Vista 64 bit and a new build - BSOD

[duttonta]

I was wondering if repetitive freezing, bsod's, and failure to boot are normal with vista . I just built this system, and it usually will start windows fine (unless my external hdd is plugged in) but it often freezes in the first few minutes. I also bsod'd when i tried to install video card drivers and antivirus, one time for each. I installed mobo chipset drivers, video and sound drivers, and ethernet drivers. Those took me some time between the lock ups and the one or two blue screens. That was about all I put on it, and from the beginning the system has been crashing and such. Is there something I need to do to configure my hardware still for stability? I would think a system with a clean OS would run smoothly. All the drivers I installed were for 64 bit windows vista.

AMD Phenom X4 9950 BE
250 GB Seagate HDD
3x 1Gb Corsair 800MHz RAM (1 was bad, so 4Gb after the RMA)
ASUS M3A32 MVP Deluxe mobo
nvidia 9600GT
Ultra 500W PSU

Any advice would be appreciated, thanks.

[shadowpr]

That's not normal at all.

I would try running diagnostics on your hard drive and ram.

[not important]

What errors do you see when you get the BSOD's?

[Uncle Rico]

I had the same problem. You need to leave just one stick on RAM in there. Put it in the slot closest to the CPU. Then make sure you install Service Pack 1. It should work with all 4GB after that.

[duttonta]

I made a fresh start reinstalling the OS, this time connected to the internet and with only 1 stick of ram. After downloading and installing 29 updates (!) and installing video card and mobo drivers it runs great. I have 4Gb of RAM now and hasn't locked or blue screened yet. Playing mass effect on highest settings effortlessly. Thanks for the advice.