Increased RAM causes Win 7 to hang on boot

[cptdzastr]

I recently upgraded my display to a larger monitor, and as a result my games have increased their load on my system memory. To compensate, I added an additional 4 GB of RAM to the 2 GB I already had. I discovered, however, that Win 7 32 bit still has the memory address limits, and the system only recognized 3 out of the 6 GB of RAM. Since I have a 64 bit processor, I decided to change over to 64 bit to take advantage of the new hardware.

However, attempts to install Windows 7 with 6 GB of RAM failed; the system hung up during installation at about the "Completing installation" point, with a black screen. I removed the new memory and got past the installer errors. But now, whenever I run with the new chips (and I've changed them once already with the same result, so I doubt its hardware error) Windows hangs up during boot (the Windows logo stops waving). The repair facility from the disc doesn't correct the error, and about half the time causes the "BOOTMGR is missing" error on the following boot (I correct that by rebuilding the bcd, but the OS still hangs on the way in).

Any suggestions?

 

[sup3rsprt]

what kind of RAM is it? did you set the memory timings correctly?

 

[zigzag3143]

What are the specs on the old ram and the specs on the new ram?

Ken

 

[cptdzastr]

The first set was 2*2GB PC 6400 ram by PNY. The new set is 2*2GB PC6400 ram by Patriot. The settings for the RAM have been set automatically by my BIOS, and its worth noting that the new RAM worked flawlessly in 32 bit Win7 (aside from the fact that Windows saw it but couldn't really use it) with those settings.

 

[chev65]

The first set was 2*2GB PC 6400 ram by PNY. The new set is 2*2GB PC6400 ram by Patriot. The settings for the RAM have been set automatically by my BIOS, and its worth noting that the new RAM worked flawlessly in 32 bit Win7 (aside from the fact that Windows saw it but couldn't really use it) with those settings.

Mixing Ram brands and types hardly ever works right. I strongly advise against it. You also should not need more than 4GB for gaming. You will be much better off running only the matched 4GB kit then setting the memory up,..timings, divider and voltages to manufacture specs in bios manually. If you keep getting the installation errors then clear the cmos and try again.

The best way to handle higher resolutions with bigger screens is to go SLI assuming that your board supports it.

Win7 32 bit probably worked because it can't even access more than 3GB of the 6GB that you installed.

If you want to run more than 4GB there are a few 8GB kits that will work. I've been through this a million times at EVGA forums where I have 34 BR's for giving advice just like this. It may not be what you want to hear but it's the truth.

 

[cptdzastr]

Mixing Ram brands and types hardly ever works right. I strongly advise against it. You also should not need more than 4GB for gaming.

I doubt the Ram settings are the same for both types of Ram that you have and I also doubt that the Auto settings in bios are getting it right.

The error remains, even removing the original 2 GB and running with just the 4 GB chips. So it wouldn't appear to be an interaction or difference of settings error.

 

[zigzag3143]

The error remains, even removing the original 2 GB and running with just the 4 GB chips. So it wouldn't appear to be an interaction or difference of settings error.

CPT

One thing you could try is occasionally ram needs a slight voltage tweak to work correctly. DO a search here for that and you will find the suggested values. My bios cant be adjusted.

Thanks for the rep btw

Ken

 

[chev65]

The error remains, even removing the original 2 GB and running with just the 4 GB chips. So it wouldn't appear to be an interaction or difference of settings error.

You will want to go into bios and set up the memory timings and memory voltage manually. The Auto settings hardly ever get it right. You will need to look up the specs for your Ram for this because I'm not sure what your exact type of Ram is.

You will want to use the memory slot futhest from the CPU, then skip a space then install the other one.

 

[cptdzastr]

You will want to use the memory slot futhest from the CPU, then skip a space then install the other one.

Mine appear to pair directly instead of staggering, but I'll give manually tweaking the voltage a shot and post back anything useful I find out.

 

[chev65]

Mine appear to pair directly instead of staggering, but I'll give manually tweaking the voltage a shot and post back anything useful I find out.

You should always be skipping a slot when only installing 2. The last slot and the second one get the instructions from the CPU first so if only using two slots those should be the ones to use. I'm not sure what you mean by pair directly?

You should be able to look up the specs for your 4GB Ram kit from the manufacture web site.

 

[Antman]

Asus M2-AVM...

 

[cptdzastr]

Yep, that's the board. RAM appears to be paired right next to one another and doesn't dual-channel when I leave spaces open between chips.

 

[chev65]

Yep, that's the board. RAM appears to be paired right next to one another and doesn't dual-channel when I leave spaces open between chips.

Yes for dual channel you want a space between the two. Starting with the slot furthest from the CPU.

 

[cptdzastr]

Yes for dual channel you want a space between the two. Starting with the slot furthest from the CPU.

The manual seems to disagree, unless I'm misinterpreting it.

 

[johngalt]

The first set was 2*2GB PC 6400 ram by PNY. The new set is 2*2GB PC6400 ram by Patriot. The settings for the RAM have been set automatically by my BIOS, and its worth noting that the new RAM worked flawlessly in 32 bit Win7 (aside from the fact that Windows saw it but couldn't really use it) with those settings.

Did you mean 2*1GB PC 6400 PNY? Other wise you're replacing 4 GB not 2...

Mixing Ram brands and types hardly ever works right. I strongly advise against it. You also should not need more than 4GB for gaming. You will be much better off running only the matched 4GB kit then setting the memory up,..timings, divider and voltages to manufacture specs in bios manually. If you keep getting the installation errors then clear the cmos and try again.

The best way to handle higher resolutions with bigger screens is to go SLI assuming that your board supports it.

Win7 32 bit probably worked because it can't even access more than 3GB of the 6GB that you installed.

If you want to run more than 4GB there are a few 8GB kits that will work. I've been through this a million times at EVGA forums where I have 34 BR's for giving advice just like this. It may not be what you want to hear but it's the truth.

Indeed. The chipset for this particular product seems to have the same issue as my eVGA 780i mobo did for many, many users.

You will want to go into bios and set up the memory timings and memory voltage manually. The Auto settings hardly ever get it right. You will need to look up the specs for your Ram for this because I'm not sure what your exact type of Ram is.

You will want to use the memory slot futhest from the CPU, then skip a space then install the other one.

wrong

Mine appear to pair directly instead of staggering, but I'll give manually tweaking the voltage a shot and post back anything useful I find out.

Correct

You should always be skipping a slot when only installing 2. The last slot and the second one get the instructions from the CPU first so if only using two slots those should be the ones to use. I'm not sure what you mean by pair directly?

You should be able to look up the specs for your 4GB Ram kit from the manufacture web site.

wrong - slot skipping is *not* universal

Yes for dual channel you want a space between the two. Starting with the slot furthest from the CPU.

Nope.

View attachment 26054

The manual seems to disagree, unless I'm misinterpreting it.

You're correct. Also, see techPowerUp :: ASUS M2A-VM Review :: Page 3 / 19 - the very last picture under the Board layout section -

To run your memory in dual-channel mode, you have to put the modules into slots of the same color

 

[cptdzastr]

Did you mean 2*1GB PC 6400 PNY? Other wise you're replacing 4 GB not 2...

Perhaps some clarification is in order. Before the display upgrade and this whole mess starting, I had 2 GB of RAM made by Ballistix. The first attempt at upgrade RAM was made by PNY, 2 *2 GB (for an additive 4 GB, totaling 6 GB). I ran into the specified problems, even with the new RAM by itself (though booting with just the Ballistix RAM works, as does any combination of the two in win 7 32 bit). Thinking that perhaps the chips were bad (unlikely, but possible) or that they were in some fashion incompatible with Win 7 64 bit, I exchanged them for Patriot 2 * 2 GB chips. The issue remains the same, so I don't think there's anything inherent to the hardware that could cause it unless it's something I've got set wrong. Modifying the voltage for the Patriot RAM (by itself, without the Ballistix RAM installed) did not appear to make any difference. Windows still hangs during boot, just after the flag completes and starts to wave.

 

[chev65]

Perhaps some clarification is in order. Before the display upgrade and this whole mess starting, I had 2 GB of RAM made by Ballistix. The first attempt at upgrade RAM was made by PNY, 2 *2 GB (for an additive 4 GB, totaling 6 GB). I ran into the specified problems, even with the new RAM by itself (though booting with just the Ballistix RAM works, as does any combination of the two in win 7 32 bit). Thinking that perhaps the chips were bad (unlikely, but possible) or that they were in some fashion incompatible with Win 7 64 bit, I exchanged them for Patriot 2 * 2 GB chips. The issue remains the same, so I don't think there's anything inherent to the hardware that could cause it unless it's something I've got set wrong. Modifying the voltage for the Patriot RAM (by itself, without the Ballistix RAM installed) did not appear to make any difference. Windows still hangs during boot, just after the flag completes and starts to wave.

With 4GB you may need to increase the northbridge voltage to get it stable. It's a standard adjustment on many enthusiast boards but it goes by different names depending on the chipset and bios.

Also with your strange Dimm slot arrangement you would need to use the same colored slots as somebody pointed out. Not many are set up that way. I thought it used an Nvidia chip set with a standard Dimm slot arrangement. Thanks to John and Antman for pointing that out.

 

[cptdzastr]

I tried tinkering with the voltage for the RAM setting its would allow (not much, admittedly, just the DDR RAM Voltage from 1.8 up to 2.1 in increments of .1 V). None of the settings got the machine through the bootup sequence. When I switched back to Auto, removed the 2*2 GB chips, and put the 2 * 1 GB chips back in it booted up without issue.

 

[cptdzastr]

Resolution

So, having tinkered with just about everything else I tried updating the BIOS (something of a trial since none of the programs available for it works in Win 7, and the BIOS utility only saw CDs in the DVD drive). For some reason, that straightened out this issue. Win 7 64 loaded without a hitch, recognized all 6 GB of RAM, and no longer spontaneously spawns BOOTMGR issues.

A relatively simple fix. It's too bad I got around to it 30 hours into the issue, though.

 

[johngalt]

Glad you got this worked out, b/c I have been in here very little - only for brief periods of time, at that.

In all honesty, though, I am surprised that I never thought to mention checking for a BIOS upgrade - it took a few iterations of BIOS upgrades before this issue was solved for many folks, after which all reported smooth transitions to larger amounts of memory, but I had forgotten the end result (and also assumed that you already had the latest BIOS, which was my fault entirely).