Hi there. First time builder here and I'm having trouble diagnosing/troubleshooting an issue with my new build. My system boots properly but is crashing whenever it starts running Windows. At first I thought it might be because I'm using the hard drive from my old system (which I've read on this board is a bad idea and I can't really disagree) so I've tried booting from Vista Installation DVD to re-install Vista on some new drives I have. However, even when I do that, the system crashes at the exact same part after all the files are loaded from the DVD into memory. More exactly, as soon as that progress indicator for Vista startup appears on the intro screen, a blue screen flashes on the screen and then quickly fades to black before I've even get a chance to read what the error message was.

My newbie hunch is that there is a problem with the memory or how its setup. The Corsair memory lists the timings as 5-5-5-12. Initially, the mobo was Auto-setting the timings to something different so I changed the timings (and only those four values) to what I've listed above. However, that hasn't gotten me any better results.

Anyone have any ideas as to what is going on? Would appreciate the help.

CPU: Q6600 (G0 stepping)
CPU cooler: Sunbeam Tuniq Tower 100
Mobo: Abit IN9-32Max
Memory: Corsair TwinX PC6400 1GBx2=2GB
Video: ASUS 8800GT 512MB
Sound Card: X-Fi XtremeMusic
Power Supply: Apevia Iceberg 680W
Case: Antec P182
OS: Windows Vista 32-bit

This post has been edited by bc022372: Dec 13 2007, 01:27 PM

Are you using two 1G sticks of RAM or 1 2G stick? If you're using two, then remove one of them and try booting it on one stick. If that doesn't work, then try the same thing with the other. You could have a bad stick. It could also be a faulty PSU, but there's lots of other things to try before you get to that.

I'm using 2 sticks of 1GB and have updated my specs to reflect that. I'll try your suggestion when I get home this evening.

Have you upped the voltage for your sticks? Usually the motherboard will default voltage to 1.8V when the sticks are rated at 2.0V or 2.1V, if you've changed the timings this may be causing issues as it's not getting enough power.

No...I didn't increase the voltage because I didn't know that was something I needed to do. I'll see if I can find the voltage specs for this memory stick.

Thanks for the suggestion. Please keep them coming.

You should be able to find the required voltage on each stick. My GeIL RAM has a little sticker on it that tells me exactly what my RAM is and at what voltages it needs to run.

Another thing I would suggest since you obviously have access to a computer right now is to download memtest from here:

http://www.memtest.org/

and follow the instructions. If neither or the previous suggestions work, then memtest will tell you if the problem is related to your memory. If the memory proves to not be the problem, then we can move on to other components.

Thanks...I'll look for that. I remember seeing my timings on stick so I'm sure the voltage isn't too far from that.

You should check the voltages first, as running memtest with insufficient voltage will most probably give you errors, but upping the voltage will fix this.

I agree, check the voltages first, but it won't hurt to download the program while you have access to a computer since you obviously won't be able to download it from home until this issue is resolved.

memtest? Is that a program? What does it do?

I actually have two laptops at home so I'm still good download-wise while my system is under the scapel.

Memtest is a program designed to test your RAM that runs independant of the OS. In other words, you could disconnect your harddrive altogether and still boot memtest from a floppy or CD. It is generally accepted as the best memory testing software available.

Click this for a guide to using Memtest



Click this to download Memtest

Run it overnight if possible

Sweet! I'll gladly try that out too.

Ok. Here's the results of my work tonight so far.

1. I updated the voltage in the mobo. The mobo had picked a voltage of 1.8V while the memory stick required 1.9V. I updated the voltage to 1.9V and didn't have any success starting windows.

2. I downloaded memtest and have been running it for about an hour now. 2 passes have taken place and no errors have been discovered so far.

The other suggestion mentioned was to try booting with just a single stick. I haven't tried that yet but wonder if its still necessary since the checks (so far) have come up good.

I'm willing to run Memtest overnight on the memory. I'm just wondering if there are any other suggestions I can try in the meantime tonight.