Help please! - Vista & RAM

[Aoami]

Hi folks, looking for a bit of help regarding my new setup.

I recently upgraded my PC by buying an Athlon 4600+ X2, 4GB of DDR400 RAM (2x2GB), a crappy MSI K9VGM-V, and some other gubbins.

I also got Vista Ultimate 64x edition, because i'd heard my 4gb of ram would be wasted with XP. However, it seems to be the case with Vista as well.

When i tried to install Vista for the first time, everything was extremely slow, and in the end I gave up. My flatmate who works in IT tried a few things (different dvd-drive, blank HDD, bios flash, new MB drivers) but nothing worked. I googled it, and found this bloke saying you get these problems if you have more than 2gb of ram. So i took a stick out, and low and behold, Vista installed, and then my PC ran fine. However, the same post also pointed to a hot-fix, which i downloaded, but i got a message saying 'this does not apply to your computer' when i tried to install it. At this point i still had only 2gb of RAM in the pc.

I turned off the PC and added the other stick, but my PC wouldn't even boot up. Thus, if the hot-fix was the right one and only works when you have the 3gb+ in your pc, i can't get that far with 3gb+ in the machine.

The hotfix pointed to when i googled was this one kb929777, and the post said you'd need to install that before you put your RAM in, which i tried, and it didnt work. So, perhaps that isn't the problem.

Any ideas?

(P.S - i've taken out each stick of RAM, on it's run fine on each of the 2 sticks, so i dont think its faulty ram)

 

[inactionman]

I had the same problem, although the hot-fix worked for me, maybe you were trying to install the 32 bit one?

Upgrade to Vista SP1 then put the memory in and it should be fine.

 

[Aoami]

I have SP1 and i'm pretty sure it was the 64x hotfix i downloaded. I'm at work so i'll ahve to wait till later to try it?

Are you sure the one i linked to is the right fix?

Cheers

 

[inactionman]

Looks like the right fix.

It sounds like you may need to re-apply the service pack again, make sure to download the full (network/offline) install.

 

[Jonty]

Hi Aoami

It seems your motherboard only supports a maximum of 2GB RAM (MSI K9VGM-V Specifications). Sometimes BIOS updates are released to increase the supported capacity, so make sure you're have the latest version. However, if the motherboard only supports 2GB, then there's nothing you can really do short of changing it again. Sorry it's not better news.

Kind regards

 

[Aoami]

Thanks Jonty.

This however raises an interesting point, as it clearly states on the MSI website that it only supports 2gb. I bought it from ebuyer who clearly state is supports up to 4gb of ram!

 

[inactionman]

Trade descriptions act, ask for a refund quoting that and get a better board.

 

[Jonty]

You're welcome, Aoami.

I'd take inactionman's advice and contact eBuyer. Don't mention the Trade Descriptions Act straightaway, just politely explain the situation and request their help with a refund/exchange. If they don't respond nicely, then bring in the law and your rights. Some websites claim no responsibility for errors (in fairness it is difficult and they can't check everything), but a quick glance at eBuyer's T&C's looks like you might be alright. Good luck!

Kind regards

 

[Aoami]

Thanks folks, i'll get on the case when i get off work!

 

[inactionman]

Although some sites may claim what they like, thankfully you can't sign away your statutory rights!

As Jonty says, it's best to be polite first, and see where that gets you, only bring in the big guns if they quibble about it.

Not too sure about AMD's these days, but this looks an ok board here, assuming you need micro ATX.

 

[Aoami]

Ah that looks ideal, thanks.

I just gave them a bell and got put through to their tech support who gave me a couple of bios settings to play around with, so i'll get my techie flatmate to have a crack at those when I get home. Something about voltage and memory timing? No idea! If they don't work (which i've got a sneaking suspicsion they wont) i'll lobby for that MB tomorrow.

 

[Sharma]

With the current tech forecast, i'd be staying well away from AMD tbh.

Hell i'm swallowing my pride and buying an intel system next.

 

[Embattle]

It is rarely a case of a website trying to swindle you when it comes to descriptions, it is normally just an error.

 

[Aoami]

Hi again,

Unfortunately that motherboard InactionMan suggested is sold out and i'm having trouble finding a different one. The problem lies in the fact that both my hard drive and dvd drive are IDE, and most boards come with just 1 IDE slot these days. Is it possible to get say an IDE to USB connector for the DVD drive?

Cheers

Edit - Scrap that - Bought a SATA DVD drive instead.

 

[Malecheon]

If you only have one hard drive and one dvd drive, you can easily chain them together on one IDE cable (most cables will have two connecters) by setting the dvd drive to slave (usually achieved by a jumper on the back of the drive).

Just an idea if you didn't want to buy the sata dvd drive (assuming you have time to cancel the order).

 

[Aoami]

Didn't think of that, good stuff!