Computer unstable with 4 sticks but stable with 2. All sticks check out OK.

[Shawn]

So I'll try to keep this short since I lost my post cause the computer crashed the last time. Basically I'm trying to salvage this old HP mobo (made by MSI). It's got an Athlon 64 x2 3800+ processor with 1GB DDR2 ram (2x512MB).

I tried adding 2x1GB sticks and I get frequent BSODs. If I use just the 2x1GB sticks the computer is stable. However, with all 4 sticks in it passes Memtest86. I ran it for 16 passes with 0 errors. Each stick by itself also gets 0 errors. I even took one stick and tested each ram slot individually and no problems.

I think it has something to do with the onboard video as the screen gets garbled when it crashes (can't read the blue screen). Any ideas?

------------------
System Information
------------------
Time of this report: 4/13/2012, 17:48:07
       Machine name: ATHLON64X2
   Operating System: Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit (6.1, Build 7601) Service Pack 1 (7601.win7sp1_gdr.120305-1505)
           Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: HP-CPC
       System Model: AWRDACPI
               BIOS: Phoenix - Award BIOS v6.00PG
          Processor: AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 3800+ (2 CPUs), ~2.0GHz
             Memory: 3072MB RAM
Available OS Memory: 3006MB RAM
          Page File: 1014MB used, 4996MB available
        Windows Dir: C:\Windows
    DirectX Version: DirectX 11
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
   User DPI Setting: Using System DPI
 System DPI Setting: 96 DPI (100 percent)
    DWM DPI Scaling: Disabled
     DxDiag Version: 6.01.7601.17514 32bit Unicode

---------------
Display Devices
---------------
          Card name: ATI RADEON XPRESS 200 Series 
       Manufacturer: ATI Technologies Inc.
          Chip type: ATI Radeon Graphics Processor (0x5954)
           DAC type: Internal DAC(400MHz)
         Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_1002&DEV_5954&SUBSYS_2A24103C&REV_00
     Display Memory: 1311 MB
   Dedicated Memory: 63 MB
      Shared Memory: 1247 MB
       Current Mode: 1280 x 1024 (32 bit) (60Hz)
       Monitor Name: Generic PnP Monitor
      Monitor Model: DELL 1800FP
         Monitor Id: DELE002
        Native Mode: 1280 x 1024(p) (60.020Hz)
        Output Type: HD15
        Driver Name: atiumdag,atiumdva,atiumd64.dll,atiumd6a.dat,atitmm64.dll
Driver File Version: 7.14.0010.0503 (English)
     Driver Version: 8.383.0.0
        DDI Version: 9Ex
       Driver Model: WDDM 1.0
  Driver Attributes: Final Retail
   Driver Date/Size: 6/13/2007 19:07:08, 2861056 bytes
        WHQL Logo'd: Yes
    WHQL Date Stamp: 
  Device Identifier: {D7B71EE2-1A14-11CF-7B72-2E0AA1C2CA35}
          Vendor ID: 0x1002
          Device ID: 0x5954
          SubSys ID: 0x2A24103C
        Revision ID: 0x0000
 Driver Strong Name: oem2.inf:ATI.Mfg.NTamd64:ati2mtag_RS480:8.383.0.0:pci\ven_1002&dev_5954&subsys_2a24103c
     Rank Of Driver: 00F60001
        Video Accel: ModeMPEG2_A ModeMPEG2_C 
   Deinterlace Caps: {335AA36E-7884-43A4-9C91-7F87FAF3E37E}: Format(In/Out)=(YUY2,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY DeinterlaceTech_BOBVerticalStretch 
                     {5A54A0C9-C7EC-4BD9-8EDE-F3C75DC4393B}: Format(In/Out)=(YUY2,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY 
                     {335AA36E-7884-43A4-9C91-7F87FAF3E37E}: Format(In/Out)=(UYVY,UYVY) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY DeinterlaceTech_BOBVerticalStretch 
                     {5A54A0C9-C7EC-4BD9-8EDE-F3C75DC4393B}: Format(In/Out)=(UYVY,UYVY) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY 
                     {335AA36E-7884-43A4-9C91-7F87FAF3E37E}: Format(In/Out)=(NV12,0x3231564e) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY DeinterlaceTech_BOBVerticalStretch 
                     {5A54A0C9-C7EC-4BD9-8EDE-F3C75DC4393B}: Format(In/Out)=(NV12,0x3231564e) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY 
       D3D9 Overlay: Not Supported
            DXVA-HD: Not Supported
       DDraw Status: Enabled
         D3D Status: Enabled
         AGP Status: Enabled

-------------
Sound Devices
-------------
            Description: Speakers (Realtek AC'97 Audio)
 Default Sound Playback: Yes
 Default Voice Playback: Yes
            Hardware ID: PCI\VEN_1002&DEV_4370&SUBSYS_2A25103C&REV_02
        Manufacturer ID: 1
             Product ID: 100
                   Type: WDM
            Driver Name: RTKVAC64.SYS
         Driver Version: 6.00.0001.6305 (English)
      Driver Attributes: Final Retail
            WHQL Logo'd: Yes
          Date and Size: 6/18/2009 19:45:06, 3491616 bytes
            Other Files: 
        Driver Provider: Realtek Semiconductor Corp.
         HW Accel Level: Basic
              Cap Flags: 0xF1F
    Min/Max Sample Rate: 100, 200000
Static/Strm HW Mix Bufs: 1, 0
 Static/Strm HW 3D Bufs: 0, 0
              HW Memory: 0
       Voice Management: No
 EAX(tm) 2.0 Listen/Src: No, No
   I3DL2(tm) Listen/Src: No, No
Sensaura(tm) ZoomFX(tm): No

            Description: Realtek Digital Output (Realtek AC'97 Audio)
 Default Sound Playback: No
 Default Voice Playback: No
            Hardware ID: PCI\VEN_1002&DEV_4370&SUBSYS_2A25103C&REV_02
        Manufacturer ID: 1
             Product ID: 100
                   Type: WDM
            Driver Name: RTKVAC64.SYS
         Driver Version: 6.00.0001.6305 (English)
      Driver Attributes: Final Retail
            WHQL Logo'd: Yes
          Date and Size: 6/18/2009 19:45:06, 3491616 bytes
            Other Files: 
        Driver Provider: Realtek Semiconductor Corp.
         HW Accel Level: Basic
              Cap Flags: 0xF1F
    Min/Max Sample Rate: 100, 200000
Static/Strm HW Mix Bufs: 1, 0
 Static/Strm HW 3D Bufs: 0, 0
              HW Memory: 0
       Voice Management: No
 EAX(tm) 2.0 Listen/Src: No, No
   I3DL2(tm) Listen/Src: No, No
Sensaura(tm) ZoomFX(tm): No

---------------------
Sound Capture Devices
---------------------
            Description: Microphone (Realtek AC'97 Audio)
  Default Sound Capture: Yes
  Default Voice Capture: No
            Driver Name: RTKVAC64.SYS
         Driver Version: 6.00.0001.6305 (English)
      Driver Attributes: Final Retail
          Date and Size: 6/18/2009 19:45:06, 3491616 bytes
              Cap Flags: 0x1
           Format Flags: 0xFFFFF

            Description: Phone Line (Realtek AC'97 Audio)
  Default Sound Capture: No
  Default Voice Capture: Yes
            Driver Name: RTKVAC64.SYS
         Driver Version: 6.00.0001.6305 (English)
      Driver Attributes: Final Retail
          Date and Size: 6/18/2009 19:45:06, 3491616 bytes
              Cap Flags: 0x1
           Format Flags: 0xFFFFF

            Description: Line In (Realtek AC'97 Audio)
  Default Sound Capture: No
  Default Voice Capture: No
            Driver Name: RTKVAC64.SYS
         Driver Version: 6.00.0001.6305 (English)
      Driver Attributes: Final Retail
          Date and Size: 6/18/2009 19:45:06, 3491616 bytes
              Cap Flags: 0x1
           Format Flags: 0xFFFFF

            Description: SPDIF (Realtek AC'97 Audio)
  Default Sound Capture: No
  Default Voice Capture: No
            Driver Name: RTKVAC64.SYS
         Driver Version: 6.00.0001.6305 (English)
      Driver Attributes: Final Retail
          Date and Size: 6/18/2009 19:45:06, 3491616 bytes
              Cap Flags: 0x1
           Format Flags: 0xFFFFF

------------------------
Disk & DVD/CD-ROM Drives
------------------------
      Drive: C:
 Free Space: 364.1 GB
Total Space: 381.5 GB
File System: NTFS
      Model: WDC WD4000AAJS-00TKA0 ATA Device

      Drive: D:
      Model: LITE-ON DVDRW SHM-165P6S ATA Device
     Driver: c:\windows\system32\drivers\cdrom.sys, 6.01.7601.17514 (English), , 0 bytes

--------------
System Devices
--------------
     Name: PCI standard host CPU bridge
Device ID: PCI\VEN_1002&DEV_5950&SUBSYS_2A24103C&REV_10\3&2B8E0B4B&0&00
   Driver: n/a

     Name: ATI I/O Communications Processor PCI Bus Controller
Device ID: PCI\VEN_1002&DEV_4371&SUBSYS_00000000&REV_00\3&2B8E0B4B&0&A4
   Driver: n/a

     Name: Realtek RTL8139/810x Family Fast Ethernet NIC
Device ID: PCI\VEN_10EC&DEV_8139&SUBSYS_2A24103C&REV_10\4&213451B3&0&18A4
   Driver: n/a

     Name: Standard Dual Channel PCI IDE Controller
Device ID: PCI\VEN_1002&DEV_4379&SUBSYS_2A24103C&REV_00\3&2B8E0B4B&0&90
   Driver: n/a

     Name: Realtek AC'97 Audio
Device ID: PCI\VEN_1002&DEV_4370&SUBSYS_2A25103C&REV_02\3&2B8E0B4B&0&A5
   Driver: n/a

     Name: AMD Miscellaneous Configuration
Device ID: PCI\VEN_1022&DEV_1103&SUBSYS_00000000&REV_00\3&2B8E0B4B&0&C3
   Driver: n/a

     Name: ATI I/O Communications Processor LPC Controller
Device ID: PCI\VEN_1002&DEV_4377&SUBSYS_2A24103C&REV_00\3&2B8E0B4B&0&A3
   Driver: n/a

     Name: AMD DRAM and HyperTransport(tm) Trace Mode Configuration
Device ID: PCI\VEN_1022&DEV_1102&SUBSYS_00000000&REV_00\3&2B8E0B4B&0&C2
   Driver: n/a

     Name: Standard Dual Channel PCI IDE Controller
Device ID: PCI\VEN_1002&DEV_4376&SUBSYS_2A24103C&REV_00\3&2B8E0B4B&0&A1
   Driver: n/a

     Name: AMD Address Map Configuration
Device ID: PCI\VEN_1022&DEV_1101&SUBSYS_00000000&REV_00\3&2B8E0B4B&0&C1
   Driver: n/a

     Name: ATI I/O Communications Processor USB 1.1 OHCI controller
Device ID: PCI\VEN_1002&DEV_4375&SUBSYS_2A24103C&REV_00\3&2B8E0B4B&0&99
   Driver: n/a

     Name: AMD HyperTransport(tm) Configuration
Device ID: PCI\VEN_1022&DEV_1100&SUBSYS_00000000&REV_00\3&2B8E0B4B&0&C0
   Driver: n/a

     Name: ATI I/O Communications Processor USB 1.1 OHCI controller
Device ID: PCI\VEN_1002&DEV_4374&SUBSYS_2A24103C&REV_00\3&2B8E0B4B&0&98
   Driver: n/a

     Name: PCI standard PCI-to-PCI bridge
Device ID: PCI\VEN_1002&DEV_5A3F&SUBSYS_2A20103C&REV_00\3&2B8E0B4B&0&08
   Driver: n/a

     Name: ATI I/O Communications Processor USB 2.0 EHCI controller
Device ID: PCI\VEN_1002&DEV_4373&SUBSYS_2A24103C&REV_00\3&2B8E0B4B&0&9A
   Driver: n/a

     Name: ATI RADEON XPRESS 200 Series 
Device ID: PCI\VEN_1002&DEV_5954&SUBSYS_2A24103C&REV_00\4&1625D8D0&0&2808
   Driver: n/a

     Name: ATI I/O Communications Processor SMBus Controller
Device ID: PCI\VEN_1002&DEV_4372&SUBSYS_2A24103C&REV_11\3&2B8E0B4B&0&A0
   Driver: n/a

     Name: VIA 1394 OHCI Compliant Host Controller
Device ID: PCI\VEN_1106&DEV_3044&SUBSYS_2A24103C&REV_80\4&213451B3&0&20A4
   Driver: n/a

 

[Shawn]

The computer has rebooted from a bugcheck.  The bugcheck was: 0x0000001e (0xffffffffc0000005, 0xfffff80002b7a2af, 0x0000000000000000, 0xffffffffffffffff). A dump was saved in: C:\Windows\MEMORY.DMP. Report Id: 041212-18031-01.

The computer has rebooted from a bugcheck.  The bugcheck was: 0x0000003b (0x00000000c0000005, 0xfffff800028d46f0, 0xfffff88003930c50, 0x0000000000000000). A dump was saved in: C:\Windows\MEMORY.DMP. Report Id: 041312-18328-01.

 

[fralexandr]

when using 4 dimms instead of 2, command timing should increase from 1T to 2T
most mobos should automatically do this though

have you tried increasing the ram voltage slightly? or increasing the cas latency? or underclocking it?
i think some mobos/ram aren't as stable or something with 4 dimms

 

[Shawn]

Unfortunately none of those settings are customizable with the HP bios. :-/

 

[Shawn]

I found this program called Memset 4.1 which lets me change the timings through windows. However, the timings are currently set at CL 3, tRCD 3, tRP 3, tRAS 8, Command Rate 2T. This is with only 2 sticks in. Don't know what I could change it to.

 

[denis280]

did get the same problem with my asus.in bios change (unganged)to(ganged) and voila! worked for me.

 

[Shawn]

Is that like single channel vs dual channel?

 

[denis280]

No it's just the fact that they all work together(ganged) and separately (unganged) and it's dual channel

 

[Shawn]

hmm... well there is no such setting in the bios, but I forced the mobo to go into single channel mode by pairing the 512mb sticks with the 1gb sticks. I was hoping that would fix the problem but again the computer froze with a corrupt image. I touched the onboard gpu and it was piping hot. don't know why it is getting so hot but I'm thinking that maybe this is the cause of the problem. anyone know how to glue a heatsink onto a gpu? I have a spare chipset cooler but no way to attach it.

 

[denis280]

don't know any glue but ty-rap. and for the bsod get ( WhoCrashed) then when you get the bsod. after restart go and see.

 

[Shawn]

Think I got this somewhat figured out. I installed Speedfan which was able to show my the northbridge and southbridge temps. NB has a heatsink and was around 68C, while the SB has no heatsink and got up to 120C and rising before I shut the computer down. I think its getting so hot that it crashes.

What I don't understand is why it's getting so hot with 4 sticks, but not as hot with 2.

 

[denis280]

maybe it's time for a video card. you are running with onboard video

 

[Shawn]

I don't plan on keeping this computer, but I want it working so I can sell it.