I just want the computer to run with 4 gb ram on whatever settings that will work.
Thanks for being so quick mate

 

[jonnyjay88]

ok so the optimised defaults have,

Memory Frequency : 1066Mhz
CAS latency time 5
tRCD 6
tRP 6
tRAS 15
DRAM Voltage 1.8
DRAM Termination 0.9
Channel A ref. 0.9
Channel B ref. 0.9

The channel A and B refer to the slots, there are 4 slots and number 1 and 2 come under channel A and number 3 and 4 come under channel B.

 

[taso11]

Some motherboards can only run 4 sticks of memory at 2T command rate. Have you tried running at 2T?

 

[jonnyjay88]

No what is that?

 

[GhislainG]

ok so the optimised defaults have,

Memory Frequency : 1066Mhz
CAS latency time 5
tRCD 6
tRP 6
tRAS 15
DRAM Voltage 1.8
DRAM Termination 0.9
Channel A ref. 0.9
Channel B ref. 0.9

The channel A and B refer to the slots, there are 4 slots and number 1 and 2 come under channel A and number 3 and 4 come under channel B.

Is the system stable with those settings?

 

[jonnyjay88]

yeah with 2 sticks in, but when i add another 2 without changing any settings it doesn't boot. but when I change the frequency to 800 it gets to desktop then restarts

 

[GhislainG]

Try setting the RAM to 800 MHz and the voltage to 2.1V.

 

[jonnyjay88]

I just tried 666 and 1.9 and its loaded! I'm on it now! just tried it randomly. I don't understand what is it that makes it work? and is there another setting like the one you've just mentioned that might increase performance? for gaming

 

[GhislainG]

Using faster memory settings yields very little performance improvements. Getting a stable system is better than a slightly faster one that crashes. To make sure that it's stable at 1.9V, run memtest86 overnight. If you get errors, then bump the voltage up a notch.

 

[taso11]

No what is that?

Command rate (CR) is another memory timing setting like cas latency, ras to cas delay and ras precharge. Check your bios or motherboard owners manual to see if it is user adjustable. And like GhislainG suggested run Prime95 or memtest to make sure your memory timings are running error free or you will start having weird stability issues with your computer.

 

[jonnyjay88]

I've got it at 1.8 v and 666 mhz and its absolutely fine. problem solved! thankyou very much for helping so quickly. i tried a couple of other settings but it wasn't happy and didnt load and crashed. and aslong as there's not much performance loss at 666 then I'm very happy.

 

[GhislainG]

You have it at 666 MHz according to the memory tab in CPU-Z?

 

[jonnyjay88]

think so, in bios, it's set as 2.5A, which is 666 approx. still working well.