Windows 7 wont boot with 4GB RAM

heavenhated

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Hi

I am building a system from scratch. My system details are given below

AMD Phenom II X3 720 BE
GA - MA-790GPT -UD3H motherboard
OCZ GOLD 2*2GB / Part number - OCZ3G1333LV2G - 9-9-9-20 - 1.65 V

Windows 7 32-BIT OEM

Current system status - Stable with one 2GB Ram operating at above setting.

Issue - Windows 7 does not boot if i add the second Memory module.

I have even manually set the RAM voltage to 1.65.

Both the rams are working fine when i try them separately.

Can someone guide me or help me to run my system with atleast 3.5GIG ram knowing win 7 32 bit will not be operating over that

S.Vivek
 
Setting the voltage correctly is a good start. How about the timings, are they running at spec or has the BIOS chosen other timings?

I would start by running memtest to see if both sticks are fully functional and without errors.

Have you checked to see if that ram is recommended by the mobo manufacturer? How about the BIOS, what version of the BIOS are you running? Is it a dual channel kit? it sounds like it is..
 

heavenhated

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Thanks for the quick reply. I will do the memtest. Only reason why i did not do the memtest was the system was stable with either of the RAM when booted with only one ram chip. Boot fails when i have two ram's. I feel its an issue with windows 7 because, with two rams in place i am able to enter Bios (my understanding is that the motherboard is ok with 2 set of 2gb ram). After checking bios the system is now trying to load windows.

Here the system fails and reboots. Be it loading Windows from Harddisk or from the OEM CD. Windows 7 just doesnt like the 4GB ram.

I have even flashed the bios with latest bios firmware from Motherboard manufacturer. I am currently downloading the Motherboard driver in case it will make a difference( but again, i feel seeing the Bios with 4GIG ram means mother board works fine. But i may be wrong here)

I have checked the compatibility from OCZ.

Description Mfr SKU/OEM# OCZ Technology Part No.
512MB, 1066MHz, DDR3-1066 PC3-8500, 240p DIMM, 1.5v
512MB, 1333MHz, DDR3-1333 PC3-10600, 240p DIMM, 1.5v
1GB, 1066MHz, DDR3-1066 PC3-8500, 240p DIMM, 1.5v OCZ310661GB
1GB, 1333MHz, DDR3-1333 PC3-10600, 240p DIMM, 1.5v OCZ313331GB
2GB, 1066MHz, DDR3-1066 PC3-8500, 240p DIMM, 1.5v OCZ310662GB
2GB, 1333MHz, DDR3-1333 PC3-10600, 240p DIMM, 1.5v OCZ313332GB
4GB, 1066MHz, DDR3-1066 PC3-8500, 240p DIMM, 1.5v
4GB, 1333MHz, DDR3-1333 PC3-10600, 240p DIMM, 1.5v

http://memoryselector.cnetchannel.com/ocztech/result.asp?fk_class=6569&manufacturer_id=781&model_id=823672

Should i try different set of memory that are specific to AMD processors? and specific to AM3 sockets?

Here is a set of same processor but specifically says AMD
http://www.ocztechnology.com/products/memory/ocz_pc3_10666_gold_amd_edition_low_voltage

(Dont cuss me why i didnt try the latter version. i coudnt get one from the stores near by)
 

tobensg

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Strange, as I would assume 32bit Windows7 should still boot with 4Gb memory, just only show the maximum memory availble with the 32bit limitation. Maybe this isn't the case. How is it you didn't get the 64bit version of Windows 7 anyway?
 

heavenhated

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I checked the parts number. THe parts number is not listed in that manual. But the site i quoted above is from OCZ and they have listed the compatible Rams for the mother board there. and my question here is that though the part number is not quoted in the PDF, how is it working with just 2gig but not with 4GIG.

shouldnt the motherboard reject even the 2gig ram and not allowe me to do anything.

And i dont know why i went with 32 bit. Thought its a reasonable decision. Now i may repent it :). I did research to find that 32 supported 4 gig. but never knew i would face an issue where it wont allow me to even load two rams

Still waiting for some magical answer in this forum :)
 

mikey5802

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32 bit operating systems WON'T show 4 GB of ram even though the Bios will. It has to do with the memory addressing scheme in windows. It will only report 3.25 to 3.5 GB, but not the full 4 GB's.

I would also rely on the mobo's QVL list for ram, not the ram vendor's. The QVL list means the memory has been tested with the mobo and found to be compatable.

I recommend you exchange the memory if possible.
 

Rogue77777

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Before you exchange your memory:
What are your full system specs like psu, hd's,cd roms, and videos cards?
Did you plug in both power leads on the motherboard?
As for the ram, are you putting them in the same color slots (1&3 or 2&4)?
 

heavenhated

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ok guys here is the find .....

I sticked the second ram, upped the ram voltage in bios to as much as 2.00 and cpu voltage by 0.25. VOILA the system booted and was stable. I didnt want to work at that voltage before finding the exact stable combination which i will be doinig for the next few days.

I understand that the model of RAM i have is very low voltage and is meant to be OCed to get the beast out of it.

also an important finding

my onboard VGA is 128mb card. With 2 GB ram it took around 358 mb of ram as reserved for hardware(in the monitor resources tab). But when i booted with 4gb ram this reservation increased to 1.3 GB. Thats strange !!!!

so as i said, the ram works with elavated Voltage and core voltage. I gotto find a stable setting now and think about saving money for 64BIT to make use of the ram even better.

 

A_Real_Overclocker

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Are you overclocking as my guess is that you are. If so when you install the second memory module it stresses the memory controller and system with more load requiring more cpu voltage. Try it again with only cpu voltage increase, and 1.65 volts to memory. If thatis good then drop memory voltage to default 1.5v, and check for stability. I have a system that was on the edge of O/C before that needed the same voltage boost to CPU over the amount volts used before adding more ram.
 

heavenhated

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@A_Real_Overclocker

i assembled the system to overclock. But never meant to overclock on Windows install (HEHEHE)

As you suggested, i will try the CPU voltage boost. I have been with mac for years so i am just dealing it with extra care. OCZ in their website have said boosting voltage upto 2.1 doesnt void warranty or anything and so i tried that way.

CPU is something i want to be careful before stressing. Have a thermal take which keeps the temperature to around 35. Also dont want the temp to creep over 50-55.

I think i will open a new thread in OC to get the best out of this combo and keep system stable.
 

DarthTengil

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Have the exact same problem with my GIGABYTE nForce3 250 motherboard. Through the years retailers says its the HDD, another one the graphic card, third bad RAM etc. For some time ago I understand that its a manufactured problem with the DIMM-controller chipset on the motherboard. I too only can have one RAM installed, every slot is working fine when I try to put the RAM around but computer wont boot when put in an extra RAM. When this is a hardware error its no way to solve it then to buy another motherboard, at least in my case. I´ve run with only one RAM (1 GB) on XP and a bad AMD Athlon 64 which gets spikes and is working unstable since 2003. Had the not so unusualy bad luck to localize the error until past-guarantee :-( Looks like GIGABYTE have done it again, maybe a reason NOT to buy something from them or AMD anymore...