4gb RAM BSOD

[aniruddha]

Again, I am using Vista x64 SP1. KB929777 is built into it, so I can't install OR uninstall it as a separate update. It doesn't show up in the installed updates list.

 

[ltwally]

It is the same code that Tekjoe is or was getting 0x0000000a and if I go over 4 gigs to 6 gigs I get this error 0x0000007e. I find it strange that vista works fine with 4 gigs and the 7600 video card, but not with the 8800gt. I been reading about the kb 929777 patch that is suppose to fix this issue. When I installed vista with 3 gigs, I did do all the auto updates, but I am not 100% sure if the 929777 update was install or not. I will double check in the morning.

Warped

This sounds more like driver issue than an OS issue. If one video card works and the next one doesn't, the issue isn't that Vista cannot handle the memory but that your video card drivers can not.

 

[ltwally]

Something i forgot to mention earlier: I also tried a Vista32 bit setup, and It freezes a lot before the BSOD, Even after detecting 4 gb ram with KB929777. I'm guessing vista has Inherent issues with handling 4 gb? That would mean problems, BIG problems.

BTW I am not bashing vista x64 here. Amazing OS. Hands down best windows ever. DX10 FTW.

I installed Vista x64 with 4gigs on board. I'm now running 8gigs. No problems. Never needed a patch.

When chatting about Vista 4gb+ memory issues, you gotta remember that this particular thread is largely comprised of people that have had the problem. Taking them to be the average experience would be an incorrect assumption.

Question: Have you ever ran Windows XP x64 with 4gb+ on this particular machine?

Also, have you contacted your motherboard manufacturer? It may well be a known issue with your motherboard. Perhaps a BIOS update?

 

[warpedhifi]

It is the same code that Tekjoe is or was getting 0x0000000a and if I go over 4 gigs to 6 gigs I get this error 0x0000007e. I find it strange that vista works fine with 4 gigs and the 7600 video card, but not with the 8800gt. I been reading about the kb 929777 patch that is suppose to fix this issue. When I installed vista with 3 gigs, I did do all the auto updates, but I am not 100% sure if the 929777 update was install or not. I will double check in the morning.

Warped

This sounds more like driver issue than an OS issue. If one video card works and the next one doesn't, the issue isn't that Vista cannot handle the memory but that your video card drivers can not.

Itwally, the KB 929777 took care of the problem, I had to find it and dl it and install it manually, and the computer has been running fine ever since.

 

[aniruddha]

Apparantly this BSOD is supposed to pop up only if you are using windows vista ultimate. If you install the next best thing (Vista Business) It's not there. So said someone at microsoft.

Right now i'm running XPx64 with 4 gigs. No bluescreen in 3 days. Didn't even shutdown either

 

[aniruddha]

ok here it goes again. I'm getting rid of XP to try Vista Business, with stepwise analysis. Hope it works. Will post here.

I wonder how many people using 4GB RAM with vista x64 have this problem...

 

[dmex]

Not many, It seems isolated to certain motherboards and memory configuration...Most poeple Ive installed vista for have had no problems with 4gb of ram

 

[aniruddha]

I see, From what I have observed, it seems that mostly people with nforce 680i chipsets and/or Geforce 8800GT/GTX/GTS have this problem.

I still haven't installed Vista Business yet... Hope I get to do it this week. my tablet doesn't work in XP X64!

 

[ltwally]

I still haven't installed Vista Business yet... Hope I get to do it this week. my tablet doesn't work in XP X64!

Honestly, I still don't see why the problem would crop up on Ultimate and not Business. They use the same HAL, the same kernel, the same drivers. They even use the same userland.

The only difference is that there are a few extra programs added to Ultimate, most of which are fluff (games, pretty gui effects, etc).

If you didn't hear it from Microsoft, itself, I'd say there was no way that Ultimate could have this particular problem and not Business. As it is, I'm still hard-pressed to believe it.

-ltwally

 

[Randor]

Hi!

Fortunately, I found this forum and this message.

I suspect seriously my PC freezes because it has 4 GB RAM.

Here is my configuration :
mobo : ASUS P5N32-Sli Deluxe (BIOS version 0405)
4 GB RAM
Nvidia 7900GTX
Vista 64-bits Ultimate

I installed Vista 32-Bits in January 2007.
My PC used to freeze once a week.
Last June, I switched to Vista 64-Bits and I got the same problem.
During the last month, the PC froze almost once a day.
All the Windows updates and the lates drivers are always up to date.

When the PC freezes, everything freezes : mouse, keyboard, Clock on the gadget sidebar, CPU Meter on the gadget sidebar, . . .
I have to press the reset button.
By the way, PC has just frozen when I was writing this message (I had to retype)!

Yesterday, I installed Vista SP1 64-bits.
The PC froze 2 hours after the installation.
Today, it froze 2 times.

In the event log, as usual, I see the event 6008.
Below, you see the detailed message.
Is there a way to interpret these data?

Thank you so very much!
----------------------------------
Log Name: System
Source: EventLog
Date: 2008-03-19 19:45:24
Event ID: 6008
Task Category: None
Level: Error
Keywords: Classic
User: N/A
Computer: Randor-PC
Description:
The previous system shutdown at 7:43:28 PM on 3/19/2008 was unexpected.

<Provider Name="EventLog" />
<EventID Qualifiers="32768">6008</EventID>
<Level>2</Level>
<Task>0</Task>
<Keywords>0x80000000000000</Keywords>
<TimeCreated SystemTime="2008-03-19T23:45:24.000Z" />
<EventRecordID>118223</EventRecordID>
<Channel>System</Channel>
<Computer>Randor-PC</Computer>
<Security />
</System>
<EventData>
<Data>7:43:28 PM</Data>
<Data>3/19/2008</Data>
EventRecordID 118223

 

[ltwally]

Log Name: System
Source: EventLog
Date: 2008-03-19 19:45:24
Event ID: 6008
Task Category: None
Level: Error
Keywords: Classic
User: N/A
Computer: Randor-PC
Description:
The previous system shutdown at 7:43:28 PM on 3/19/2008 was unexpected.
Event Xml:

A quick google search indicates that this is a DCOM issue. Have you searched for "Vista Event ID 6008" ?

 

[f_vo]

ok guys,

even if this thread as all the issues about Ultimate + 4 gb of memory, how about this problem. (Patch KB929777 was installed automatically after Vista installation.)

Jan 30th i installed Vista Ultimate with 2x1 gb OC sticks 1333 mhz (DDR3).

I bought later on 2 more sticks since in my opinion Ultimate needs at least 3 gb to run properly, with or without pagefile. (Even with pagefile i use around 1500mb, so having only 2000mb is not enough.)

To avoid the hang-ups with 4x1 gb sticks, i got 2x2gb 1333 mhz ReaperX sticks.

Well hang-ups are the only thing i get with the new memory.

- motherboard is Asus P5E3 with the X38 chipset. (My computer supplier changed the previous board for me, without any better result. It was the P5 older version), later we found out that one pair of the memory had faults. But to avoid 4 sticks, 2x2gb where installed.
-voltage is set to automate, which i think is normal for 2 sticks
-processor is the 3 ghz duo 1333 mhz from Intel.

So there are only 2 sticks, patch installed and the damn machine hangs.....

Any suggestions are more then welcome.

thanks

François

 

[dmex]

f_vo sometimes memory timings can be incorrectly set by the motherboard using default settings Try CPUID

 

[dmex]

also tun OFF any caching or shadowing used by your BIOS

 

[Scotteq]

Francois - Electronically, 4 DIMMS are more difficult for many/most motherboards to drive. So as mentioned earlier in this thread: I would recommend going into the Bios and manually setting the exact timings as recommended by the maker, ensure the command rate is set to 2T, and that the voltages are also manually set to the high end limit of the maker's recommendation. If that doesn't work, try increasing voltage to your front side buss a notch. The other thing you may or may not have is a Bios setting to compensate for 'Vdroop' (Voltage Drop) - If you have that, try a 10th, then a couple hundredths at a time from there.

Some memory makers (Corsair, OCZ, etc) have discussion boards for support, and in my experience with these two in particular they'll get you running right if they can.

Since most high performance RAM is DDR2 800 that is 'factory overclockable', know that some boards won't drive 4 sticks of it to the rated settings at all. So you may need to downclock. In my case, my board will drive my 4 Corsair 1066 sticks to 1000 MHZ, but no further than that without showing stability issues, even pushing the voltages a little outside the recommended envelope. I had it like that for a few weeks, but in the end I wasn't comfortable with it. So I clocked them to DDR2 800, tightened the timings to 4-4-4-12 from the 5-5-5-20 they were at. And I was also able to lower the voltage from the 2.3 they were at at DDR2 1000 to 2.0 at the tighter timings. 12 hour P95 Blend, and 12 hour Everest - no errors. Result.

 

[Randor]

Hi Itwally!

Thanks a lot.
How did you find the problem concerns DCOM?

Yes, I google Vista event id 6008.
By the way, I found this very interesting thread:

Random VISTA shutdown - TechNet Forums

Thanks again!

 

[ltwally]

François: As mentioned previously, I would check all your timings and your voltages in your system BIOS.

Beyond that, it's important to understand most PC parts manufacturers only adhere to standards just enough to get their parts working with most systems. Occasionally, in the PC world, a stick of memory just plain won't work with a given motherboard. I know that sounds asinine, but most manufacturers would rather lose a few customers than spend the time and money to make sure their parts are 100% to industry specifications. If the ReaperX doesn't work... return it and replace it with a different brand with similar specs.

 

[aniruddha]

François: As mentioned previously, I would check all your timings and your voltages in your system BIOS.

Beyond that, it's important to understand most PC parts manufacturers only adhere to standards just enough to get their parts working with most systems. Occasionally, in the PC world, a stick of memory just plain won't work with a given motherboard. I know that sounds asinine, but most manufacturers would rather lose a few customers than spend the time and money to make sure their parts are 100% to industry specifications. If the ReaperX doesn't work... return it and replace it with a different brand with similar specs.

UPDATE: Vista x64 SP1 Business does'nt do any better. Lotsa BSOD.

As for me, I did all that's mentioned above. Didn't work
The RAM sticks are fine, I've tested them together and individually. They are running on proper voltages and timings. And It's not like they won't work with my mobo, since they work excellent in XP x64. This is definitely, definitely a vista problem. It could be because of nVidia drivers or anything but It's affecting just vista.

The only thing left for me to do is to install a fresh Vista ultimate with 2 gb and add 2 gb later. Will do that tonight and post again.

To everyone who still suggests KB929777, It WON'T install on Vista SP1. No matter what, because its probably already there.

 

[aniruddha]

gawddammit this is driving me crazy.

I just installed vista ultimate clean with 2gb installed. Then I installed all the necessary drivers and software, then I put the other 2gb in. Immediately it started behaving erratic. random appcrashes and 3 BSODs in an hour.

I dont think it's the mobo drivers or forceware, since they work fine with 2 gigs. Since my mobo supports 8 gigs of ram, suspecting that would be silly. besides it's all happening AFTER putting the extra 2 gigs in. The slot selection or the order of the sticks is irrelevant.

Why isn't MS addressing this issue, i wonder....

 

[ltwally]

I dont think it's the mobo drivers or forceware, since they work fine with 2 gigs. Since my mobo supports 8 gigs of ram, suspecting that would be silly. besides it's all happening AFTER putting the extra 2 gigs in. The slot selection or the order of the sticks is irrelevant.

That's a big negatory. Who says that some driver, working in the kernel, isn't hard-coded to point to, say, 0xE0000000 (3.5gig)? As long as no actual memory occupies that space, it's a non-issue. But once that space is occupied, it becomes a very large issue. This is very similar to the reason that OS's often need to be explicitely told when you have above 3gig of memory, although that issue is because of your system BIOS.

And, we've already covered that your system is rock-solid-stable using other OS's, right? Ruled out any chance of it being a hardware issue, right?

I'm not saying it isn't Vista. What I am saying is that ruling out other things is, at this point, still premature.

I can only tell you that Vista x64 has been as stable as a rock. In the 9 months that I've been running it, I have yet to see a single BSOD. And, I use this system rather aggressively for 4-10 hours a day.

I can't recall if I've already asked.... Have you contacted your mobo manufacturer? If this is a known issue, they should have a good deal of knowledge on it.