«

I increaased the RAM on my system from 1GB to 3 GB. The sticks are 2 1 GB
sticks and 2 512 MB sticks. As long as I keep the 2- 1GB sticks installed
Vista will not Boot completely. First It will take about 15 minutes to get
to the user selection window. Then after selection the boot process will
only go to the opening window with a gray portion showing where the task bar
would be located and the rest of the screen black. I will get a dialog
stating the Windows Explorer is not responding. It also offers two choices
Close the program
Wait for the program to respond.

I first tried to wait for the program to respond. After a half an hour I
figured it wasn't going to so I rebooted and went through the tedious boot
process again. When I got the Dialog again I selected close the program.
This time, a few seconds later, a still picture of my usual moving pictire
screen appeared. However nothing else could be done.

I did remove one of the 1 - GB sticks and the system seemed to boot
normally. I also checked if the BIOS recognized the new memory and it did.
The problem appears to begin after I get the initial moving bar at the
beginning of the windows boot process.

Did you try it with just the two 1 GB memory sticks? Do check the
motherboard manual, either your hard copy or on-line, to assure you have
them in the correct slots.

Tom
MSMVP Windows 1998-2007


"Jim" <> wrote in message
news:6A40A1EA-16F6-4C80-9BDD-...
>I increaased the RAM on my system from 1GB to 3 GB. The sticks are 2 1
>GB
> sticks and 2 512 MB sticks. As long as I keep the 2- 1GB sticks
> installed
> Vista will not Boot completely. First It will take about 15 minutes to
> get
> to the user selection window. Then after selection the boot process
> will
> only go to the opening window with a gray portion showing where the
> task bar
> would be located and the rest of the screen black. I will get a dialog
> stating the Windows Explorer is not responding. It also offers two
> choices
> Close the program
> Wait for the program to respond.
>
> I first tried to wait for the program to respond. After a half an hour
> I
> figured it wasn't going to so I rebooted and went through the tedious
> boot
> process again. When I got the Dialog again I selected close the
> program.
> This time, a few seconds later, a still picture of my usual moving
> pictire
> screen appeared. However nothing else could be done.
>
> I did remove one of the 1 - GB sticks and the system seemed to boot
> normally. I also checked if the BIOS recognized the new memory and it
> did.
> The problem appears to begin after I get the initial moving bar at the
> beginning of the windows boot process.

My first thoughts are whether the RAM is 'matched' or not.
Virtually all the newer motherboards currently require that
all the RAM installed be 'matched' and the best way to
accomplish that is to make sure all the modules are from the
same manufacturer and they all have the same timing specs.
It usually doesn't cause problems being different sizes,
i.e. 1 GB & 512 MB modules, but when you start mixing speeds
and/or timing you can end up in situations where your
computer won't "act right."


Jim wrote:
> I increased the RAM on my system from 1GB to 3 GB. The sticks are 2 1 GB
> sticks and 2 512 MB sticks. As long as I keep the 2- 1GB sticks installed
> Vista will not Boot completely. First It will take about 15 minutes to get
> to the user selection window. Then after selection the boot process will
> only go to the opening window with a gray portion showing where the task bar
> would be located and the rest of the screen black. I will get a dialog
> stating the Windows Explorer is not responding. It also offers two choices
> Close the program
> Wait for the program to respond.
>
> I first tried to wait for the program to respond. After a half an hour I
> figured it wasn't going to so I rebooted and went through the tedious boot
> process again. When I got the Dialog again I selected close the program.
> This time, a few seconds later, a still picture of my usual moving pictire
> screen appeared. However nothing else could be done.
>
> I did remove one of the 1 - GB sticks and the system seemed to boot
> normally. I also checked if the BIOS recognized the new memory and it did.
> The problem appears to begin after I get the initial moving bar at the
> beginning of the windows boot process.

Yes I tried it with only the Gigabyte modules as well as each of the modules
with the 512 MB modules. I also tried them in different slots. The MB
doesn't care what slot is used as long as there is a module in at least one.
The problem is in Vista since the BIOS recognizes the memory amounts. Things
don't get slow until Vista starts to boot. Then all bets are off.

"Tom Ferguson" wrote:

> Did you try it with just the two 1 GB memory sticks? Do check the
> motherboard manual, either your hard copy or on-line, to assure you have
> them in the correct slots.
>
> Tom
> MSMVP Windows 1998-2007
>
>
> "Jim" <> wrote in message
> news:6A40A1EA-16F6-4C80-9BDD-...
> >I increaased the RAM on my system from 1GB to 3 GB. The sticks are 2 1
> >GB
> > sticks and 2 512 MB sticks. As long as I keep the 2- 1GB sticks
> > installed
> > Vista will not Boot completely. First It will take about 15 minutes to
> > get
> > to the user selection window. Then after selection the boot process
> > will
> > only go to the opening window with a gray portion showing where the
> > task bar
> > would be located and the rest of the screen black. I will get a dialog
> > stating the Windows Explorer is not responding. It also offers two
> > choices
> > Close the program
> > Wait for the program to respond.
> >
> > I first tried to wait for the program to respond. After a half an hour
> > I
> > figured it wasn't going to so I rebooted and went through the tedious
> > boot
> > process again. When I got the Dialog again I selected close the
> > program.
> > This time, a few seconds later, a still picture of my usual moving
> > pictire
> > screen appeared. However nothing else could be done.
> >
> > I did remove one of the 1 - GB sticks and the system seemed to boot
> > normally. I also checked if the BIOS recognized the new memory and it
> > did.
> > The problem appears to begin after I get the initial moving bar at the
> > beginning of the windows boot process.
>
>

Am not sure if the diferent Sizes or manufacturers are the problem. The BIOS
recognizes the memory amount. If I use the 2 - 512 MB sticks and one of the
1 GB sticks Vista will boot alright. If I move this combination into
diffrent slots Vista will boot. The timing parameters of all of the modules
are the same. The system just won't seem to boot when I insert 2 of the 1 GB
modules along with the 2 512MB modules. Think I'll install a Linux Partition
on this system and see if the problem pesists.

"Theo" wrote:

> My first thoughts are whether the RAM is 'matched' or not.
> Virtually all the newer motherboards currently require that
> all the RAM installed be 'matched' and the best way to
> accomplish that is to make sure all the modules are from the
> same manufacturer and they all have the same timing specs.
> It usually doesn't cause problems being different sizes,
> i.e. 1 GB & 512 MB modules, but when you start mixing speeds
> and/or timing you can end up in situations where your
> computer won't "act right."
>
>
> Jim wrote:
> > I increased the RAM on my system from 1GB to 3 GB. The sticks are 2 1 GB
> > sticks and 2 512 MB sticks. As long as I keep the 2- 1GB sticks installed
> > Vista will not Boot completely. First It will take about 15 minutes to get
> > to the user selection window. Then after selection the boot process will
> > only go to the opening window with a gray portion showing where the task bar
> > would be located and the rest of the screen black. I will get a dialog
> > stating the Windows Explorer is not responding. It also offers two choices
> > Close the program
> > Wait for the program to respond.
> >
> > I first tried to wait for the program to respond. After a half an hour I
> > figured it wasn't going to so I rebooted and went through the tedious boot
> > process again. When I got the Dialog again I selected close the program.
> > This time, a few seconds later, a still picture of my usual moving pictire
> > screen appeared. However nothing else could be done.
> >
> > I did remove one of the 1 - GB sticks and the system seemed to boot
> > normally. I also checked if the BIOS recognized the new memory and it did.
> > The problem appears to begin after I get the initial moving bar at the
> > beginning of the windows boot process.
>

I just looked at one of my owner's manuals and it also
cautions that ALL the modules must be the "same type and
density" or instability may happen. And all three of my
motherboards recommend using modules all from the same
manufacturer.

When you have 3 modules your memory if being used in the
single channel mode and the differences are not critical.
When you have all 4 modules the memory is in the
dual-channel mode and ALL parameters of the memory are VERY
critical for it to function properly.

The memory being recognized by the BIOS does NOT ensure it
will function properly with any operating system. It just
means it recognizes the memory - nothing else.


Jim wrote:
> Am not sure if the different Sizes or manufacturers are the problem. The BIOS
> recognizes the memory amount. If I use the 2 - 512 MB sticks and one of the
> 1 GB sticks Vista will boot alright. If I move this combination into
> different slots Vista will boot. The timing parameters of all of the modules
> are the same. The system just won't seem to boot when I insert 2 of the 1 GB
> modules along with the 2 512MB modules. Think I'll install a Linux Partition
> on this system and see if the problem pesrists.
>
> "Theo" wrote:
>
>> My first thoughts are whether the RAM is 'matched' or not.
>> Virtually all the newer motherboards currently require that
>> all the RAM installed be 'matched' and the best way to
>> accomplish that is to make sure all the modules are from the
>> same manufacturer and they all have the same timing specs.
>> It usually doesn't cause problems being different sizes,
>> i.e. 1 GB & 512 MB modules, but when you start mixing speeds
>> and/or timing you can end up in situations where your
>> computer won't "act right."
>>
>>
>> Jim wrote:
>>> I increased the RAM on my system from 1GB to 3 GB. The sticks are 2 1 GB
>>> sticks and 2 512 MB sticks. As long as I keep the 2- 1GB sticks installed
>>> Vista will not Boot completely. First It will take about 15 minutes to get
>>> to the user selection window. Then after selection the boot process will
>>> only go to the opening window with a gray portion showing where the task bar
>>> would be located and the rest of the screen black. I will get a dialog
>>> stating the Windows Explorer is not responding. It also offers two choices
>>> Close the program
>>> Wait for the program to respond.
>>>
>>> I first tried to wait for the program to respond. After a half an hour I
>>> figured it wasn't going to so I rebooted and went through the tedious boot
>>> process again. When I got the Dialog again I selected close the program.
>>> This time, a few seconds later, a still picture of my usual moving pictire
>>> screen appeared. However nothing else could be done.
>>>
>>> I did remove one of the 1 - GB sticks and the system seemed to boot
>>> normally. I also checked if the BIOS recognized the new memory and it did.
>>> The problem appears to begin after I get the initial moving bar at the
>>> beginning of the windows boot process.

The other thing to check is what memory is recommended by
the manufacturer of the motherboard. I have a MSI K8T Neo2
board that will not boot with 2 1gb sticks of Patriot DRAM,
but has not problem with Kingston which is one of the MSI
recommended modules. The Patriot works flawlessly in my
Asus A8V & Asus A8V-XE boards.

Your problem is caused by the memory combination you are using.

You can continue to beat your head against a brick wall if
you want, but I guarantee it will feel really good when you
stop!!


Jim wrote:
> Am not sure if the diferent Sizes or manufacturers are the problem. The BIOS
> recognizes the memory amount. If I use the 2 - 512 MB sticks and one of the
> 1 GB sticks Vista will boot alright. If I move this combination into
> diffrent slots Vista will boot. The timing parameters of all of the modules
> are the same. The system just won't seem to boot when I insert 2 of the 1 GB
> modules along with the 2 512MB modules. Think I'll install a Linux Partition
> on this system and see if the problem pesists.
>
> "Theo" wrote:
>
>> My first thoughts are whether the RAM is 'matched' or not.
>> Virtually all the newer motherboards currently require that
>> all the RAM installed be 'matched' and the best way to
>> accomplish that is to make sure all the modules are from the
>> same manufacturer and they all have the same timing specs.
>> It usually doesn't cause problems being different sizes,
>> i.e. 1 GB & 512 MB modules, but when you start mixing speeds
>> and/or timing you can end up in situations where your
>> computer won't "act right."
>>
>>
>> Jim wrote:
>>> I increased the RAM on my system from 1GB to 3 GB. The sticks are 2 1 GB
>>> sticks and 2 512 MB sticks. As long as I keep the 2- 1GB sticks installed
>>> Vista will not Boot completely. First It will take about 15 minutes to get
>>> to the user selection window. Then after selection the boot process will
>>> only go to the opening window with a gray portion showing where the task bar
>>> would be located and the rest of the screen black. I will get a dialog
>>> stating the Windows Explorer is not responding. It also offers two choices
>>> Close the program
>>> Wait for the program to respond.
>>>
>>> I first tried to wait for the program to respond. After a half an hour I
>>> figured it wasn't going to so I rebooted and went through the tedious boot
>>> process again. When I got the Dialog again I selected close the program.
>>> This time, a few seconds later, a still picture of my usual moving pictire
>>> screen appeared. However nothing else could be done.
>>>
>>> I did remove one of the 1 - GB sticks and the system seemed to boot
>>> normally. I also checked if the BIOS recognized the new memory and it did.
>>> The problem appears to begin after I get the initial moving bar at the
>>> beginning of the windows boot process.

While Vista has a built-in memory diagnostic tool, it doesn't sound like you
can get that far.

Two options I think are available:
1) Safe Boot to Command Prompt, then use mdsched.exe (memory diagnostic
tool) to check for problems.
2) Go here and download the prior version, put on CD or Floppy and run:
http://oca.microsoft.com/en/windiag.asp

Microsoft claims there are not known issues with this routine, but there are
a couple of googled hits on a unique problem where the tool gets into a loop
during it's initial test and will not exit. This is during a forced run
while Vista is up. I do not know if this routine runs during startup when
additional memory is detected. But, there may be a link between the two.


"Jim" <> wrote in message
news:6A40A1EA-16F6-4C80-9BDD-...
> I increaased the RAM on my system from 1GB to 3 GB. The sticks are 2 1 GB
> sticks and 2 512 MB sticks. As long as I keep the 2- 1GB sticks
installed
> Vista will not Boot completely. First It will take about 15 minutes to
get
> to the user selection window. Then after selection the boot process will
> only go to the opening window with a gray portion showing where the task
bar
> would be located and the rest of the screen black. I will get a dialog
> stating the Windows Explorer is not responding. It also offers two
choices
> Close the program
> Wait for the program to respond.
>
> I first tried to wait for the program to respond. After a half an hour I
> figured it wasn't going to so I rebooted and went through the tedious boot
> process again. When I got the Dialog again I selected close the program.
> This time, a few seconds later, a still picture of my usual moving pictire
> screen appeared. However nothing else could be done.
>
> I did remove one of the 1 - GB sticks and the system seemed to boot
> normally. I also checked if the BIOS recognized the new memory and it
did.
> The problem appears to begin after I get the initial moving bar at the
> beginning of the windows boot process.

Memory maker is good. Manual does not require same memory manufacturer for
all modules. MB is spec'ed for 32 GB Max using 4 8 GB modules. I can use
the 512 MB Modules with one of the 1 GB modules with no problem.

Sorry for the long time for this answer. I repartitioned the drive and
installed Open Suse Linux 10.3 64. I then installed all of the RAM modules
and booted the system into Linux. It booted fine. I then restarted the
system into Vista and the problem was there.

I understand about the MSI requirement for memory. I used to have one on
the system last year. There are some others too. I also have seen boards
refuse to run with various individual products. This usually manifests
itself by not working alone or with other brands. In my case the the two
different brands will work as long as I don't exceed 2 GB. As soon as I try
to get to 3 GB all bets are off.

No, I'm not going to beat my head against a brick wall. I am now just
trying to see where the problem lies. When a different OS worked it makes me
look carefully at Vista.

"Theo" wrote:

> The other thing to check is what memory is recommended by
> the manufacturer of the motherboard. I have a MSI K8T Neo2
> board that will not boot with 2 1gb sticks of Patriot DRAM,
> but has not problem with Kingston which is one of the MSI
> recommended modules. The Patriot works flawlessly in my
> Asus A8V & Asus A8V-XE boards.
>
> Your problem is caused by the memory combination you are using.
>
> You can continue to beat your head against a brick wall if
> you want, but I guarantee it will feel really good when you
> stop!!
>
>
> Jim wrote:
> > Am not sure if the diferent Sizes or manufacturers are the problem. The BIOS
> > recognizes the memory amount. If I use the 2 - 512 MB sticks and one of the
> > 1 GB sticks Vista will boot alright. If I move this combination into
> > diffrent slots Vista will boot. The timing parameters of all of the modules
> > are the same. The system just won't seem to boot when I insert 2 of the 1 GB
> > modules along with the 2 512MB modules. Think I'll install a Linux Partition
> > on this system and see if the problem pesists.
> >
> > "Theo" wrote:
> >
> >> My first thoughts are whether the RAM is 'matched' or not.
> >> Virtually all the newer motherboards currently require that
> >> all the RAM installed be 'matched' and the best way to
> >> accomplish that is to make sure all the modules are from the
> >> same manufacturer and they all have the same timing specs.
> >> It usually doesn't cause problems being different sizes,
> >> i.e. 1 GB & 512 MB modules, but when you start mixing speeds
> >> and/or timing you can end up in situations where your
> >> computer won't "act right."
> >>
> >>
> >> Jim wrote:
> >>> I increased the RAM on my system from 1GB to 3 GB. The sticks are 2 1 GB
> >>> sticks and 2 512 MB sticks. As long as I keep the 2- 1GB sticks installed
> >>> Vista will not Boot completely. First It will take about 15 minutes to get
> >>> to the user selection window. Then after selection the boot process will
> >>> only go to the opening window with a gray portion showing where the task bar
> >>> would be located and the rest of the screen black. I will get a dialog
> >>> stating the Windows Explorer is not responding. It also offers two choices
> >>> Close the program
> >>> Wait for the program to respond.
> >>>
> >>> I first tried to wait for the program to respond. After a half an hour I
> >>> figured it wasn't going to so I rebooted and went through the tedious boot
> >>> process again. When I got the Dialog again I selected close the program.
> >>> This time, a few seconds later, a still picture of my usual moving pictire
> >>> screen appeared. However nothing else could be done.
> >>>
> >>> I did remove one of the 1 - GB sticks and the system seemed to boot
> >>> normally. I also checked if the BIOS recognized the new memory and it did.
> >>> The problem appears to begin after I get the initial moving bar at the
> >>> beginning of the windows boot process.
>

Thanks, Your right about not making it very far into the boot process. I
get about 6 seconds into the vista boot process when the screen goes black
and stays that way for 20 or more minutes. Now that I thinlk of it, maybe I
am getting to the memory test part of Vista. I would think it would occur
early in the boot process. I'm not sure if I can get into safe mode either.
The floppy idea may be the best bet.

I'll check and let you know later.

jim

"Mark" wrote:

> While Vista has a built-in memory diagnostic tool, it doesn't sound like you
> can get that far.
>
> Two options I think are available:
> 1) Safe Boot to Command Prompt, then use mdsched.exe (memory diagnostic
> tool) to check for problems.
> 2) Go here and download the prior version, put on CD or Floppy and run:
> http://oca.microsoft.com/en/windiag.asp
>
> Microsoft claims there are not known issues with this routine, but there are
> a couple of googled hits on a unique problem where the tool gets into a loop
> during it's initial test and will not exit. This is during a forced run
> while Vista is up. I do not know if this routine runs during startup when
> additional memory is detected. But, there may be a link between the two.
>
>
> "Jim" <> wrote in message
> news:6A40A1EA-16F6-4C80-9BDD-...
> > I increaased the RAM on my system from 1GB to 3 GB. The sticks are 2 1 GB
> > sticks and 2 512 MB sticks. As long as I keep the 2- 1GB sticks
> installed
> > Vista will not Boot completely. First It will take about 15 minutes to
> get
> > to the user selection window. Then after selection the boot process will
> > only go to the opening window with a gray portion showing where the task
> bar
> > would be located and the rest of the screen black. I will get a dialog
> > stating the Windows Explorer is not responding. It also offers two
> choices
> > Close the program
> > Wait for the program to respond.
> >
> > I first tried to wait for the program to respond. After a half an hour I
> > figured it wasn't going to so I rebooted and went through the tedious boot
> > process again. When I got the Dialog again I selected close the program.
> > This time, a few seconds later, a still picture of my usual moving pictire
> > screen appeared. However nothing else could be done.
> >
> > I did remove one of the 1 - GB sticks and the system seemed to boot
> > normally. I also checked if the BIOS recognized the new memory and it
> did.
> > The problem appears to begin after I get the initial moving bar at the
> > beginning of the windows boot process.
>
>
>