Memtest fails with more than one stick of ram

[Brigdh]

1. Overview of the problem
   I'm trying to install some ram into an older machine before I give it to my mom
   
   
2. Full description of the problem and symptoms
   I bought 3 sticks of 1gb DDR ram to install into an old machine. The system passes several hours of memtest with only one stick of ram in. The system fails memtest once two or three sticks of ram are present
   
   
3. Did it work normally at one time, or has the problem always existed?
   First time trying multiple sticks of ram in this machine
   
   
   
4. Is the problem consistent and repeatable, or entirely random, or semi-random?
   This is a consistent and repeatable problem
   
   
   
5. I already tried these steps:
   I've tried all three sticks, one at a time. passes memtest
   I've tried testing each memory slot with one stick, passes memtest
   I've tried every combination of two memory sticks, fails memtest
   I've tried all three sticks, fails memtest
   
   
   
6. My hardware
   • ASUS A7V333 mobo
   • AMD Athlon XP 2100+ running stock
   • NVidia 6800 AGP graphics card
   • Kensington DDR PC2700 ram, 3x1gb
   • 420W enermax power supply
   
   
   Any suggestions?

 

[jdjbuffalo]

What tests are they failing? 5 or 8?

Is it one error or a lot?

Have you tried a single stick in a different slot than the first one?

 

[AFurryReptile]

Are the sticks identical to each other? Mixing different models/brands will often cause problems.

Is the bios giving them the correct voltages, frequency, and timing? You may have to manually set these to make them stable.

Sometimes you can disable dual-channel, you might try that as well.

Are you actually having any problems, or just with memtest?

 

[corkyg]

Some older mobos restrict which slots can be used simultaeously by DIMM sticks. My P4PE is that way. If I use more than one stick, they must be in specific slots, and also match. Check your manual for that.

 

[Skyzoomer]

Bridgh,

There's a typo in the motherboard model number you gave ASUS A&V333. It should be A7V333 (info for others)

Maybe this link from Crutial memory can help you:
http://www.crucial.com/upgrade...SUS/A7V333-X/list.html

Sky

 

[RadiclDreamer]

Try running in single channel mode

Check the voltages and give a slight bump if need be

Try relaxing the timings and or frequency

 

[Brigdh]

Originally posted by: jdjbuffalo
What tests are they failing? 5 or 8?

Is it one error or a lot?

Have you tried a single stick in a different slot than the first one?

Test #5
Its one or two errors per pass. Not every pass
The errors only occur when i have more than one stick in the mobo. i've tried having just a single stick in each of the three slots (so 3 tests) and no errors occur. any combination of 2 or 3 sticks generates errors

 

[Brigdh]

Originally posted by: AFurryReptile
Are the sticks identical to each other? Mixing different models/brands will often cause problems.

Is the bios giving them the correct voltages, frequency, and timing? You may have to manually set these to make them stable.

Sometimes you can disable dual-channel, you might try that as well.

Are you actually having any problems, or just with memtest?

The memory is newly purchased, all 3 sticks are the same brand and model, all purchased at the same time.

Right now bios is set to auto detect. Its a possibility, I have not yet looked into it.

Duel channel? on DDR? (not DDR2 or 3, regular DDR)

Right now the problems are just with memtest. I haven't tried installing Win7 on the machine yet, and the old drive is trashed

 

[Brigdh]

Originally posted by: corkyg
Some older mobos restrict which slots can be used simultaeously by DIMM sticks. My P4PE is that way. If I use more than one stick, they must be in specific slots, and also match. Check your manual for that.

I just rechecked my manual and saw no such restriction, but thanks.

 

[Brigdh]

Originally posted by: Skyzoomer
Bridgh,

There's a typo in the motherboard model number you gave ASUS A&V333. It should be A7V333 (info for others)

Maybe this link from Crutial memory can help you:
http://www.crucial.com/upgrade...SUS/A7V333-X/list.html

Sky

Ah yeah, it is the a7v333. I must have been typing too fast. Thanks for catching that

 

[Brigdh]

According to what I can find, there is no way to set the voltage in the BIOS. The ran takes 2.5V I can set:
CAS Latency (currently at 2.5)
RAS to CAS Delay (currently at 3, can set to 2)
RAS Precharge Time (set to 3, can set to 2)
Active Precharge Delay (set to 6, can set to 5)
1T Command Control (set to auto)
Bank Interleave (set to auto)
CPU/Memory frequency ratio (set to auto, can set to 1:1 or 4:5)

Any more suggestions on where to go from here?