ShamblingFiend Posted October 25, 2005 Share Posted October 25, 2005 Hi all, Please read this carefully, and if you're able, give me some info/advice on what to do here. I just replaced my old RAM with Cosair XMS DDR400 (1GIG) 3200C2 PRO and am having some strange problems that I'm pretty sure are RAM related. When I boot, I sometimes get a black fuzzy screen, which if I let go long enough, will eventually boot to Windows. The rest of the time, it boots fine, but the start button "clicks" a few times like it's trying to boot but is having problems. Now, for the record: I am NOT overclocking. However, I did have to turn up the voltage to 2.75v as that is what the RAM is rated at, and I had to adjust the timing to 2-3-3-6, as that is also what the RAM is rated at... ...however, my system considers this/reacts to this as if I were overclocking, as I tried OCing my old RAM, which gave me similar problems, but wouldn't boot at all (it wasn't rated for it)... but this is still different. My specs are: P4 Pentium 3.2Ghz CPU MSI Neo2 865PE mobo 520w PSU (Coolmax) etc. So: 1) Should I run at the boards native RAM timing of 3-3-3-8? If so, how will that effect the RAM/speeds? 2) Should I drop the voltage to 2.5v again, which seems "native" for my board, though it supports much higher? If so, how will that effect the RAM/speeds? 3) If I keep the voltage/timings changed for this specific RAM, is there anything else in the BIOS I need to adjust to "match" these settings? It's an odd problem, especially because otherwise my system is working perfectly. It's reacting as if I were OCing, but I'm not... it's just the settings for the RAM, which I adjusted according to it's specs... but I'm getting these weird boot problems. Any very detailed info/advice would be extremely appreciated. Thanks much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsair Employee RAM GUY Posted October 25, 2005 Corsair Employee Share Posted October 25, 2005 Please make sure that you have the latest bios version installed and then load setup/optimized defaults and set the memory voltage to 2.7 Volts and then set the timings manually to the tested settings for the specific module you have (Cass 2-3-2-6 with the Rass to Cass set to "3"), and then test the module/modules one at a time with www.memtest.org! If you get errors, please follow the link in my signature “I think I have a bad part!” and we will be happy to replace them or it! However, if you get errors with both modules that would suggest some other problem and I would test them in another system or MB to be sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShamblingFiend Posted October 25, 2005 Author Share Posted October 25, 2005 Please make sure that you have the latest bios version installed and then load setup/optimized defaults and set the memory voltage to 2.7 Volts and then set the timings manually to the tested settings for the specific module you have (Cass 2-3-2-6 with the Rass to Cass set to "3"), and then test the module/modules one at a time with www.memtest.org! If you get errors, please follow the link in my signature “I think I have a bad part!” and we will be happy to replace them or it! However, if you get errors with both modules that would suggest some other problem and I would test them in another system or MB to be sure. I called Corsair directly, and they told me the voltage is 2.75, and the timing is 2-3-3-6, not 2-3-2-6 so I don't know why you're telling me to do that. Other problem is, I can run memtest because I don't have a floppy drive (who does these days anymore?) and I've tried tests that are supposed to work from CD-R, but they don't for me. I don't think the RAM is the problem, but the settings it requires. I'm not going to update my BIOS, because it's not necessary, and the last time I did that from MSI, their BIOS update was terrible and made my system unable to run correctly. It was no mistakes on my end, either. The times have already been manually set, which I already stated, to what they should be for this RAM: 2-3-3-6. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsair Employee RAM GUY Posted October 25, 2005 Corsair Employee Share Posted October 25, 2005 Well that was an example not what you should set them to. then set the timings manually to the tested settings for the specific module you have For memtest, please see What is memtest86+, what do I use it for? It explains how to make a bootable CD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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