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Just built a rig, can't install Vista...

S

Saicho

Member
Specs:
Gigabit EP35-DS4
E8400
hx520
4x2gig ddr2-800
8800gts

First off the machine didn't want to post at all. I took out the ram, put 1 stick in and it worked. Put the rest of the sticks in and it worked magically =

I started installing 64bit Vista Ultimate, but every time once it finishes extracting files I get the BAD_POOL_HEADER BSOD.

I read somewhere that Vista has problems installing itself when there is a lot of ram available, so I only put 1 stick in and I still get the bsod... =(

Any ideas on how to go about debugging this mess?

TIA
 
Transcend DDR2800 5-5-5-16 1.8v
MSI NX8800GTS 512MB

The ram is set to 1.904v for some reason, the spec says 1.8v. I can't find a way to turn the voltage down in the bios.
 
okay, never have trusted them and when they do not have any parts or price listing or even a cataloged on their site, I'd go with the ram being the issue.

I'd go to Crucial's website and see what they determine the board can support.
 
AHH! I ran memtest86+ v1.65 on all 4 sticks of ram in different slots on the mobo and they ALL fail on Test 2

What is going on here? They can't ALL be bad?
 
Ty robisbell, will do.

However, I just put in a gig of DDR2 PC2-4200 ram that I know for sure works, and it is also failing the memtest...Could this be the mobo?
 
Originally posted by: Saicho
AHH! I ran memtest86+ v1.65 on all 4 sticks of ram in different slots on the mobo and they ALL fail on Test 2

What is going on here? They can't ALL be bad?
Click to expand...

bad MB, or possibly memory isn't compatible with MB, I've had MB's in the past that had weird problems with certain brands of memory.

the odds all 4 sticks are bad is close to zero, possible but I would say the memory just won't work with my MB, bad MB is a possibility best way to test that try other member if you can get your hands on a different brand.
 
Transcend memory is usually compatible with most mbs and has gotten many good reviews. Not a brand to be afraid of. Something seems screwed up with their web site. Didn't used to be like that. They always had an online store too.

I have not seen a great deal of their ram over the years, but I have not run into any not working.

May be a bad bios setting or a bad mb. I agree that the possibility of getting 4 bad sticks at the same time is practically nil.
 
@robisbell The PC2-4200 is Inferion (came with the old system) and Kingston (bought upgrade a few months ago). They both FAIL memtest in the new rig in a few seconds.

@QueBert What do you mean by "try other member" ? I don't think I can get my hands on another board =(

Also I've ran memtest on the new memory in my old box and it seems to be fine. I'm pretty sure I can rule out the bad RAM at this point, correct? It is probably the motherboard. Can it be the CPU? Does a bad CPU have an effect on memtest?

EDIT: memory brand update
 
Someone told me the PSU can have an effect as well, but everything else seems fine, just the RAM tests are failing (which is probably the reason for the BSOD)...
 
Chances are it's your motherboard.

Motherboards can have bad DIMM slots. I've never known Gigabyte motherboards to be all that great anyway.
 
I'm trying to rule out the proc and PSU, is there any way to do that without hooking up known working pieces to the motherboard in question?
 
Originally posted by: robisbell
you ran all the ram through memtest86+ on the old system?
Click to expand...

Not thoroughly, but the RAM on the new system failed in 15 seconds. I ran the ram for a few minutes on the old system and it didn't fail.

I'm going to try to run the RAM for longer, but I really doubt it is the RAM at the moment since all 4 sticks being bad is a really low probability...
 
Ty all for all the advice!

The culprit was the mobo.....

I tested everything on a working GA-EP35-DS3R and everything was fine.
 
Well...there are still a few problems I guess.

The memtest failed after about 25 mins of running. I took the RAM out and it was pretty hot, so I checked the voltage to the RAM and it was still 1.9V. The RAM spec is 1.8V and I haven't found a way to turn it down in the BIOS.

So the motherboard was messed up for sure, but now I'm having some issues. It might be that one of the 4 sticks is bad, or it might be that the extra 0.1V is cooking the RAM to unstable conditions.

Right now I'm memtesting good ram in the mobo for a while to make sure the mobo is okay. Next I'm going to start testing each of the new sticks 1 by 1 in different slots to see what the deal is.

I looked at the voltage for 1 stick and it drops from 1.9 to 1.88, not that good either.

Any other advice for me? Should I just RMA this ram and get a better set? Anyone recommend good 1.8V ram for the GA-EP35-DS4 + E8400 with good timings for overclocking?
 
So have you or have you not replaced the motherboard yet?

Yes, it is entirely possible that you could have a bad stick of RAM as well. Your best bet would be to run each stick in the SAME slot one at a time.

Also, I know Gigabyte boards have problems when you try and run all four slots populated. Too much cross-talk.

And, just out of curiousity...what the hell are you doing that you need 8gb of RAM?

Also, if your board is an early revision, a BIOS flash can help with stability issues. I wouldn't be too concerned about the RAM voltage. It certainly won't make your RAM less stable, that's for sure.
 
Yeah I've replaced the mobo, and found out one of the ram sticks was bad as well.

I'm running VMWears and what not. More ram helps with page faults and can be used as a buffer cache as well so the more the merrier imo 😉
 
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