I having a really annoying problem and i am really f***ed up trying to solve this. So plz guys, help me out with this. First my PC config. Core 2 duo e6600 DG965RY intel original 2*2gb kingston ddr2 800 mhz (Just bought it and this is the start of all my troubles) Seagate 500 gb HDD -- Installed windows 7 32 bit edition Western Digital 160 gb -- Installed vista 64 bit ultimate edition, regularly updated I have been using 3*1 gb kingston ddr2 667 mhz RAM on the above config without any problem. Last month i decided to upgrade to 4 gb and to 800 mhz, so i sold 2 of my RAM chips. But due to some tight budget i couldnt buy the new RAMs' and have to spend a whole month with my handicapped windows. Yesterday i bought the twins and i was very happy, you all must know how great it feels when you get something you have been waited for long and have sacrified something for it. I just install the RAM's and booted normally with vista. But i couldnt go beyond vista's loading screen. No errors, no hangups, just the progress bar, thats all. I restarted and check in BIOS, check the memory is in the slot perfectly, checked everything, but all in vein. I have heard about the problem with 3gb+ RAM with the windows server and vista, but i think that was with the installation procedure. It should work here properly. Moreover, this problem is solved with SP1. Then what the hell is wrong ??? Now i booted into windows 7, a little delay but everything is working fine. It is showing full 4gb RAM, even with the 32 bit edition. Finding that there is something wrong with vista itself, i tried booting in it with only a single 2 gb module, and it booted. I tried the with the other module and it is booting again. Now its clear that it has got problem with both of them simultaneously. so i thought of formatting it. I start my vista installation, formatted the drive and it started copying files, expanding files, installing updates and features, completing installation...... But didnt go beyond it. It got stuck again on completing installation. Tried again, but the problem persists. Then i tried the third time with one module and finaaly got the things working. Now when i see that the vista is refusing the extra RAM, so i thought of shifting to windows 7 . To use it to full, i decided to install windows 7 64 bit. Installation started, but what the hell, it got stuck again. Same problem -- No errors, no hangups, just a progress bar. I already have formatted windows drive, so i have to install it using 1 RAM. Now, i am sitting here with only 2gb, wasted almost 1 whole day, but the things are still not ok. I also downloaded the patch from microsoft for this problem but on installing, it says -- This update doesnt apply to this system. Anyone know what to do now?? I am really getting screwed now.
If 2 different sets on Windows couldn't work on the same hard drive, then it sounds like a hard drive problem - not a RAM problem. You may have some bad sectors on your hard drive, search Google to find a program to search & fix them and run it!
Absolutely unexpected reply. One of my HDD is new and the other one is just one year old and both are in absolutely good condition. I have tried all the combinations like putting one at a time or putting both of them at once. I even installed the two windows separately in each HDD by keeping the other one de-attached. But when i try to run with one RAM, it runs whatever HDD it gets. Isnt it the clear fault of the windows?? Maybe it is some other problem, but i have keep my HDD in perfect shape till now. Do you still think that it is my HDD??
Actually my motherboard is a brand new one, just 1 week old... So i dont think so that it requires a BIOS update. Moreover the BIOS is showing everything as okay.....
Search Google for: vista x64 can't boot with 4gb ram There are several threads about this issue on different forums. Some people adjust the voltage of the memory to make it boot, others try to set ACPI to 2.0 or 3.0 in BIOS. I would recommend checking for a new BIOS Version anyway, then setting the BIOS to the optimized defaults and testing if it works.
I have been searching for solution since i have installed my RAM yesterday, it seems like i am not the one alone having his problem. I tried all of them except the BIOS update as i have no UPS. Strangely, i figured out my own solution as non of them worked. I simply selected the Maximum memory option in the system configeration by getting to it in the safe mode with 4 gb installed. It just booted now without any problem, but the system is showing only 3316 mb of RAM irrespective of the 64-bit version. Now, any solution to this one??? @Avatar Viper If microsoft continues to make these kind of crappy systems, i am going to linux then. I am with windows only because of all the games and my brother who is just a casual user. Microsoft sucks.....
Hey, any ideas that how long does this BIOS update takes place if i do it from windows ??? I dont have any UPS, so i dont want to risk it for long.....
It takes about a minute, but don't do it under windows, it can cause problems. Better save your new bios to a floppy disk or CD and boot from it.
ishanjain2, is your Ram module mdae by a Generic Chinese company, or is it a good brand like Transcend or Kingston? It could be that your older module and newer module belong to different generic manufacturers and could be incompatible.
If you do any BIOS update then i strongly suggest you to use UPS. If you loose power during flashing, then you are in big trouble. If BIOS chip is directly soldered to motherboard, it will be almost impossible to restore the BIOS. If BIOS chips is in socket, then if you can find a programmer or build one by yourself, then you can restore BIOS. So use UPS and boot from floppy or USB. Windows can hang during flashing so after restart your PC will not boot. Lot's of IF's
I had updated my Laptop BIOS directly from Windows, using a utility software provided by the manufacture. It was very easy, and didn't seem risky at all...
I was thinking about flashing the BIOS only if the windows doesnt recognize my RAM beyong 3136 mb. I want rest of my bytes, any suggestions how to do that ??? I hate updating BIOS. When i was downloading the BIOS update from intel, the windows exe file has written next to it in bold red characters -- This is the most widely used and safe procedure to use. So, i opted for that. Anybody noticed any problem in that ??? And yes, my RAM is a genuine kingston and both are identical, so no different latencies or anything llike that .....
Oh! O! That’s very sad. But that’s the nature of Vista. Why not switch to Windows-7? You’ll be satisfied with it .
Yeah i liked windows 7 specially because of its speeds. I have already installed it and i am on it most of the times. When there will be a proper release, i wont even keep a copy of vista in my home. Unfortunately this problem of mine is on windows 7 too. Its not just the vista, all microsoft products sucks. They are not user friendly, they are just $ friendly.
You still need to update your BIOS. Especially if it is brand new. I just build my new PC and (like always) that is the first thing I do upon boot. The sad thing is, Vista isn't going to get any better. Windows 7 will be the light to our darkness in this PC world.
You could take the RAM modules to a friends PC to check it out. Or you could run a software like "memtest86" to stress-test the memory. I agree with other posters, that BIOS upgrade should be tried first.