P5K PRO Vista 32Bit, 4GB RAM: Unstable?

[cbolton]

Hello,

I am helping a friend build a new computer and we are building this system from the ground up:

Intel Q9450 45nm Quad Core @ 2.66Ghz
Asus P5K Pro (running latest 1002 BIOS and chipset drivers)
4x1GB Corsair Dominator Memory
Seagate 750GB Hard Drive
Nvidia 8800GT Video Card (running latest Nvidia driver)

When first attempting to build the system the BIOS was old and while it recognized the CPU it wouldn't boot consistently. After updating the BIOS that problem was resovled.

I installed Windows Vista 32Bit with only 2 of the 1GB sticks installed after reading about several people having issues installing Vista 32bit with 4GB RAM installed. The system built fine. I added in another 1GB RAM and the system seemed stable at 3GB RAM - no BSOD's, freezes, hangs, etc.

When I add the 4th stick the machine becomes totally unstable - random BSOD's, hangs, etc. Memtest is saying my memory is ok - I am wondering if there is something in the BIOS that I am missing? I am not overclocking anything at the moment so all voltages, etc are completely stock. I have memory remap feature DISABLED in the BIOS as from what I read that should be enabled only when using a 64bit OS.

I have read of some potential issues with Nvidia drivers and 4GB RAM on 32bit Vista but nothing definitive is mentioned is it really being the issue. Any ideas on something else I can try? I have done 2 complete total builds from scratch on this setup and 4GB RAM is ugly - I know I could just use 3 sticks but shouldn't this work with 4?

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!

[ATINUT]

First off, contact Corsair and find out what you can increase the memory voltage too, without voiding the warranty, and set the timings manually and memory voltage manually.

The thing about memory remap having to be disable is a bunch of bullcookies, memory remap has to enabled for 32bit Vista or 32bit XP, to install and use the Physical Address Extension feature of the OS. For the OS to truly see all 4 GB's, you have to be using 64bit Vista or 64bit XP.

I recently had to increase the voltage for my memory to 2.04 volts to get the memory stable at EPP timings and I'm not overclocking my system at all.
ASUS boards are really quirkey when it comes to ram.

[fvbounty]

Originally Posted by ATINUT

First off, contact Corsair and find out what you can increase the memory voltage too, without voiding the warranty, and set the timings manually and memory voltage manually.

The thing about memory remap having to be disable is a bunch of bullcookies, memory remap has to enabled for 32bit Vista or 32bit XP, to install and use the Physical Address Extension feature of the OS. For the OS to truly see all 4 GB's, you have to be using 64bit Vista or 64bit XP.

I recently had to increase the voltage for my memory to 2.04 volts to get the memory stable at EPP timings and I'm not overclocking my system at all.
ASUS boards are really quirkey when it comes to ram.

My guess is more voltage on the ram too, like you said check with Corsair and up the voltage and manual set the timings!

[cbolton]

Ok here is some more information after some additional testing. I downloaded memtest 2.01 onto a CD and ran it against 3 memory modules - zero memory errors. I inserted the 4th DIMM and reran memtest and 1500 errors were reported and memtest locked up, had to hit the reset button. I figured it meant that 4th DIMM was bad. However, I can mix any 3 DIMM's and get zero errors in memtest but when I run memtest with all 4 modules installed I get errors and a complete system hang. Before running the memtest checks I did try to adjust the voltage slightly higher and lower and while it seemed better for a brief period the hang/BSOD returned.

UPDATE: I just ran another test and with 3 DIMM's I received 10 errors - not sure if I should expect 0 or if 10 is within an acceptable range.

Does this now point to a bad motherboard?

[shaihulud]

The thing about memory remap having to be disable is a bunch of bullcookies, memory remap has to enabled for 32bit Vista or 32bit XP, to install and use the Physical Address Extension feature of the OS. For the OS to truly see all 4 GB's, you have to be using 64bit Vista or 64bit XP.

ATINUT, the manual is correct. Remap explains the MTRR to the processor (Memory Type Range Registers) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Which means that if you are 64bit compatible and have 4GB+ installed RAM, this is when it should only be enabled. Some BIOS's will not need to have this function enable for it is automatically done when applicable. PAE is automatically enabled with Vista x86 and XP x86 due to DEP and is an addressable extension only (Physical Address Extension) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. For you to truly see 4GB you only need a 32bit operating system. To have the PCI hole “remapped” and have the memory hole allocable as system memory, you will need a 64bit compatible system.

[ATINUT]

Originally Posted by shaihulud

ATINUT, the manual is correct. Remap explains the MTRR to the processor (Memory Type Range Registers) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Which means that if you are 64bit compatible and have 4GB+ installed RAM, this is when it should only be enabled. Some BIOS's will not need to have this function enable for it is automatically done when applicable. PAE is automatically enabled with Vista x86 and XP x86 due to DEP and is an addressable extension only (Physical Address Extension) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. For you to truly see 4GB you only need a 32bit operating system. To have the PCI hole “remapped” and have the memory hole allocable as system memory, you will need a 64bit compatible system.

You're so friggin wrong it isn't even funny. Worse you provide as evidence the frequently wrong Wikipedia to back you up, what a joke.

I've personally owned two ASUS motherboards in the last two years, and can attest that the manual is wrong when it comes to a lot of bios options, and know personally that the only way for the system to see all four gigs of ram on boot up and in Windows XP was to enable the memory hole.

Now why don't you go feed your wrong information to ASUS.

[shaihulud]

I cannot help if you are to remain ignorant of the facts and personally dislike to be proven incorrect. The information on the feature is out there, and it will prove how you are not even one step close to even knowing one iota on this subject matter.
Second, I and Wiki have nothing to do with the fact that you rather act as a little child and make simple asinine ad hominem attacks. I would really like you to publish some information to disprove me. Actually, I find it funny that you have not on your previous post-I wonder why. Learn your information before making a butt of yourself.

Note of IT wisdom: There are many mistakes in manuals. Especially the ones that are translated.

Here are more links for your homework on disproving anyone that knows this subject matter:

Memory Support and Windows Operating Systems
(“Windows XP Professional and Windows Server 2003 Memory Support. The maximum amount of memory that can be supported on Windows XP Professional and Windows Server 2003 is also 4 GB. However, Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition supports 32 GB of physical RAM and Windows Server 2003, Datacenter Edition supports 64 GB of physical RAM using the PAE feature.”)

Physical Address Extension - PAE Memory and Windows
(“Although support for PAE memory is typically associated with support for more than 4 GB of RAM, PAE can be enabled on Windows XP SP2, Windows Server 2003, and later 32-bit versions of Windows to support hardware enforced Data Execution Prevention (DEP).”)