A8V Deluxe Unstable After Memory Upgrade

Hello,

First, my system:

MB: A8V Deluxe
PSU: Corsair HX520W (Originally had Antec SL400 ATX 400W)
CPU: Athlon 64 X2 4200+
Memory: Corsair TWINX2048-3200C2PT (Originally CMX512-3200C2 x2)
Video: Asus N6600/TD/128
HDD: WDC WD1200JB (x2), WDC WD400BB
DVD/CD: NEC DVD_RW ND-3500AW, TDK CDWR5200B

The system has Windows XP X64 on one WD1200JB and Fedora FC5 x64 on the
WD400BB, both on the main IDE connector. I added the 2nd WD1200JB to the
Promise RAID (onfigured as a single disk striped array, the only
configuration supported by the x64 driver) and installed Vista Ultimate
x64 on this drive.

Everything seemed stable until I replaced the original memory with the
TWINX2048-3200C2PT. Then data errors started showing up in files under
Vista. Every error I could track down turned out to be a picked low
order bit. In cases where there were multiple errors in a file, the low
order bits of the offset to the error are the same.

This sure looked like a memory problem, so I ran memtest86+. I've run it
for up to 16 hours at a time and it's never found a single error.

The Corsair Ram Guy said that he thought that the Antec PSU, with only a
single 12v rail, is marginal for this system, so I upgraded to the
HX520W, which has three 12v rails. I also upgraded to BIOS 1018-001.
Some things that were failing before started to work at this point, but
I was still seeing file errors. In one case, a file that had a bad MD5
checksum as computed on Vista had a good MD5 checksum as computed on XP.

I tried swapping the DIMMS - i.e. putting the DIMM that was in slot 1 in
slot 3 and visa versa. This didn't seem to make any difference either.

I thought perhaps the problem was with the RAID driver, since there's
only an old beta version available on the ASUS download site. To test
this, I disconnect the XP drive and moved the Vista drive from the RAID
to the main IDE connector. I reformatted and installed Vista on this
drive. The first time it died during the first reboot with a file
corruption error in fltmgr.sys. (Error 0x00000221?) I took this as a
sign that there was still a problem somewhere.

I reformatted and installed again and this time it completed without
complaining. On the first login Windows Update complained that some
updates failed due to error 800736CC, which is a corrupted download
file. Not a good sign...

I tried copying some files from my laptop to Vista, and got bad MD5
checksums. I wondered if maybe the drive was bad, so on my laptop I
burned the test files to a DVD verified the MD5 checksums. On Vista, I
checked the MD5 checksums right off the DVD and they were bad.

Now I don't know what to think... I've eliminated the RAID as the
problem and probably the drive itself, the network interface and the DVD
drive.

(It's possible that my Vista DVD is bad - I got as a reward for being a
Vista beta tester and burned it myself (on the NEC drive) from an ISO I
downloaded. I used the MS CRC tool to verify the download and to verify
the burned copy, so at least it *was* good.)

Does anybody have any ideas for what else to check? I'm wondering if
it's time to retire this mobo and start over...

Regards,
Eric Mader

Had the same problem, needed to set latency from 2-3-3-6 to 2.5-3-3-6.


"Eric Mader" <> wrote in message
news:462fa56f$0$1388$...
> Hello,
>
> First, my system:
>
> MB: A8V Deluxe
> PSU: Corsair HX520W (Originally had Antec SL400 ATX 400W)
> CPU: Athlon 64 X2 4200+
> Memory: Corsair TWINX2048-3200C2PT (Originally CMX512-3200C2 x2)
> Video: Asus N6600/TD/128
> HDD: WDC WD1200JB (x2), WDC WD400BB
> DVD/CD: NEC DVD_RW ND-3500AW, TDK CDWR5200B
>
> The system has Windows XP X64 on one WD1200JB and Fedora FC5 x64 on the
> WD400BB, both on the main IDE connector. I added the 2nd WD1200JB to the
> Promise RAID (onfigured as a single disk striped array, the only
> configuration supported by the x64 driver) and installed Vista Ultimate
> x64 on this drive.
>
> Everything seemed stable until I replaced the original memory with the
> TWINX2048-3200C2PT. Then data errors started showing up in files under
> Vista. Every error I could track down turned out to be a picked low order
> bit. In cases where there were multiple errors in a file, the low order
> bits of the offset to the error are the same.
>
> This sure looked like a memory problem, so I ran memtest86+. I've run it
> for up to 16 hours at a time and it's never found a single error.
>
> The Corsair Ram Guy said that he thought that the Antec PSU, with only a
> single 12v rail, is marginal for this system, so I upgraded to the HX520W,
> which has three 12v rails. I also upgraded to BIOS 1018-001. Some things
> that were failing before started to work at this point, but I was still
> seeing file errors. In one case, a file that had a bad MD5 checksum as
> computed on Vista had a good MD5 checksum as computed on XP.
>
> I tried swapping the DIMMS - i.e. putting the DIMM that was in slot 1 in
> slot 3 and visa versa. This didn't seem to make any difference either.
>
> I thought perhaps the problem was with the RAID driver, since there's only
> an old beta version available on the ASUS download site. To test this, I
> disconnect the XP drive and moved the Vista drive from the RAID to the
> main IDE connector. I reformatted and installed Vista on this drive. The
> first time it died during the first reboot with a file corruption error in
> fltmgr.sys. (Error 0x00000221?) I took this as a sign that there was still
> a problem somewhere.
>
> I reformatted and installed again and this time it completed without
> complaining. On the first login Windows Update complained that some
> updates failed due to error 800736CC, which is a corrupted download file.
> Not a good sign...
>
> I tried copying some files from my laptop to Vista, and got bad MD5
> checksums. I wondered if maybe the drive was bad, so on my laptop I burned
> the test files to a DVD verified the MD5 checksums. On Vista, I checked
> the MD5 checksums right off the DVD and they were bad.
>
> Now I don't know what to think... I've eliminated the RAID as the problem
> and probably the drive itself, the network interface and the DVD drive.
>
> (It's possible that my Vista DVD is bad - I got as a reward for being a
> Vista beta tester and burned it myself (on the NEC drive) from an ISO I
> downloaded. I used the MS CRC tool to verify the download and to verify
> the burned copy, so at least it *was* good.)
>
> Does anybody have any ideas for what else to check? I'm wondering if it's
> time to retire this mobo and start over...
>
> Regards,
> Eric Mader
>

I did that, leaving everything else set to [Auto]. I did "load setup
defaults" after I upgraded the BIOS and only changed these memory
settings and the boot order. Does anything else need to be changed?

I did some more testing comparing known good files to a corrupt copy and
found that in all cases the offset into the file of the corruption ends
in 0x74A. (The low order bit of the corrupt data is always 1 but should
be 0.) Don't really know how to interpret this 'cause I don't know how
Windows buffers when it reads files.

Regards,
Eric

RRShaver wrote:
> Had the same problem, needed to set latency from 2-3-3-6 to 2.5-3-3-6.
>
>
> "Eric Mader" <> wrote in message
> news:462fa56f$0$1388$...
>> Hello,
>>
>> First, my system:
>>
>> MB: A8V Deluxe
>> PSU: Corsair HX520W (Originally had Antec SL400 ATX 400W)
>> CPU: Athlon 64 X2 4200+
>> Memory: Corsair TWINX2048-3200C2PT (Originally CMX512-3200C2 x2)
>> Video: Asus N6600/TD/128
>> HDD: WDC WD1200JB (x2), WDC WD400BB
>> DVD/CD: NEC DVD_RW ND-3500AW, TDK CDWR5200B
>>
>> [long discussion of instability problems]
>>
>> Regards,
>> Eric Mader
>>
>

"Eric Mader" <> wrote in message
news:462fa56f$0$1388$
> Hello,
>
> First, my system:
>
> MB: A8V Deluxe
> PSU: Corsair HX520W (Originally had Antec SL400 ATX 400W)
> CPU: Athlon 64 X2 4200+
> Memory: Corsair TWINX2048-3200C2PT (Originally CMX512-3200C2 x2)

[...]

> Everything seemed stable until I replaced the original memory with the
> TWINX2048-3200C2PT. Then data errors started showing up in files under
> Vista.

I run 2 x TWINX1024-3200C2 at 2-3-3-6-2T on my A8N-SLI Premium but I had to
increase the DRAM voltage from the default 2.5v to 2.7v (the Corsair
recommended maximum). Check with Corsair to see if the maximum voltage for
the TWINX2048 is 2.7v or 2.75v and give it a go.

DRS wrote:
> "Eric Mader" <> wrote in message
> news:462fa56f$0$1388$
>> Hello,
>>
>> First, my system:
>>
>> MB: A8V Deluxe
>> PSU: Corsair HX520W (Originally had Antec SL400 ATX 400W)
>> CPU: Athlon 64 X2 4200+
>> Memory: Corsair TWINX2048-3200C2PT (Originally CMX512-3200C2 x2)
>
> [...]
>
>> Everything seemed stable until I replaced the original memory with the
>> TWINX2048-3200C2PT. Then data errors started showing up in files under
>> Vista.
>
> I run 2 x TWINX1024-3200C2 at 2-3-3-6-2T on my A8N-SLI Premium but I had to
> increase the DRAM voltage from the default 2.5v to 2.7v (the Corsair
> recommended maximum). Check with Corsair to see if the maximum voltage for
> the TWINX2048 is 2.7v or 2.75v and give it a go.

Just to be clear: in the A8V Deluxe BIOS, I see a setting called "DDR
Votage" under "Configure System Frequency/Votlage" if I set "AI
Overclocking" to "Manual". The possible values for this are Auto, 2.6,
2.7 and 2.8. Is this the value you're talking about? (I don't see a
setting called "DRAM Voltage" anywhere)

Here's what I see in
http://www.houseofhelp.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=52351:

Testing parameters for TWINX3200C2:
TWINX2048-3200C2 Data Sheet
TWINX1024-3200C2 Data Sheet
TWINX512-3200C2 Data Sheet
Motherboard make and model: Asus P4C800/-E and/or DFI INFINITY I865/I875
and/or Asus A7N8X and/or ABIT IC7 Max3.
Each pair is tested and packaged together using the following settings:
DRAM Clock: 200 MHz
DRAM Voltage: 2.7X Volts
SDRAM CAS Latency: 2T (2.5 on AMD platform)
SDRAM RAS to CAS Delay (tRCD): 3T
SDRAM Row Precharge (tRP): 3T
SDRAM Active to Precharge Delay (tRAS): 6T
SDRAM Bank Interleave: 4 Bank
All other settings are motherboard defaults.

(I don't see a way to set SDRAM Bank Interleave to 4... there's a Bank
Interleave setting in the memory configuration but the only settings are
Auto, Disable, Enable.)

Regards,
Eric

"Eric Mader" <> wrote in message
news:4630029f$0$9946$
> DRS wrote:

[...]

>> I run 2 x TWINX1024-3200C2 at 2-3-3-6-2T on my A8N-SLI Premium but I
>> had to increase the DRAM voltage from the default 2.5v to 2.7v (the
>> Corsair recommended maximum). Check with Corsair to see if the
>> maximum voltage for the TWINX2048 is 2.7v or 2.75v and give it a go.
>
> Just to be clear: in the A8V Deluxe BIOS, I see a setting called "DDR
> Votage" under "Configure System Frequency/Votlage" if I set "AI
> Overclocking" to "Manual". The possible values for this are Auto, 2.6,
> 2.7 and 2.8. Is this the value you're talking about? (I don't see a
> setting called "DRAM Voltage" anywhere)

That's the one. I'd feel safe setting it to 2.7v but not 2.8v. I know that
Corsair recommended maximum for the various types of TWINX is either 2.7v or
2.75v. I'd only set it to 2.8v if I was certain the motherboard was
supplying less than the stated voltage (which ASUS motherboards have been
known to do sometimes).

[...]

> DRAM Voltage: 2.7X Volts

You should do a search on the Corsair forums and see what RamGuy has to say.

> SDRAM CAS Latency: 2T (2.5 on AMD platform)

It's traditionally true Athlon 64s needed the CAS latency to be set at 2.5
but later steppings had improved memory controllers. I also have a 939 X2
4200 (Rev E4). The E4 and E6 were the last 939 steppings and all other
things being equal should be able to run at CAS2.

Note that the designation 2T refers to the command rate, not the CAS latency
(2). You might be able to run 2 * 1024MB sticks at 1T but until you can get
your system stable leave the command rate at 2T.

> SDRAM RAS to CAS Delay (tRCD): 3T
> SDRAM Row Precharge (tRP): 3T
> SDRAM Active to Precharge Delay (tRAS): 6T
> SDRAM Bank Interleave: 4 Bank
> All other settings are motherboard defaults.
>
> (I don't see a way to set SDRAM Bank Interleave to 4... there's a Bank
> Interleave setting in the memory configuration but the only settings
> are Auto, Disable, Enable.)

Ignore it. The CAS latency is far and away the most important memory
timing. IOW, if you could get your memory stable at (for example) 2-4-4-8
you'd be better off than 2.5-3-3-6.

I've found with this motherboard the slots the memory is in seems to be
critical. A1 and B1 (blue slots)
Corsairs' recommended voltage is 2.75v. for me 2.7v is stable.
I would continue to lower the latency settings, for example to 3-3-3-8 or
3-4-4-8 or 4-4-4-8 until I could get it stable.
And it could be possible that the CPU, Motherboard and memory combination is
problematic in itself.



"Eric Mader" <> wrote in message
news:462fe749$0$16700$...
>I did that, leaving everything else set to [Auto]. I did "load setup
>defaults" after I upgraded the BIOS and only changed these memory settings
>and the boot order. Does anything else need to be changed?
>
> I did some more testing comparing known good files to a corrupt copy and
> found that in all cases the offset into the file of the corruption ends in
> 0x74A. (The low order bit of the corrupt data is always 1 but should be
> 0.) Don't really know how to interpret this 'cause I don't know how
> Windows buffers when it reads files.
>
> Regards,
> Eric
>
> RRShaver wrote:
>> Had the same problem, needed to set latency from 2-3-3-6 to 2.5-3-3-6.
>>
>>
>> "Eric Mader" <> wrote in message
>> news:462fa56f$0$1388$...
>>> Hello,
>>>
>>> First, my system:
>>>
>>> MB: A8V Deluxe
>>> PSU: Corsair HX520W (Originally had Antec SL400 ATX 400W)
>>> CPU: Athlon 64 X2 4200+
>>> Memory: Corsair TWINX2048-3200C2PT (Originally CMX512-3200C2 x2)
>>> Video: Asus N6600/TD/128
>>> HDD: WDC WD1200JB (x2), WDC WD400BB
>>> DVD/CD: NEC DVD_RW ND-3500AW, TDK CDWR5200B
>>>
>>> [long discussion of instability problems]
>>>
>>> Regards,
>>> Eric Mader
>>>
>>

I saw the instabilities when the memory configuration was all set to
default which seemed to be 3-4-4-8... I guess I should give 4-4-4-8 a
try too.

This memory is the most recommended for my mobo on the Corsair site, for
whatever that's worth...

Regards,
Eric

RRShaver wrote:
> I've found with this motherboard the slots the memory is in seems to be
> critical. A1 and B1 (blue slots)
> Corsairs' recommended voltage is 2.75v. for me 2.7v is stable.
> I would continue to lower the latency settings, for example to 3-3-3-8
> or 3-4-4-8 or 4-4-4-8 until I could get it stable.
> And it could be possible that the CPU, Motherboard and memory
> combination is problematic in itself.
>
>
>
> "Eric Mader" <> wrote in message
> news:462fe749$0$16700$...
>> I did that, leaving everything else set to [Auto]. I did "load setup
>> defaults" after I upgraded the BIOS and only changed these memory
>> settings and the boot order. Does anything else need to be changed?
>>
>> I did some more testing comparing known good files to a corrupt copy
>> and found that in all cases the offset into the file of the corruption
>> ends in 0x74A. (The low order bit of the corrupt data is always 1 but
>> should be 0.) Don't really know how to interpret this 'cause I don't
>> know how Windows buffers when it reads files.
>>
>> Regards,
>> Eric
>>
>> RRShaver wrote:
>>> Had the same problem, needed to set latency from 2-3-3-6 to 2.5-3-3-6.
>>>
>>>
>>> "Eric Mader" <> wrote in message
>>> news:462fa56f$0$1388$...
>>>> Hello,
>>>>
>>>> First, my system:
>>>>
>>>> MB: A8V Deluxe
>>>> PSU: Corsair HX520W (Originally had Antec SL400 ATX 400W)
>>>> CPU: Athlon 64 X2 4200+
>>>> Memory: Corsair TWINX2048-3200C2PT (Originally CMX512-3200C2 x2)
>>>> Video: Asus N6600/TD/128
>>>> HDD: WDC WD1200JB (x2), WDC WD400BB
>>>> DVD/CD: NEC DVD_RW ND-3500AW, TDK CDWR5200B
>>>>
>>>> [long discussion of instability problems]
>>>>
>>>> Regards,
>>>> Eric Mader
>>>>
>>>
>

DRS wrote:
> "Eric Mader" <> wrote in message
>> Just to be clear: in the A8V Deluxe BIOS, I see a setting called "DDR
>> Votage" under "Configure System Frequency/Votlage" if I set "AI
>> Overclocking" to "Manual". The possible values for this are Auto, 2.6,
>> 2.7 and 2.8. Is this the value you're talking about? (I don't see a
>> setting called "DRAM Voltage" anywhere)
>
> That's the one. I'd feel safe setting it to 2.7v but not 2.8v. I know that
> Corsair recommended maximum for the various types of TWINX is either 2.7v or
> 2.75v. I'd only set it to 2.8v if I was certain the motherboard was
> supplying less than the stated voltage (which ASUS motherboards have been
> known to do sometimes).

I tried that setting and the system is still unstable :-(

Regards,
Eric

"Eric Mader" <> wrote in message
news:46301670$0$1406$
> I saw the instabilities when the memory configuration was all set to
> default which seemed to be 3-4-4-8... I guess I should give 4-4-4-8 a
> try too.

If you can't get it stable at 3-4-4-8 then there's some larger issue. It
might be bad RAM, bad mobo or something else, but going to 4-4-4-8 is not a
viable solution. At best it's a temporary workaround.