Upgraded memory from 128 to 384 on W98 system. Now it locks up often: what could the problem be?

[Ponyboy25]

Alright, I've included as much system info below as possible. I just purchased a Micron 256mb pc-133 CL3 stick, and I installed it last night. The only real testing I did other than starting up my system and checking total RAM was playing UT and hosting a multiplayer game on my home LAN. But, it kept freezing up during gameplay, and when I had a different pc on my LAN host the games, I kept having problems staying connected to the matches when a new one would start. I'm open to suggestions on this one, but I'm wondering whether I have to change something in the BIOS(I still have original BIOS, never upgraded), or change the location of the memory to another bank? I didn't really have this problem before I upgraded the memory, so I'm afraid I'll have this problem with other apps.

Duron 600 @750(default voltage) -- Abit KT-7 -- IBM 15GB 7200 HD -- SB Live -- CardExpert GEForce2 MX (169/185) -- Samsung 48X CD-ROM

 

[Noriaki]

what was your old RAM?
Sometimes two types of RAM don't live happily together.

 

[Stringy]

to isolate the problems you'll need to install just the 256Mb DIMM
and make sure it functions properly first...

Then, as Noriaki mentioned, what is your Old Memory?? is it
Generic PC100?? This could possibly cause a problem because as you
add more DIMMs into the System the (clean) signal strength weakens
and if the DIMM was at it's limits or near them, the Added noise
can make for instabilities...

I've had experience with Microns PC133 CL3 DIMMs and I wasn't saticefied...
I had 2 128Mb DIMMs and they wouldn't function well, in my Asus P2b at the
133Mhz setting... But if I populated the DIMM slots with My stick of 128Mb
and one Micron everything was ok, as long as I left it at CAS3...
I know my Board is stable with my DIMM module upto 140Mhz CAS2 and 150 at CL3
(the boards max)

this is more than likely the case, the Added DIMM module adding noise and the
fact that either the Micron or your Old stick was already on the ragged edge...
you can try to up the Vio and see if it helps... from 3.3v to 3.5v or 3.6v but
it may not....
I'd also Definitely play Musical DIMMs and try every combination possible, this
can actually solve the problem sometimes...



good luck....
Craig

 

[subhuman]

Sounds like memory timings as Stringy pointed out. Turn your memory timings down to 3,3,3 in the BIOS. Also, you may want to set the size of your swapfile yourself, i would set it min=max=600megs or so. This way, windows doesn't decide to change the size of it, causing lots of disk thrashing...

 

[Strafe]

This was in Win2K but it may help. I found that if I didn't keep my swap file below 300MB, some apps (Hauppauge WinTV, NFS5) would eat all virtual memory. My pagefile is now RAM+12 (268).

 

[Ponyboy25]

The old memory brand, huh? I don't know what it was, just that it's 128mb pc-133 that I purchased from WestTech, and it had NEC memory chips. I'll go ahead and do what you said Stringy, and test only the 256mb stick. But, I still want that 128mb chip in there eventually, so is my only option to move around the sticks or bump up the voltage?

 

[beat mania]

can simply be bad memory

 

[Stringy]

<< The old memory brand, huh? I don't know what it was, just that it's 128mb pc-133 that I purchased from WestTech, and it had NEC memory chips. I'll go ahead and do what you said Stringy, and test only the 256mb stick. But, I still want that 128mb chip in there eventually, so is my only option to move around the sticks or bump up the voltage? >>


That and Adjust the Timings, ie CAS latencies.. Set them 3-3-3 just to be on the safe side until you get a stable system, and then start to get more agressive with the memory timings...

you mentioned you have a &quot;virgin&quot; Bios, well, I Serious Doubt it'll help, and beware it Can hurt, but if Users of that MoBo have Successfully flashed without problems I'd suggest you do so... there is Risk tho, and I'd think of it as a last resort.... Especially if you don't have alot of Experience flashing a Bios...




Craig

 

[xtreme2k]

it might be your current RAM setting is Cas2, but your new Cas3 ram cannot be overclocked to Cas2, therefore the instability

 

[Ponyboy25]

Alright, all this timing stuff and CL setting is in the Bios right? And no, I'm never flashed so I will hold off on that completely.

 

[Boogak]

Funky... I recently bought two sticks of 128meg pc133 cas2 memory from crucial.com (read: Micron) and had to return it because it wouldn't play nice on my Abit BX6-2. I updated the BIOS, tried every DIMM slot, set it to 3-3-3, but I kept getting crashes whenever I used the Micron memory, even if I used only 1 stick. The Micron sticks worked fine on a Soyo mobo I had though. Like I said, I ended up returning it and have a stick of Mushkin on its way instead.

 

[subhuman]

coughThats_Abit_For_Youcough

 

[DaddyG]

Stringy has offered good suggestions. One more, set the timings to the absolute slowest (8/10ns i believe). Then tweak em slowly. Different BIOS revisions, not always the latest, sometimes are more tolerant. There also a chance that when the ram is burned in at the slower speed, it'll work fine at the faster. Sometimes those elctrons need help to do their best work.