Upgrading RAM from 2GB to 4GB

Hello Fellow Vista Inmates & Happy 'Australia Day' from Sydney!!!

In a weeks time I will be upgrading my G-Skill DDR2 800 Memory from 2GB to 4GB on my Asus P5W DH Deluxe MotherBoard.

Could you please advise the correct proceedure that needs to take place in order to ensure that ALL 4GB of RAM will be recognised and utilized on my system.

Thank you for taking the time to read this being my virgin visit on a forum.

With Kindest Regards

Neil (Mr Smiley)

well you got too pay attention to wich brand your RAM's are because some computers don't accept 3th party RAM, and ofcourse some pc's only accept 4 off the same memory and some not. But you got too figer that out on your self online

Hi Chilloh

Thanks for your response.

Yes I think I understand what you mean.

My PC has been working beautifully with Vista x64, but I believe an additional 2GB of memory is all it needs.

I have ensured that the additional 2GB of RAM I have ordered matches identically with my existing 2GB of RAM being G-Skill F2 6400 PHU2 2GB HZ DDR11 1GB PC2 6400 444 / 12.
I read somewhere on the Asus website, and I stand to be corrected, that in order for Vista to recognise the full 4GB of RAM, that one needs to reinstall the OS. Is this true and am I right in saying that MS has a Hotfix relating to this issue. Have you or anybody had the experience of increasing your RAM from 2GB to 4GB after Vista install? Please advise.

Kind regards

Neil (Mr Smiley)

Senior Smiley~San - Just buy the same as what your computer already has, shut down/unplug, open 'er up, and put them in. You shouldn't have any troubles, really.

The one thing to be ready for is a potential error on startup caused by certain types of memory controller, which may or may not be used by a particular Mobo. The fix for that is Error message when you try to install Windows Vista on a computer that uses more than 3 GB of RAM: "STOP 0x0000000A" Uninstall the extra RAM, download and install this patch, and complete the restart cycle. After that you may reinstall the extra RAM at your convenience.

High performance Memory can need some extra tweaking in the form of a couple extra 10ths of voltage or slightly relaxed timings. Most Mobos and memory are tested in pairs. 4 are harder to drive. Again, regular stuff shouldn't be a problem. It's when you're trying to Overclock (and YES, DDR2-1066 is 'Factory Overclocked' 800MHz) memory that you might have stability issues.

No, that is not true that you have to reinstall vista. If you have all the latest windows updates and the latest asus bios for your motherboard then all you would need to do is add in the extra identical memory. Of course make sure you unplug the power cord from the computer and discharge any static electricity that maybe stored up in your body before going inside the tower. This would be a good time to use canned air and blow out any dust/dust bunnies on fans, fins and filters if need be.

Hi Guys, I came across this thread while trying to research a problem very similiar to this situation.

I have Vista Ultimate 64 and an Asus P5W DH mobo with 2 gigs of G.Skilll ddr2 6400 4-4-4-12 sticks of memory (F2-6400PHU2-2GBHZ). Been running Vista and these sticks since September.

Tonight I installed another set of the same exact memory and after POST the windows loading bar appears for less than a second then a blue screen with lots of text flashes once very quickly, and the computer reboots.

This will happen continously unless I intervene, lol.

I set all my memory bios setting to "auto" to make sure it will recognize it. I have also tried each set of sticks one at a time and all is well with both sets. This only happens when 4 sticks are installed, not 2.

Anyone have any ideas?

Hi Sonok

May I suggest you create a new post with regard to your issue.

Kind regards

Neil (Mr Smiley)