NF7-M: Why doesn't my 1GB memory work?
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From: digitallifeforms on 20 Mar 2007 09:51 I recently purchased 1GB of DDR PC-3200 RAM. When I plug it into my mainboard, Windows starts up and runs happily for about 5 minutes, then the PC crashes. The crash takes one of many forms - either the PC randomly does a complete, instant hard-reset, or Windows just freezes completely and I get no response from keyboard or mouse. Before I bought the new RAM, the motherboard was using 2x256MB Infinion PC-2700 RAM. I have tried the new memory on its own (ie without the old RAM plugged in), and alongside the old RAM, but the same thing happens in each case. I've tried it in each of the 3 DIMM slots. I don't think it's faulty RAM, as this is the second lot I've tried - the computer shop exchanged the first lot just in case it was a problem with the chips. The BIOS is up-to-date as of the middle of last year. I'm using the onboard graphics processor and am using a 64MB frame buffer size. Are there any BIOS settings I can alter to fix this problem? As you can probably tell, I'm a complete novice when it comes to this stuff.
From: Bird Janitor� on 20 Mar 2007 12:13 digitallifeforms wrote: | | I recently purchased 1GB of DDR PC-3200 RAM. | | When I plug it into my mainboard, Windows starts up and runs | happily for about 5 minutes, then the PC crashes. The crash takes | one of many forms - either the PC randomly does a complete, | instant hard-reset, or Windows just freezes completely and I get | no response from keyboard or mouse. | | Before I bought the new RAM, the motherboard was using 2x256MB | Infinion PC-2700 RAM. I have tried the new memory on its own (ie | without the old RAM plugged in), and alongside the old RAM, but the | same thing happens in each case. I've tried it in each of the 3 DIMM | slots. | | I don't think it's faulty RAM, as this is the second lot I've tried - | the computer shop exchanged the first lot just in case it was a | problem with the chips. | | The BIOS is up-to-date as of the middle of last year. I'm using the | onboard graphics processor and am using a 64MB frame buffer size. | | Are there any BIOS settings I can alter to fix this problem? As you | can probably tell, I'm a complete novice when it comes to this stuff. | You have gone from PC27000 RAM to PC3200 RAM. Obviously different timings. You need to manually reset your CMOS (remove power from the mains, move the CCMOS1 jumper to pins 2 and 3 for a few moments, replace the CCMOS1 jumper back on pins 1 and 2 and restore power). Fire up the computer (you will get a CMOS Checksum Error because you are running at Failsafe Defaults by clearing the CMOS). Press DEL to get into the setup screens and reenter all your settings, starting with Load Optimized Defaults (which will detect your CPU and default RAM timings, which you can verify in the Softmenu III Setup screen). Be sure to set your boot devices back to what they should be and set your customizations of the on-board peripherals. Once done, go to Save and Exit Setup (or press F10). Allow the computer to reboot (don't touch a thing while it reboots or you'll risk corrupting your BIOS .. don't be alarmed at the red banner screen). Once the computer reboots, if you've entered your CMOS settings correctly, your system should boot. I ram my NF7-M for some time with a gigabyte of PC3200 RAM. I had an Athlon 2700+ CPU and used the onboard video, so my RAM was timed by default at 333MHz .. in sync with my CPU (which is what you want .. you cannot run your RAM at 400MHz when using the onboard video). Jef
From: digitallifeforms on 21 Mar 2007 04:19 On 20 Mar, 16:13, "Bird Janitor®" <birdjanitor_REMOVE_YOUR_SHOR...(a)sbcglobal.net> wrote: > digitallifeforms wrote: > > | > | I recently purchased 1GB of DDR PC-3200 RAM. .... etc etc > | > > You have gone from PC27000 RAM to PC3200 RAM. Obviously different timings. > > ........................... > > I ram my NF7-M for some time with a gigabyte of PC3200 RAM. I had an Athlon > 2700+ CPU and used the onboard video, so my RAM was timed by default at > 333MHz .. in sync with my CPU (which is what you want .. you cannot run your > RAM at 400MHz when using the onboard video). > > Jef Hey Jef Thanks very much for your reply.. I will give this a shot this evening and let you know how I get on. Cheers.
From: digitallifeforms on 22 Mar 2007 04:22 > > > I ram my NF7-M for some time with a gigabyte of PC3200 RAM. I had an Athlon > > 2700+ CPU and used the onboard video, so my RAM was timed by default at > > 333MHz .. in sync with my CPU (which is what you want .. you cannot run your > > RAM at 400MHz when using the onboard video). > > > Jef > > Hey Jef > > Thanks very much for your reply.. I will give this a shot this evening > and let you know how I get on. > > Cheers.- Hi, I tried your suggestion Jef but unfortunately with no success. The CMOS was cleared ok, the system re-booted with the checksum error as expected, and I loaded optimized defaults then re-entered my normal BIOS settings, date/time etc. Upon re-boot, the system loaded Windows but then crashed after a couple of minutes of operation. I re-booted several times but with the same result. One thing I notice when starting the computer (on the 'Press F2 to enter setup...' screen before entering the BIOS menu) is that the whole screen is scattered with random, coloured characters... does this suggest that the memory is faulty, or that my memory timings are incorrect? Or is this info insufficient to make such a diagnosis? Cheers for any help.
From: Bird Janitor� on 22 Mar 2007 11:44
digitallifeforms wrote: | | Hi, | | I tried your suggestion Jef but unfortunately with no success. The | CMOS was cleared ok, the system re-booted with the checksum error | as expected, and I loaded optimized defaults then re-entered my | normal BIOS settings, date/time etc. Upon re-boot, the system loaded | Windows but then crashed after a couple of minutes of operation. I | re-booted several times but with the same result. | | One thing I notice when starting the computer (on the 'Press F2 to | enter setup...' screen before entering the BIOS menu) is that the | whole screen is scattered with random, coloured characters... does | this suggest that the memory is faulty, or that my memory timings are | incorrect? Or is this info insufficient to make such a diagnosis? | | Cheers for any help. | Are you running with both the PC2700 and PC3200 RAM installed in the board? If so, perhaps running with only the PC3200 RAM in slot 2 or 3 would be in order. Repeat the CMOS clear, Load Optimized Defaults, reset other settings, etc., to see if the system will run stable. If it doesn't run stable, try http://www.memtest.org/ (create a self-booting diskette or CD-ROM image) and allow it to run through all the tests several times. I would suspect the RAM as faulty if any errors are reported. Might be wise to run memtest even if the system seems to run stable with the PC3200 installed. nForce2 boards are very fussy about RAM. I suspect that mixing RAM of different speeds/timings, even though the faster RAM gets underclocked, could be the root of your problem (or, as already discussed, the PC3200 stick is faulty). Good luck and hope to hear back your results. Jef |