Boot Issues With New Patriot Memory

[treschonde]

MB: ASUS P5N-E SLI

CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo Processor E6600 (2x 2.4GHz/4MB L2 Cache/1066FSB)

MEM: 2x Patriot 1gig DDR2 PC2-6400 800mhz

OS: Windows XP

I was previously using 2x 512mb pc6400 memory modules in dual channel on this PC. I just bought this Patriot 2gig kit, and installed them in the secondary slots. When I booted up, the BIOS showed the 3gig total. But after the BIOS screen, it reboots constantly.

Next I tried taking the original 512mb modules out entirely, and putting the 1gig modules in the primary slots. When booting in this configuration, it shows the correct amount of 2gig in BIOS, but just stops booting entirely after the BIOS screen.

Next I tried loading each 1gig module independently. Each module worked by itself fine and Windows was able to load. But together, in any configuration, I can't boot up, as described above.

What can I do?

[Temukahn]

Assuming you've already reset/cleared your CMOS/BIOS, it should in fact work fine. It doesn't sound like the RAM is the issue, but more like the motherboard. ASUS is pretty good about RAM compatibility. Boards are all so different these days though.

Have you double checked your memory settings in the BIOS? Some boards may boot memory at slower frequencies (i.e. 533MHz) instead of 800MHz and encounters a problem. Leave 1 stick of memory in and reboot. Check to make sure the memory is set to the correct frequency. It may also be necessary to set the memory voltages to the RAM's specifications. (1.9V for regular memory, 2.0-2.1V for extreme kits)

Then reboot to see if the system is stable. If the system gets past the BIOS boot screen and crashes when trying to load Windows, then the OS may have the issue.

If you make it to Windows, then power off and install the second stick. Make sure it goes in the same color memory socket so you are running in Dual Channel mode.

Hope this helps.