Please save me!

[crolfe1]

Ok here is the scenario:

Built a pc a year ago with:
p4 2.4ghz 533 fsb
Gigabyte mb ga-8sr533 with SiS 645 chipset
1x 256 pc 2100
ibm 80 gig hdd 7200 rpm
and of course sound cards and video cards
windows xp home oem

And today i tried some new memory in it, turned it on and the computer booted up, but froze on the windows xp loading screen. So i try again and get the black screen with white letters that says "windows could not start up due to ..... and it lists all types of common things." so i can start windows normally, reboot with last configuration, and safe mode. None of them work.

I took the old ram out and put back in the original and the same thing happened. So in the bios i arange the boot order so the cd rom boots first so i can reinstalll / repair windows. Now during the windows blue screen set up process it freezes during different stages of the set up process. And i ahve to restart jsut for it to freeze again.

Please help/save me! All i did was put in new ram, take it out, and put back in the original stuff, and this happens to me

[compusport]

Just a stab in the dark here, but were you properly grounded when you swapped the ram? If possible, try both sticks on a differant board and see what happens

[Panama Red]

Was the speed of the new memory different than the PC2100? Your 533 fsb processor is supposed to use PC2700 to run synchronous. Check you bios settings and see if there's anything strange with the cpu setting or memory settings. You may also want to make a memory test boot disk from www.memtest86.com and set you boot priority to floppy first and run the test on each stick of ram.

[pam123]

Try clearing the cmos and letting the bios detect the original ram all over again since you know that stick works.
What is the new ram you bought ?
Did you alter the fsb when you switched the ram ?

[crolfe1]

well the old ram was samsung ddr pc2100 and it ran just fine with the 533 fsb. The new ram was pny ddr pc2700. Reguardless the older chip is going to remain in my system for good, so i have to concentrate on fixing my problem with the old module.

I know all the modules work because a few hours ago i had my local best buy test each one, and they all passed. Anti-static wrist bands are a must! (i have 2 ).

I didn't alter any bios setting when i installed the new ram, so when i jsut put the older module in i dont understand why the computer wouldn't just boot up as normal.

Im onna clear the cmos now and see what happens.

[pam123]

Let us know what happens.
If you want 2700 ram for that board I'd get it from Crucial not BestBuy.

[Panama Red]

Think if you mix the two ram sticks, the PC2700 is going to run at 2100 speed. And if they have different speed ratings (like one is Cas 2 and the other Cas 3) that will cause a crash and possible bios corruption.

[crolfe1]

well here is an update, i cleared the cmos and nothing happened. So i stuck one module of the pny pc2700 in and configured it, the same problem is happening.

So i put the pc2100 back in its original location, cleared the cmos, and the same thing is happening. Once i cleared the cmos it says the cpu has been changed and to configure it in the cmos menu in the bios. well i ahvent even touched the cpu, just the memory.

with the pc2100 chip in, and the cmos cleared, the bios start up screen its says (exactly what the screen says letter for letter),

Check system health ok
main processor: intel pentium(R) 4 2.40B Ghz (133x18.0)

Memory testing: 262144 OK

Primary master: ic35l080avva07-0 va40a52a
Primary slave: none
Secondary master: Verbatim 321240al x8s2
Secondary slave: Aopen 16xdvd-rom/amh 20020328 R14

Primary IDE cahnnel no 80 conductor cable installed

CMOS checksum error- defaults loaded
warning! cpu has been changed
Please re-enter cpu settings in the cmos setup and remember to save before quiting.

And thats about it. After that i continue and get a screen full of numbers and settings and then the screen that tells me windows could not load and do i want to safe load, laod with previous setting, or load windows normally. And it still freezes and wont load.

[crolfe1]

Oh! and for a computer i built 2 days ago for someone else. i did get crucial memory from best buy, pc 3200 ddr 400mhz (needed it in a hurry), i buy my products from tiger direct or get them at trade shows, best buy just tested my memory to see if it worked.

[el_novato]

Originally posted by crolfe1 Primary IDE cahnnel no 80 conductor cable installed CMOS checksum error- defaults loaded warning! cpu has been changed Please re-enter cpu settings in the cmos setup and remember to save before quiting.

Have you checked to make sure the IDE cables are properly seated? If I'm not mistaken, checksum errors are caused by a bad CMOS battery. They aren't very expensive to replace.

Hth,

e.n.

[Panama Red]

I'm not seeing where you have been in the bios and checked the cpu or memory settings. Even tho you didn't do anything directly to change them, they may have changed wihen you tried the new ram. I've done a bios update before on my Asus P4PE/L mobo and on two occasions I had to go into bios and change the cpu setting back to 2400. For some reason the clock speed changed from 133 to 100. That's why I suggest you actually look in the bios.

[crolfe1]

well in the actual bios i did check the settings for each memory module. The pc2100 module has the following parameters set:

Cpu clock: 133
Dram clock: auto
Agp clock: auto
Pci clock: auto

Now all of these settings are default, and i have the option of manually configuring them all or letting the system determine the whole thing where i disable manual adjustments. But i know for a fact the cpu is set at 133 and the ram on auto. i dont however see a setting where i cold enter the value of 2400 for the processor speed. (133 @ 18x multiplier)

[crolfe1]

Also my bios has the options of manual and auto adjustments. It also has performance, optimized, and fail safe bios settings which all have their own default values when selected and saved. If its on auto i do think it would correct the ram speed and the cpu speed though, especially if the cmos was cleared and the pc2100 ram was put in, and the system started up. Still freezes though

[crolfe1]

If its any incentive, i will personally send a 5 dollar$ bill to the person who gives me the advice that fixes my computer! i neeeeeed to be saved here, im stressing.

[Panama Red]

I'm running out of ideas here. Are you getting any beeps when it first trys to start, or does it freeze right away?

[crolfe1]

i turn the power on, and the computer starts up as normal with one short beep. the bios screen comes up and loads, then the window prompting me what to do (safe mode, last settings that worked, start windows normally) pops up, and from there it freezes.

However, if i enter the bios and then save the changes and the computer restarts, i get a little longer than usual beep. and the computer takes the same course of action as described above.