Windows 7 - Refuses to install/run with 3GB RAM

I have purchased Windows7 Proessional edition and am doing a clean install, though I have encountered a number of perplexing problems:

1. Windows7 refuses to install if the system has more than 2GB RAM installed. It hangs at
the 'Starting Windows' screen. I got past this by reducing RAM to 2GB - but why is this ?

2. Readjust my RAM to 3GB and reboot. Windows7 gets to the 'Starting Windows' screens, then
reboots the machine. Just refuses to accept 3GB RAM !

3. Attempt to enter via Safe Mode, but I can't as it also reboots

4. I set RAM back to 2GB and rebooted in Safe Mode. I then set the Maximum Memory in the
msconfig tool to 3072 MB and shutdown the machine. (as I clicked OK, it quickly flicked to
2048MB before closing the screen !)

5. Install 3GB RAM and reboot - all ok

6. Resource Monitor shows that 1GB is being used for hardware. (When I booted using 2GB RAM, only 1MB was reserved for hardware !)

Now, if I run with 2GB RAM installed or 3GB RAM there is no difference - only 2GB is
available for Windows 7. I find that rather weird.

I had Windows XP with the same 3GB RAM running before - with no RAM being reserved for hardware.



Motherboard : Gigabyte 7N400 Pro2 (revision 1) with latest BIOS (F11)
CPU : AMD Athlon XP 3200+
RAM : 3x 1GB Kingston HyperX PC3200 - running at 333MHz in dual channel mode
Video : nVidia FX5200 with 128MB dedicated RAM


Any ideas ?

Have you tried using only 1gb of RAM?

The idea is to run the computer with 3GB RAM. 2GB works and I am sure 1GB will also work.

Im confused now... is this an installation problem, or do you already have windows 7 already installed?? Your thread title leads me to think that this is an installation problem... correct ne if Im wrong....

Both !

Installation - I could not install with more than 2GB of RAM. (so I installed with only 2GB)

Running Windows - adding the 3GB RAM back resulted in Windows hanging at the startup screen.

My original post outlines the steps I took in order.

Motherboard : Gigabyte 7N400 Pro2 (revision 1) with latest BIOS (F11)
CPU : AMD Athlon XP 3200+
RAM : 3x 1GB Kingston HyperX PC3200 - running at 333MHz in dual channel mode
Video : nVidia FX5200 with 128MB dedicated RAM



Dual Channel mode requires an even # of memory sticks, 2, 4, 6, 8

3 is the odd number causing the problem


" Doc "

Try this:

Memory Diagnostics Tool

AND

Memtest86+ - Advanced Memory Diagnostic Tool

I don't thnk so. I have had WindowsXP running fine with the same setup - 3x 1GB RAM in dual channel mode.

My motherboard supports dual channel mode with up to 3 RAM modules (double sided RAM). This is a limitation of the chipset, nForce 2.

Even with 3x RAM modules, the BIOS says it is running dual channel ! and Windows XP is happy with it !

For the record:

- I have run the WIndows 7 memory diagnostic check (running standard mode) and it reported no errors.

- I believe that Windows 7 is very picky with RAM modules. My motherboard has 4 RAM slots, but only supports a maximum of 3GB RAM. The slots that can be used for dual channel are as follows:

DIMM 1: x
DIMM 2: x
DIMM 3: x
DIMM 4:

or

DIMM 1: x
DIMM 2: x
DIMM 3:
DIMM 4: x

where the 'x' marks a RAM module. I have tried both configurations, but still get the same result.

Now, I have some old 512MB sticks, so I will also try 3x 512MB RAM modules to give me 1.5GB RAM. If that works, the problem can't be the dual channel mode with 3 RAM modules. I will post my results later.

Well, 3x 512MB RAM modules in dual channel mode work ! Here is what I tried:

Channel A
---------
DIMM 1: Kingmax 512MB PC3200
DIMM 2: Kingmax 512MB PC3200

Channel B
---------
DIMM 3: Kingmax 512MB PC3200
DIMM 4:


If I try my Kingston 1GB RAM modules as follows:


Channel A
---------
DIMM 1: Kingston HyperX 1GB PC3200
DIMM 2: Kingston HyperX 1GB PC3200

Channel B
---------
DIMM 3: Kingston HyperX 1GB PC3200
DIMM 4:

I get Windows hanging.


Any ideas ?