Dual channel memory issue

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I was just running my two matched dimms in the first two channel and decided to put the second dimm in a slot corresponding to the slot for the first dimm (yellow).

After I did this and booted back up, it was reconised as being dual channel but when I got into windows, the screen looked like the inverter had gone and had some sort interference.

I shut down and checked all the connectors and they were fine, I rebooted and this time the screen was fine but then I got an error message saying internet explorer had to close and then the PC rebooted itself.

Once back into windows I checked event manager and found fault bucket 791932637 but MS database had no knowledge of this It then blue screen and rebooted again.

So I shut down and put the dimm back to were it was originally and its now ok.

The problem is these two dimms are matched pairs so why is it not working in dual channel?

 

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Try one stick of RAM in slot one. Boot up, see if everything works. Try the other stick of RAM in slot one. Boot up, see if everything works. It may be the RAM module or could be the slot on the mobo. Have you used the RAM and or slot before?

 

Aaahh I have nevr used that slot before, when I was running 3GB I had the two matched paids in the first two slots yellow and black and the 3rd dimm in the black one missing out that yellow slow because I gto blue screen, I wonder if I put those two matched pairs in both black slots it will work as dual channel.

It could be that the slot is knackered. But it did reconise the memory installed.

 

You would usually have the first RAM module in the slot closest to the CPU. I have not tried doing it in the next one over, but it should work. Plug in to the two black slots, that should give you duel channel.

Sounds like the second yellow slot is naffed. I think the terminators are in the slot with DDR2, they used to be in the RAM stick in DDR (might have that back to front).

 

mine goes yellow black, yellow black. I'll give it a go and come back in a few minutes.

 

Looks like it is that dimms lot that is knackered.

I have the two dimms in the black slots now and it is working fine (I hope).

 

Is the mobo still in warranty?

 

no, not anymore.

 

As long as everything is running nice with the RAM in the black slots, your in business. Bit of a bummer though.

 

Everything else seems ok, and if there was I am sure I would have had a reboot or blue screen at some point in the last few minutes.

 

For RAM to work in dual channel mode you must place the sticks in alternate slots, for instance with two sticks, one goes in Slot 1 and the other in Slot 3, or the first in Slot 2 and the other in Slot 4.

If you are still getting problems after this, I'd be inclined to run some memory checks either with UBCD or memtest86+. If that passes, try another pair of stick that you know to work and be compatible with your motherboard. If they behave well then you know there was a compatibility issue with the memory, but if they also fail it is the mobo/bios that needs changing/updating.

 

Its working now in slots 2 and 4 but doesn't in 1 & 3, although the ram is reconised in any slot dual chanel only seems to work in slots 2 & 4 not sure why though.

 

Okay, test the memory whilst they are in slots 2 and 4 to really make sure that they are okay. The reason why I advise a test in there is that memory errors can accumulate over time and eventually cause the PC to crash after a period of use.

Once you have confirmed that they have no errors after a thorough test, you can conclude that the mobo has a hardware fault.

 

GBL was getting blue screens and display issues right after booting into Windows when the RAM was in slot 1 and 3, but no problems when the same RAM is in slot 2 and 4. I agree, there is no harm in running memtest86, although if it were bad RAM modules I would expect to see similar problems in Windows no matter what slots the sticks are plugged into.

 

Well, given that we don't know yet exactly what the problem is, the only way that we can be confident of our conclusion is to be thorough. I agree that slots 1 and/or 3 are hot candidates for the problem, but proof is all about coming to an indisputable conclusion.

 

Your logic is sound.

 

If memtest were not known to sometimes miss glaring problems then your logic might be sound. Unfortunately memtest is not infallible. Therefore your logic is not sound.

Here's one example of memtest missing something so simple that you would think it impossible to have been missed. If it could have missed something this simple who knows how many other things it is capable of missing.

http://forum.x86-secret.com/showthread.php?t=4798

 

Also, make sure you read the MB manual, or maybe crawl manufacturer's site. Some boards only support the first pair of sticks in the second paired slots.

 

That guy had ECC, which was correcting the memory errors on the fly, like its supposed to. When ECC was switched off the machine would not boot. Most RAM used in desktop and laptop PCs is non ECC, coupled with the fact that memtest86 was not compatible with the chipset in use you wouldn't really expect it to complete an accurate test.

 

Fortch is right, there are some mobos that only support dual channel in 2 of the slots. If you try to use dual channel in th eother slots they will be detected but only work as normal ram sticks with out the dual mode.

I've had 2 mobos like this in the past, and its not always been easy to tell that the memory was working as dual channel.