WinXP only can enter safe mode, can it be hardware issue?

[zoossh]

the pain with having a non-branded PC setup and not knowing how to DIY has been with me for a long time.

i've got a motherboard which has multiple problems, esp with failure to recognise addition of ram, which i got corbell (MSI manufacturer repair agent) at AMK to test and just changed the faulty one just this morning, however i dun feel comfortable connecting back the motherboard myself, hence i went back to cybermind with addition of ram, hdd and a change of case. over there, it works

but now back, it does not login but keep giving the error message for me to go into safe mode, with or without network config and command prompt, or last good configuration, or normal login.

so far only got into safe mode. when out, it will reboot and reboot, and go back to same message.

could it be hardware issue?
or is it just software issue that i have to repair, or to somehow go and reformat.

 

[zac08]

the pain with having a non-branded PC setup and not knowing how to DIY has been with me for a long time.

i've got a motherboard which has multiple problems, esp with failure to recognise addition of ram, which i got corbell (MSI manufacturer repair agent) at AMK to test and just changed the faulty one just this morning, however i dun feel comfortable connecting back the motherboard myself, hence i went back to cybermind with addition of ram, hdd and a change of case. over there, it works

but now back, it does not login but keep giving the error message for me to go into safe mode, with or without network config and command prompt, or last good configuration, or normal login.

so far only got into safe mode. when out, it will reboot and reboot, and go back to same message.

could it be hardware issue?
or is it just software issue that i have to repair, or to somehow go and reformat.

Could be either... Is the Ram detected in the CMOS??

 

[ihub88]

dun think got thinks wrong with hardware, its a software fault.

cause you mention you can go safe mode, maybe its just a fault with loading of a driver ba?

 

[zoossh]

i meddled with the ram and think there is instability with the new rams, versus the old rams. all of them work by themselves, but somehow i think the mobo's chipset is designed in a funny way that require the rams to be of a certain combination types and to be slotted in a certain manner.

it is a msi k8n neo2 platinum.
http://www.msicomputer.com/product/p_spec.asp?model=K8N_Neo2_Platinum&class=mb

anyone have experience with this board.

i have 2x512MB DR333 kingston (old) and 2x512MB DR333 Corsair (new), and they either recognise only 1GB in alternating slot in (K, C, K, C) or become 2GB but unstable in continuous slot in (K, K, C, C)

i think it is getting technical.

i considering selling off the 2x512MB kingston, and replace with another 2x512MB corsair or 2x1GB corsair, but i'm not sure if it would be stable (unstable means it works at the shop, but fail when at home, i experience that yesterday).

anyone know where i can try out new rams on my system before i buy? nowadays the shops only want to sell, and want you to pay before trying out. if failed or not compatible, your own pasar, can change to another product but no refund....

 

[Denosha]

Check ur mobo manual, for older chipsets there is usually a sequence that you can install ram. Bank 0 and 2, 1 and 3 are usually used together rather than in a continuous order. There is also sometimes a limitation of which banks can take single or dual sided ram (look at ur physical ram and see if there are mem chips on only 1 side or both sides).

 

[zoossh]

Check ur mobo manual, for older chipsets there is usually a sequence that you can install ram. Bank 0 and 2, 1 and 3 are usually used together rather than in a continuous order. There is also sometimes a limitation of which banks can take single or dual sided ram (look at ur physical ram and see if there are mem chips on only 1 side or both sides).

thanks for the advice. already checked 2 days ago on the manual as well as the website, but that is as far as it goes. no mentioning of brand and size, that will or will not be stable.

here it goes. the green and purple alternates in the sequence from DIMM 1 to 4

channel A (green, DIMM 1 & 3): K512, K512
channel B (purple, DIMM 2 & 4): C512, C512
results: recognise only 1 GB, not 2 GB, regardless of permutation

channel A (green, DIMM 1 & 3): K512, C512
channel B (purple, DIMM 2 & 4): K512, C512
results: recognise 2GB, runs faster at 2GB with unpredictable occasionally slowing in function and occasional/freq difficulty in login (goes to error message pre login), i.e. apparently unstable.

i'm thinking that there may be conflict between kingston and corsair ram (all double sided DR333 SDRAM), hence was thinking of either

channel A (green, DIMM 1 & 3): C512, C512
channel B (purple, DIMM 2 & 4): C512, C512
to total to 2GB, hopefully stable

or

channel A (green, DIMM 1 & 3): C512, C512
channel B (purple, DIMM 2 & 4): C1GB, C1GB
to total to 3GB, hopefully stable

also got some replies in hwz
http://forums.hardwarezone.com/showthread.php?p=23200048

 

[Denosha]

Do you have any options for dual-channel and bank interleave modes? If you do try disable/enable them and see if it helps?

 

[zoossh]

Do you have any options for dual-channel and bank interleave modes? If you do try disable/enable them and see if it helps?

you mean bios? i think i can try to check it tomorrow, currently out at workplace

 

[AndyC]

usually for dual channel u need 2 identical RAMs...down to the point of same batch of chips on the RAM. that's y dual channel sets comes in pairs and their serial numbers are side by side.

from wat i know, once u use dual channel u can only insert one pair even though there are 4 slots. if u use all 4 slots dual channel will not function and thus will be slower than using only 2 RAMs at the correct slots.

i would suggest u sell off both sets of 512MB RAM and get a pair of 1GB and only use this pair. should solve ur problem. or simply sell off 1 pair and use only 1 pair. try this n boot into windows. if still do not work u might need to waste money to go to the shop to troubleshoot unless u have "tested-gd" parts to test on your own.

i'm having similar problem of computer restarting itself. sometimes can boot into windows but restart after a while and sometimes restart before reaching the screen for me to put password. suspect MB problem as I changed my CPU, RAM and MB 3 months ago with similar problem and MB is the source. now it happens again I suspect is MB again.

 

[zoossh]

usually for dual channel u need 2 identical RAMs...down to the point of same batch of chips on the RAM. that's y dual channel sets comes in pairs and their serial numbers are side by side.

from wat i know, once u use dual channel u can only insert one pair even though there are 4 slots. if u use all 4 slots dual channel will not function and thus will be slower than using only 2 RAMs at the correct slots..

i think it is not slower, but faster and unstable.

both pairs is of the same brand/model (batch i got to check but dunno how to check). but 1 pair is kingston and 1 pair is corsair.

i would suggest u sell off both sets of 512MB RAM and get a pair of 1GB and only use this pair. should solve ur problem. or simply sell off 1 pair and use only 1 pair. try this n boot into windows. if still do not work u might need to waste money to go to the shop to troubleshoot unless u have "tested-gd" parts to test on your own.

that could be a solution.

i'm thinking of the above combinations of 2GB or 3GB in total, as mentioned in above post

if not, it can go this way
channel A (green, DIMM 1 & 3): C512, C512
channel B (purple, DIMM 2 & 4): C1GB, C1GB
to total to 3GB, hopefully stable
if not stable, see if just 1GB+1GB works and sell off 2x512

however, now i feel more safe if i can get someone paid to test for it. but i feel nowadays shops are not interested in troubleshooting. so would like to know if there is any shop that has better attitude and responsibility.

i'm having similar problem of computer restarting itself. sometimes can boot into windows but restart after a while and sometimes restart before reaching the screen for me to put password. suspect MB problem as I changed my CPU, RAM and MB 3 months ago with similar problem and MB is the source. now it happens again I suspect is MB again.

did you use the same board?

 

[AndyC]

i think it is not slower, but faster and unstable.

both pairs is of the same brand/model (batch i got to check but dunno how to check). but 1 pair is kingston and 1 pair is corsair.

i dun think will be faster. as dual channel will multiply the speed. maybe the bigger capacity allows the computer to boot up faster and appear to be faster.

that could be a solution.

i'm thinking of the above combinations of 2GB or 3GB in total, as mentioned in above post

if not, it can go this way
channel A (green, DIMM 1 & 3): C512, C512
channel B (purple, DIMM 2 & 4): C1GB, C1GB
to total to 3GB, hopefully stable
if not stable, see if just 1GB+1GB works and sell off 2x512

i don't think will be stable. but u can try though.

however, now i feel more safe if i can get someone paid to test for it. but i feel nowadays shops are not interested in troubleshooting. so would like to know if there is any shop that has better attitude and responsibility.



did you use the same board?

i'm using a Asus K8N for AMD 754. never a intel fan. but seems to be similar problem.

 

[newbiegrapher]

currently i have this problem also, only can get into safe mode but i formatted the hard disk yesterday n found that when i want to reformat the C drive using winxp cd, found that C drive is beyond recognition..means status is neither FAT32 or NTFS, guess the software driver is damaged in C.
So perhaps mayb not ur RAM giving problem but ur hard disk??

OK this 1 i need help....Another 2 problems i have is... Firstly, the vga connector when connected to the graphic card is ok for the past 6 mths, but recently only, when i connect the graphic card(i have tested in the cpu shop, its working fine) as normal, the monitor screen remain blank, only when i connect the vga connector to the built-in processor then the screen is able to respond. Is there something wrong with the motherboard? Only 2 yrs used.

Lastly, the hard disk cant be detected when starting up system, only the DVD rom can be detected which means i often have to plug in n plug out the color cables then its able to detect...Something wrong with hard disk? have been using tat hard disk for 4-5 yrs already.. is it time to change too?

Thought of getting a new one once n for all minus the graphic card, DVD ROM, diskette drive :bsmilie: .. the rest change...

Need some suggestions wat can be done. Thank you

 

[AndyC]

currently i have this problem also, only can get into safe mode but i formatted the hard disk yesterday n found that when i want to reformat the C drive using winxp cd, found that C drive is beyond recognition..means status is neither FAT32 or NTFS, guess the software driver is damaged in C.
So perhaps mayb not ur RAM giving problem but ur hard disk??

OK this 1 i need help....Another 2 problems i have is... Firstly, the vga connector when connected to the graphic card is ok for the past 6 mths, but recently only, when i connect the graphic card(i have tested in the cpu shop, its working fine) as normal, the monitor screen remain blank, only when i connect the vga connector to the built-in processor then the screen is able to respond. Is there something wrong with the motherboard? Only 2 yrs used.

Lastly, the hard disk cant be detected when starting up system, only the DVD rom can be detected which means i often have to plug in n plug out the color cables then its able to detect...Something wrong with hard disk? have been using tat hard disk for 4-5 yrs already.. is it time to change too?

Thought of getting a new one once n for all minus the graphic card, DVD ROM, diskette drive :bsmilie: .. the rest change...

Need some suggestions wat can be done. Thank you

wan to test if it's HDD problem or MB problem just borrow a HDD, format and try to use. if no problem means software corrupted. format HDD should solve. if use a "tested-gd" HDD still same problem that means hardware problem.

for ur 1st problem, seems like ur graphics card retired. since on-board graphics works fine.

for 2nd problem sounds like ur HDD retired. even if not retired also seems like retiring soon as sometimes can detect n sometimes cannot.

 

[Firefox]

thanks for the advice. already checked 2 days ago on the manual as well as the website, but that is as far as it goes. no mentioning of brand and size, that will or will not be stable.

here it goes. the green and purple alternates in the sequence from DIMM 1 to 4

channel A (green, DIMM 1 & 3): K512, K512
channel B (purple, DIMM 2 & 4): C512, C512
results: recognise only 1 GB, not 2 GB, regardless of permutation

channel A (green, DIMM 1 & 3): K512, C512
channel B (purple, DIMM 2 & 4): K512, C512
results: recognise 2GB, runs faster at 2GB with unpredictable occasionally slowing in function and occasional/freq difficulty in login (goes to error message pre login), i.e. apparently unstable.

i'm thinking that there may be conflict between kingston and corsair ram (all double sided DR333 SDRAM), hence was thinking of either

channel A (green, DIMM 1 & 3): C512, C512
channel B (purple, DIMM 2 & 4): C512, C512
to total to 2GB, hopefully stable

or

channel A (green, DIMM 1 & 3): C512, C512
channel B (purple, DIMM 2 & 4): C1GB, C1GB
to total to 3GB, hopefully stable

Insert the memory according to banks. ie.

Dimm1 & Dimm3: K512
Dimm2 & Dimm4: C512


Go into your BIOS settings and look for something called Command Rate. Set this to 2T.

Sometimes, this is called Command Per Clock (CPC). In this instance, disable CPC.

You probably have a Winchester or NewCastle chip to have been using DDR333 memory. Either way, you can forget about using 4 sticks of memory in dual-channel configuration whilst having 1T Command Rate. The only way to run stably is to use 2T Command Rate for 4 sticks.

 

[zoossh]

Insert the memory according to banks. ie.

Dimm1 & Dimm3: K512
Dimm2 & Dimm4: C512


Go into your BIOS settings and look for something called Command Rate. Set this to 2T.

Sometimes, this is called Command Per Clock (CPC). In this instance, disable CPC.

You probably have a Winchester or NewCastle chip to have been using DDR333 memory. Either way, you can forget about using 4 sticks of memory in dual-channel configuration whilst having 1T Command Rate. The only way to run stably is to use 2T Command Rate for 4 sticks.

it's ok. as long as stable. at least 2GB on this 2T command rate is faster than 1GB on DIMM 1 & 3, i hope.

will try out when reached home. thanks.

 

[Ola]

channel A (green, DIMM 1 & 3): K512, C512
channel B (purple, DIMM 2 & 4): K512, C512
results: recognise 2GB, runs faster at 2GB with unpredictable occasionally slowing in function and occasional/freq difficulty in login (goes to error message pre login), i.e. apparently unstable.

i'm thinking that there may be conflict between kingston and corsair ram (all double sided DR333 SDRAM), hence was thinking of either

I am using the same motherboard as you and have no problem running 4 x 512MB RAM.
The above is the correct way to install your RAM for dual channel configuration.
As you have said, most probable is conflict between Kingston and Corsair (I am using 2 x Kingston & 2 x Transcend).
Try putting your Corsair first and upgrade your BIOS to the latest version.

usually for dual channel u need 2 identical RAMs...down to the point of same batch of chips on the RAM. that's y dual channel sets comes in pairs and their serial numbers are side by side.

This is necessary only if you are overclocking your system.

from wat i know, once u use dual channel u can only insert one pair even though there are 4 slots. if u use all 4 slots dual channel will not function and thus will be slower than using only 2 RAMs at the correct slots.

This is not true. You just have to check what is the supported RAM configuration for the motherboard.

 

[zoossh]

Try putting your Corsair first and upgrade your BIOS to the latest version.

will try putting corsair first then try both.

bios is already upgraded by corbell technician yesterday. if by myself, dare not any how upgrade bios becos of fear of causing more problems.

 

[zcf]

I also face problem when trying to upgrade my current GEIL 2 x 512 Mbytes DDR400 RAM with addtional Kingston 2 x 512 Mbytes on my Gigabyte MB :sweat:

System crash, won't boot, errors etc :angry: . Which seem to be conflict in different brands of RAM problem. In the end, I upgrade to 2 x 1 GBytes RAM, and the system back to stable condition as last time.

So you may need to choose the same brand of RAM with the same RAM chip for 4 x RAM configuration. :sweat:

 

[lsisaxon]

the pain with having a non-branded PC setup and not knowing how to DIY has been with me for a long time.

i've got a motherboard which has multiple problems, esp with failure to recognise addition of ram, which i got corbell (MSI manufacturer repair agent) at AMK to test and just changed the faulty one just this morning, however i dun feel comfortable connecting back the motherboard myself, hence i went back to cybermind with addition of ram, hdd and a change of case. over there, it works

but now back, it does not login but keep giving the error message for me to go into safe mode, with or without network config and command prompt, or last good configuration, or normal login.

so far only got into safe mode. when out, it will reboot and reboot, and go back to same message.

could it be hardware issue?
or is it just software issue that i have to repair, or to somehow go and reformat.

Might be a software conflict with DEP. If Intel processor, check the BIOS to see if there is an option to disable the hardware DEP. Otherwise, get into safe mode, right click my computer->properties, choose advanced, click settings under Startup and Recovery, under system startup, click Edit.

Under the list of operating systems, make a copy and append " NoDEP" to one of the name, the /NoExecute=OptIn change to /NoExecute=AlwaysOff.

Save.

Reboot and during bootup, choose this NoDEP OS.

Let us know if it works. Might be something you installed.

 

[zoossh]

I also face problem when trying to upgrade my current GEIL 2 x 512 Mbytes DDR400 RAM with addtional Kingston 2 x 512 Mbytes on my Gigabyte MB :sweat:

System crash, won't boot, errors etc :angry: . Which seem to be conflict in different brands of RAM problem. In the end, I upgrade to 2 x 1 GBytes RAM, and the system back to stable condition as last time.

So you may need to choose the same brand of RAM with the same RAM chip for 4 x RAM configuration. :sweat:

my gf also have the gigabyte board which becomes unstable after additional ram. but she dun want me to touch her computer and crash it.