hax0rzd Posted September 11, 2008 Share Posted September 11, 2008 Hi. I am having a couple of problems with installing and running Vista, I believe I have narrowed it down to memory. When booting from Vista install disc after initial loading where it says 'Windows is Loading Files...' it takes at least 5 minutes for the window saying 'Install Now' to appear, which is unusually long. Then it takes a further 5 minutes after clicking install now to load the windows asking for license key, and it continues etc... I kept getting BSOD's saying SYSTEM_SERVICE_EXCEPTION. I removed one memory module and the lengthy waits were still there but Vista installed at least. After Vista installed I put the module back in and the BSOD's returned. I swapped the module and things were still ok. For some reason memtest fails to boot so I could not use that as a diagnosis. So I ended up using Windows Memory Diagnostic. No errors were found with an extended test with both modules in. I set overclocking to Intel XMP which set the timings to 7-7-7-20 and running at 1.9V. I also tried manual, but did not make a difference. The only way Vista will even run is if only one module is in. I put the module into another slot suitable for single channel and it still worked so the slot isn't faulty. How can I use both modules and run Vista? Many Thanks Vinay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsair Employees RAM GUY Posted September 11, 2008 Corsair Employees Share Posted September 11, 2008 You will need to download and install Service Pack 1 along with all the recommended Microsoft updates. Do this with a single module installed, and once everything is up to date you should be able to install the second module. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hax0rzd Posted September 12, 2008 Author Share Posted September 12, 2008 You will need to download and install Service Pack 1 along with all the recommended Microsoft updates. Do this with a single module installed, and once everything is up to date you should be able to install the second module. Thank you Ram Guy, I will try that ASAP. Would you know what is causing the lengthy Vista install bits. I have installed Vista 64bit on many machines before but wait time between windows has never been this long. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsair Employees RAM GUY Posted September 12, 2008 Corsair Employees Share Posted September 12, 2008 Not to sure at this point, but there is a bug with Vista where if you try to install it (or run it) with 3GB or more memory in installed, then you will run into the issues you have seen. The issue was resolved with SP1. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hax0rzd Posted September 12, 2008 Author Share Posted September 12, 2008 I tried what you said. I re-installed Vista updated to SP1 installed all updates and drivers, then I put in the memory, but the BSOD's remain. Is there any setting in the BIOS I would have to change/configure? Thanks for your help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsair Employees RAM GUY Posted September 12, 2008 Corsair Employees Share Posted September 12, 2008 Please set the following settings in the BIOS and then test the modules one at a time in the fourth DIMM slot (furthest from the CPU) with http://www.memtest.org. Memory Voltage: 1.9v TCL: 7 TRCD: 7 TRP: 7 TRAS: 20 I would initially leave the memory frequency at the default value, and as long as you do not get any errors with memtest, you can increase the frequency from there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hax0rzd Posted September 13, 2008 Author Share Posted September 13, 2008 Please set the following settings in the BIOS and then test the modules one at a time in the fourth DIMM slot (furthest from the CPU) with http://www.memtest.org. Memory Voltage: 1.9v TCL: 7 TRCD: 7 TRP: 7 TRAS: 20 I would initially leave the memory frequency at the default value, and as long as you do not get any errors with memtest, you can increase the frequency from there. Memtest doesn't seem to boot. I burnt the bootable .iso using imgburn to an empty cd then tried to boot from that but memtest failed to boot. I set X.M.P then went to DRAM Freq. and set it lower to 1333, and it works. Although it should be working at 1600 or higer. When picking dram freq. on bios it says that picking 1600, 1800 or 2000 the FSB frequency and cpu ratio will be optimized automatically. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hax0rzd Posted September 14, 2008 Author Share Posted September 14, 2008 Just to make sure it was the speed causing the bsod's, I reinstalled Vista with 1 module, then installed SP1. I put the 2nd module back in and more bsod's were appearing. Then I went into BIOS and lowered the speed to 1333MHz and now Vista doens't complain. What settings do I need to adjust to be able to run these modules at 1600Mhz without any stability issues? At the moment, setting it at 1600Mhz will throw the BSOD at me, but 1333Mhz is stable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsair Employees RAM GUY Posted September 15, 2008 Corsair Employees Share Posted September 15, 2008 Other than the settings I posted above, all you need to do to get the system to run the memory at 1600MHz is to get your CPU stable with a 400MHz FSB. I would first get the system stable at 400MHz FSB with a 7x CPU multiplier and then bump it up from there if you wish to do so. If you still have problems, then test the modules one at a time to see if you can isolate a single module that may not be running properly. If both modules appear to have the same issues when testing them individually, then the CPU may not be stable, and I would drop the CPU FSB down in small increments, until the system stabilizes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hax0rzd Posted September 16, 2008 Author Share Posted September 16, 2008 I finally got Memtest to boot! Here's my first picture of it running. I set overclocking to X.M.P and the rest on auto. http://img185.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc00020an2.jpg http://img185.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc00020an2.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hax0rzd Posted September 16, 2008 Author Share Posted September 16, 2008 Here's another picture after memtest finished. http://img261.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc00021xk8.jpg No errors were found. http://img261.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc00021xk8.jpg Why is Vista still giving the SYSTEM_SERVICE_EXCEPTION BSOD? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsair Employees RAM GUY Posted September 16, 2008 Corsair Employees Share Posted September 16, 2008 Did you install SP1 or the patch KB929777? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hax0rzd Posted September 16, 2008 Author Share Posted September 16, 2008 Did you install SP1 or the patch KB929777? I installed the patch then installed SP1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsair Employees RAM GUY Posted September 16, 2008 Corsair Employees Share Posted September 16, 2008 I would look for some other cause, did you try and uninstall the Video driver and see if it would get to Windows? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hax0rzd Posted September 16, 2008 Author Share Posted September 16, 2008 I would look for some other cause, did you try and uninstall the Video driver and see if it would get to Windows? Yes, I have tried that. I read on a forum that ATi drivers may be a problem. I uninstalled them then tried running ram at 1600MHz, but I still get the system_service_exception bsod. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsair Employees RAM GUY Posted September 16, 2008 Corsair Employees Share Posted September 16, 2008 You may want to try testing the video cards one at a time to see if you get the error with both cards individually, or if only one of the cards gives you the issue, then you may have found the problem. You may also want to try the same thing with the memory modules to make sure that you can rule out the memory. One more thing to try would be to boot up into safe mode and see if you get the same error. Let us know your results! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hax0rzd Posted September 16, 2008 Author Share Posted September 16, 2008 You may want to try testing the video cards one at a time to see if you get the error with both cards individually, or if only one of the cards gives you the issue, then you may have found the problem. You may also want to try the same thing with the memory modules to make sure that you can rule out the memory. One more thing to try would be to boot up into safe mode and see if you get the same error. Let us know your results! Yes, I get the BSOD in safe mode too!! :eek: I will try settings with 1 card ASAP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsair Employees RAM GUY Posted September 16, 2008 Corsair Employees Share Posted September 16, 2008 One more thing when you run the memory at DDR1600 the CPU would have to be running at 1600 FSB, did you have your CPU Over clocked to 400 MHz? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hax0rzd Posted September 17, 2008 Author Share Posted September 17, 2008 One more thing when you run the memory at DDR1600 the CPU would have to be running at 1600 FSB, did you have your CPU Over clocked to 400 MHz? Yes, the CPU was overclocked from FSB1333 to 1600. Do I need to set FSB strap to North Bridge at 400MHz as well? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsair Employees RAM GUY Posted September 17, 2008 Corsair Employees Share Posted September 17, 2008 Yes, the CPU was overclocked from FSB1333 to 1600. Do I need to set FSB strap to North Bridge at 400MHz as well? You should be able to leave it at the auto/default setting. Did you change your CPU multiplier when setting the FSB to 400MHz? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hax0rzd Posted September 17, 2008 Author Share Posted September 17, 2008 You should be able to leave it at the auto/default setting. Did you change your CPU multiplier when setting the FSB to 400MHz? As you advised, I lowered the multiplier to 7, for stability reasons. I have tried with 6 and 8 as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsair Employees RAM GUY Posted September 17, 2008 Corsair Employees Share Posted September 17, 2008 If you are passing memtest, and still get errors even while in safe mode, then I would suspect a problem with either the actual Windows installation or a hardware component other than the memory. If you still think that the memory itself is causing the issues, then I would test the modules individually and see if you can pin down to problem to a single module. It would be unlikely that you would get two modules that would fail at the same time with the same issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hax0rzd Posted September 18, 2008 Author Share Posted September 18, 2008 Could it be a BIOS error? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsair Employees RAM GUY Posted September 18, 2008 Corsair Employees Share Posted September 18, 2008 Its possible, have you tried updating the BIOS to the latest version? The only other thing I would recommend would be to reinstall your OS, just to make sure this is not a Windows issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hax0rzd Posted September 18, 2008 Author Share Posted September 18, 2008 Its possible, have you tried updating the BIOS to the latest version? The only other thing I would recommend would be to reinstall your OS, just to make sure this is not a Windows issue. I have updated BIOS to latest. I will low-level format my hdd's and reinstall Vista. I managed to get a copy of Vista x64 with SP1 integrated. But I still get the unusually long delays though. I will try that. For formatting should I use seagate's seatools and erase track zero then do a full erase? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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