Gateway M675 w/Corsair CMXSD512-3200LL

Hello, I own a Gateway M675 Notebook computer, with the following specs: 3.0 GHz Intel P4 processor Intel 865PE, ICH5 core logic 800 MHz system bus Win XP Home More detailed specs can be found here = [URL]http://support.gateway.com/s/Mobile/Gateway/M675/3501731sp75.shtml[/URL] It came with a pair of 256mb PC2700 333Mhz DDR SO-DIMM memory chips. It is upgradable to 2 gigs of PC3200 400Mhz DDR SO-DIMM. I recently purchased a pair of new Corsair CMXSD512-3200LL memory chips. These are the new PC3200 400Mhz DDR SO-DIMMs. I replaced my old memory with these chips and my computer booted and loaded windows fine (I'm using it right now). I have noticed a major boost in performance/speed from this upgrade, however at random I will now encounter a blue screen error when I attempt to run "heavy programs" (such as PowerDVD or a bunch of MS Office apps). It never did this before so I'm positive it is the new memory. I'm not too memory savvy so I apologize in advance for my ignorance on this problem. I researched for awhile to figure out the very best memory available for my computer, that is also very compatable and stable. The Corsair CMXSD512-3200LL is what I decided on. The latency is 2.5 (which is what my computer requires and the old memory was) so I know thats not the problem. So anyways, I'm asking for any help or advice on what to do to correct these blue screens. I'm 100% this is due to this new memory. My notebook now runs like a dream except for these blue screen errors that arise from running big programs. Is there a BIOS setting I need to change or something? Please help/advise. Thanks in advance and good day.

Okay thank you for the prompt reply. I downloaded memtest86 but I'm having trouble running it. I realize this is not really your problem but maybe you can help me out anyway. I'm rather dissapointed that this program does not include more helpful documentation (such as how to install it and use it). It appears to be a zip file that should be extracted, and the contents used to make a boot disk with. However, my notebook does not have a floppy disk drive on it, so I'm not sure how to install/run this program. Btw, I have the latest BIOS for my notebook.

Okay a finally got the memtest ISO burned as an image on a CD-R. I booted with it and the program executed/worked fine. I had forgot to remove one of the modules at the time, and I didn't remember until later so I just let the test run with both modules in. It ran all night and reported around 250 errors from 56 test passes. I don't know what this means though. I'm guessing that I really do need to test each module alone. One thing I read on the memtest webpage was that compatability issues can cause memtest errors even though the module(s) may not be faulty at all. I wonder if that is what is happening here? Or is my error count low enough to mean that there are no problems with the memory and compatability? Also, I checked through my BIOS and I have got to say its one of the worst BIOS I've ever seen..... there are very few settings for me to change and it does not even show anything about my memory other than the total amount in megabytes.

Okay, I have been extremely busy and finally got back to working on this. I tested both modules seperately. The first one had zero errors after 4 test passes, the second one had two errors after 5 test passes. I'm assuming that this means the modules are not failing and do not need to be replaced. The BIOS that I have is the latest one available. I don't know what else to do. I do however have an idea (just throwing this out) as to what might be causing the blue screens. It seems that they always occur whenever I'm doing something that is using alot of system resources, especially my video card. Would it be possible that the RAM is not getting enough voltage and whenever I run a big program like a DVD movie player (I use PowerDVD) the video card/system is stealing the necessary voltage from the RAM, causing the blue screen? Once again, I don't know what I'm talking about really, but I thought I would mention this anyway. Please advise, thanks.

[quote name='RAM GUY']Yes, that is likely! However, some systems just will not run with aggressive memory, and power management will be controlled by the bios! So I would suggest checking with gateway and see if they have a newer bios and if not I would suggest you ask the reseller to help you get these exchanged for VS512SDSMB333 instead as this system just might not run these modules! But we can try replacing the failing module if you like as well![/QUOTE] I've said this a few times now, I have the latest BIOS available !! :) Okay, I will probably return these to the reseller. However, I do not want to drop back down to PC2700 like you suggested. The whole point in me upgrading my memory was to reap the benefits of awesome DDR400 (from corsair, the best memory there is from what I hear). So my question is, do you think that if I try the Value Select DDR400 instead of the current XMS DDR400 that I have now, it might not have this problem? According the gateway, my computer is capable of DDR400 SODIMM's (otherwise I wouldn't have bought it), so I'm not giving up until I have DDR400 (working properly). The only other thing I know is that it has to have a 2.5 CL.

Update -- I got the DDR400 XMS returned and exchanged for the same thing but Value Select line. Installed it and have been running lots of heavy programs and it works great with no blue screens so far. Looks like this is solved. Thanks again for your help.