Computer resets after new memory added.

EvilCensor · 27 Nov 2008 at 19:50

Hi, I recently bought some OcUK PC2-6400C5 800Mhz DDR2 (2x1Gb) to replace some Geil PC2-4300 DDR2-533 (2x512Mb).

PROBLEM: My PC was always reliable but now resets itself.. uncertain what is triggering the reset.. sometimes after the unprompted reset it just loads up the OS again - sometimes I just get a blank screen.

This has happened about 10 times now.. PC was left on all night without issue - however while decompressing a 3Gb RAR the PC reset.. also while using a large DB that had to process a large number of files it just reset a few moments ago.

When Windows starts up again no error is reported.

Some system info..

OS: XP Home SP3
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-8AENXP-D
Processor Pentium 4 630 @ 3.2Ghz

CPU-Z says that the manufacturer is Crucial Technology and max bandwidth is PC2-6400 (400Mhz).. the label on the sticks of RAM says 'Rendition'.

Any suggestions please?

mame · 27 Nov 2008 at 20:28

make sure you have the correct VDIMM set in the BIOS. You could also clear the CMOS for good measure

EvilCensor · 27 Nov 2008 at 20:38

If that's the voltage for the DIMMs it's set to normal.. not sure if that's 1.8v.. can increment to +0.1, +0.2, +0.3 also.

Will try and use BIOS failsafe settings if it resets again.

Any other suggestions?

rodo · 27 Nov 2008 at 21:02

Run memtest on new sticks and double check voltage from manufacturer

EvilCensor · 27 Nov 2008 at 21:29

Okay, label on RAM says Rendition, OcUK site says they are sourced from Elixir and CPU-Z says made by Crucial.. visited Crucial site but no mention of Rendition - so any idea where I find more info? (OcUK 2GB (2x1GB) PC2-6400C5 800MHz DDR2 Dual Channel Kit)

rodo · 27 Nov 2008 at 21:40

Drop OcUK a webnote and link to the product in question and ask to clarify. Then you should be able to get a clear definitive answer

EvilCensor · 30 Nov 2008 at 16:56

Okay, I ran MemTest-86 (3.2 pre-OS) and the memory passed.. the setting it displayed were:

Pentium 4 (0.09) 3215Mhz
L1 Cache 16 22483Mb/s
L2 Cache 2048 17473MB/s
Chipset Intel i925X/XE (ECC: Disabled) FSB: 200Mhz
Type: DDR-II Settings RAM: 266Mhz (DDR533)/CAS: 4-4-4-12/Dual Channel (Interleaved)

Last night it went again (this after a fresh install of windows for registry related reasons).. I noticed that virtual memory settings were around 2000Mb.. I've since increased it to the (Windows) recommended 3070Mb - things are somewhat sluggish but no resets so far.

I don't mean to get you guys to do all the work for me - but am I missing something? (nice answers please)

Mattus · 30 Nov 2008 at 17:23

Set the voltage to +0.2 and see if it fixes the problem. It won't damage anything if it's not the problem.

EvilCensor · 1 Dec 2008 at 13:06

Thanks, don't want to spam the forum but tried it last night and just wanted to say no problems so far - will give it a week and report back just for reference.