PC Peripherals Memory Probs?

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I was using Generic 256MB DDR (400MHz, Hynix) with my Intel 865GBF mobo. I decided to upgrade and got another 256MB DDR (400MHz, Hynix) from ZION (rated high speed). Used the modules in dual channel mode for a week and then problem strikes. :eek:hyeah: On my WinXP Pro system, i am getting BSODs on a regular basis with corrupted file errors and auto restarts. I thought its coz of corrupt windows installation. So, I did a fresh installation of WinXP again. The prob wasn't there for first couple of hours but then the same thing started to happen. I figured out tat it must be the RAM. So, decided to find out which one is it...I tested them one by one, Generic one was in perfect shape and the culprit turned out to be the highly rated ZION.

I took it to customer service for replacement and they tested it with Win 98. Guess wat? no probs there. They say RAM is okay. They even gave me a long lecture on latency and stuff. They say its my MOBO thats faulty. I am confused since the Generic one is working fine. No errors. Their explaination: Since the ZION RAMs are high speed, they are making the mobo sweat while the generic one wasn't able to make the mobo work to its fullest or say it wasn't stretched enuf. Those replies were not enuf to convice me and I asked them to do some further testing.

Wat you guys/gals think? wat could be the problem?? Is it possible tat a RAM works fine on win98 but shows error in XP? :O
 
in your m/b bios
change the memory timings settings.
From the default "SPD" to manual.
and try with a very relaxed (high) values first.
 
Man just take a bootable floppy of memtest86 and run it -if it causes BSODs in Windows then it should show errors within a few minutes-if it runs for 2hours+ ur ram is fine.
I too got a generic hynix 256mb stick(which was actually 100 bucks higher than zion!) and no problems with my existing KVR 333 all set to 400mhz,3-3-3-11.It passed 2hours of memtest86 even at default voltage i.e 2.6v on my A7N8X bit I run it 2.9v just for kicks.If u have good airflow u can run ram at 2.9v-3v w/o problems.When u cross 3v problems may arise...
Anyway coming to ur problem-yes ur mobo could be at fault indirectly-can u raise vdimm?When using dual-channel u may need to raise the dimm voltage a bit to get stability.If u have the option to run at 2.8v-2.9v great.But ur intel mobo may be defaulting to 2.5v and a weak psu may cause to it to drop further to around 2.4v(can u measure with a multimeter on the appropriate ic?),causing the zion stick to function improperly.
BTW:ZION is not better than generic hynix DDR coz their pcb seemed low quality to me.R u from Delhi/NCR by any chance?
 
Those ram's are they bouble sidded?
Sometimes this happens when the rams have different timings.
Set ram timings manually. Set them to 3-3-3-8.
This should work.
 
thanks for ur replies...
i am yet to get the ZION ram back frm customer service :p
btw, the generic one's SPD are set to 3-3-3-8 by default.
(it shows only one column in CPU-Z while ZION one shows 3 columns under SPD Timings table.)

@stalker
me not much into hardware..can u temme the meaning of bouble sided?

@undertaker
i don have a multimeter to measure the voltages n i'm not frm delhi by any chance :p
btw, how do i raise the dimm voltage??

@deejay
does changing the SPD settings in BIOS effects all ram modules?
or are there different settings for different modules?
3-3-3-8 is quite okay i guess...
 
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QuickFire said:
does changing the SPD settings in BIOS effects all ram modules?

or are there different settings for different modules?

3-3-3-8 is quite okay i guess...
Click to expand...

one setting for all RAM.. and that timing is quite relaxed.. but do try 3-4-4-8 or something like that and like undertake said run MemTest86 and check for urself.
 
TheMask said:
one setting for all RAM.. and that timing is quite relaxed.. but do try 3-4-4-8 or something like that and like undertake said run MemTest86 and check for urself.
Click to expand...
well...forgot to mention smthing initially..
i don have a floppy drive :(
so how do i run MemTest86??
any alternative?
 
download the iso version of memtest and burn it to a cd . (barbie beat me to this)

have you tried using the zion ram alone and set the timings to those specified in the spd ? check cpu z for these
 
well.. if u dont care enough to post the reasons urself, there is no need to make fast comments. ppl who want to try it will do so whether u say it or not.
 
HeHe Thanks Masky !
BarbieGirl is probably just being true to her(???) name :eek:hyeah: !

@QuickFire:
Well, I looked into the RAM guy forums at Corsair ! And it appears that windiag "is not a common application used today" and he hinted that it could have problems. So, good ol' memtest appears to be a safer bet ! So, sorry about that - though my post was more along getting to know about that tool rather than a recommendation for choosing it over memtest !
 
@Masky, See the quote....in my previous post...

If u were smart enuf... u shud hve known it was the reason..

"IT'S NOT USED" :cool2:

No hard feelings..pls...

JediMaster said:
HeHe Thanks Masky !

BarbieGirl is probably just being true to her(???) name :eek:hyeah: !

@QuickFire:

Well, I looked into the RAM guy forums at Corsair ! And it appears that windiag "is not a common application used today" and he hinted that it could have problems. So, good ol' memtest appears to be a safer bet ! So, sorry about that - though my post was more along getting to know about that tool rather than a recommendation for choosing it over memtest !
Click to expand...
 
QuickFire said:
thanks for ur replies...

i am yet to get the ZION ram back frm customer service :p

btw, the generic one's SPD are set to 3-3-3-8 by default.

(it shows only one column in CPU-Z while ZION one shows 3 columns under SPD Timings table.)
@deejay

does changing the SPD settings in BIOS effects all ram modules?

or are there different settings for different modules?

3-3-3-8 is quite okay i guess...
Click to expand...
@ QF,

There is a small rom chip on every module(That tiny chip with 8 pins). in this the mfg. name (optional) , the memory timmings, etc are "stored".
these values are "read" by your m/c (bios) during startup, and the memory controller settings are automatically adjusted on your m/b from the data in these "rom chips". Since This Data is "Read" in a serial mode this process is called "SPD" i.e. "serial presence detect".
Now for obvious reasons different memory sticks will have different sets of data stored.( in fact many generic - low cost modules do not have any "data" stored they rely on the bios default values.) in that case the slowest ram modules settings is taken as default (modules in the same bank) by the bios and the m/c configured accordingly.
These many a times result in "incompatibility" issues.

(not always , kindly remembet that)
hence it is always a wise move to manually set the memory timmings in ur bios first. by doing that you would be forcing the bios to set the values that you desire as "common settings" for all the modules. in effect you would be "ignoring" those "SPD" values.
all other diagnostic programs like memtest86 or WMD (thats "Windows Memory Diagnostic" and not "Weapons of Mass Destruction (hehe)) can be tried out "afterwards". infact memtest86 can be used to "finetune" ur memory timmings perfectly.
*WMD is ok too. infact if a ram module passes the wmd test then 99% of the time that ram would work in XP without problems. (@ that same ram settings (fsb) and timmings (latencies) ).
due to the inherent partial error correction capabilities of windows i have found , while extreme o/cing, that those modules which have a slight problem or small nos of errors in memtest86 pass with flying colors in WMD.;) :huh:
my second suggestion would have been to insert the offending module in different ram slots on ur m/b and try.
But since you have manually checked the rams independently and found the zion module as faulty

hopefully the "replaced" module from ur dealer will "work" properly. incase it does not you can post here for further diagnosis.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
QuickFire said:
thanks for ur replies...
i am yet to get the ZION ram back frm customer service :p
btw, the generic one's SPD are set to 3-3-3-8 by default.
(it shows only one column in CPU-Z while ZION one shows 3 columns under SPD Timings table.)

@stalker
me not much into hardware..can u temme the meaning of bouble sided?
Click to expand...

If 1 of them is double sidded and the other is not. It could cause problems.

Double sidded as in are there ram chips on both the sides of them ram module?
Or is it only on 1 side?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Looks like Bill Gates took memtest86 and gave it a nice UI,much like its rumoured he did with windows.LOL.
In my experience a 2-3hour test of memtest86 is enough.U can run prime95 for 6hours also for stress testing.Though the most exhaustive test would be to run each of these for a week 24 hours a day,thats practically impossible here.
So,
run memtest86 for 2 hours+
once u pass that that,
run prime95 'blend' test for 6hours+
if u pass these with flying colors ur pc is 99.9999% stable.(atleast there should be no windows crash)
 
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