So, I'm in building up a new system and having a some issues. This is
the system at the moment (there's a few other bits of hardware I haven't
installed yet).

Asus Crosshair AM2 NF590 SLI Motherboard
AMD X2 Dual core 6000 AM2 Processor
2x Corsair XMS6400 4GB DDR2 (2x2GB) 800Mhz Non-ECC (8Gig total RAM -
4x2Gig all identical)
2x NVidia GeForce 9800GT 512Meg
2x WD Caviar 500Gig SATA hard drives

Windows Vista Home Premium 64-Bit OEM (SP1 included)

All seems to install fine, but upon first boot up, I'm getting some
errors. I'm at work at the moment, so can't recall the errors off-hand,
but I'll be posting again to update when I get home.

If I "Ok" all the errors, I get the typical windows desktop, sitting in
1280x1024 resolution on a single display (I have a pair of 22"
widescreens hooked up).

Attempting to run (or even just install) pretty much any 3rd party
software results in errors (including Vista 64 setup files for
motherboard & graphics card drivers) and nothing will run or install.

I've done a little googling this morning since I got to work and they
suggested installing with only 2Gig of RAM in the system, then getting a
windows hotfix to access the extra memory, but the forum posts I found
with this information were made in mid 2007. Is this info still valid
with my copy of Vista 64 including SP1?

Obviously I don't expect you guys to be able to help much until I get
back home and can report the specific errors, but has anybody come
across anything like this?


--
Kaouthia

Yes, for some computers, four sticks seem to cause problems during
installation. Especially if it results in 4G of memory, which is not your
case. But, if you remove two sticks, you'll have the dreaded 4GB. Other
things to consider:

1. Did you set the Memory Hole Remapping feature in BIOS for more than 4GB?
2. Is the BIOS up-to-date?
3. I'm sure it has a DVD player. Is this IDE or E-IDE? Consider unplugging
one of the two HDDs until the install is complete.
4. The motherboard probably has built-in video and sound. Consider leaving
the 9800GT uninstalled until OS installation is complete.
5. Don't perform updates during install. Wait until all components are up
and running.
6. Load up-to-date drivers from manufacturer websites, not microsoft.

Not all of the above are your problem, just common solutions for the few
machines that seem to have difficulty getting installed in the first place.
Once the OS is installed, adding components doesn't seem to cause any issues
and should prove to be very stable. Don't activate until you get all the
components up and running.

Then, make a clean image (backup) that can be restored in 20-25 minutes
instead of the hours this installation can sometimes take.

Good luck!


"Kaouthia" wrote in message
...

So, I'm in building up a new system and having a some issues. This is
the system at the moment (there's a few other bits of hardware I haven't
installed yet).

Asus Crosshair AM2 NF590 SLI Motherboard
AMD X2 Dual core 6000 AM2 Processor
2x Corsair XMS6400 4GB DDR2 (2x2GB) 800Mhz Non-ECC (8Gig total RAM -
4x2Gig all identical)
2x NVidia GeForce 9800GT 512Meg
2x WD Caviar 500Gig SATA hard drives

Windows Vista Home Premium 64-Bit OEM (SP1 included)

All seems to install fine, but upon first boot up, I'm getting some
errors. I'm at work at the moment, so can't recall the errors off-hand,
but I'll be posting again to update when I get home.

If I "Ok" all the errors, I get the typical windows desktop, sitting in
1280x1024 resolution on a single display (I have a pair of 22"
widescreens hooked up).

Attempting to run (or even just install) pretty much any 3rd party
software results in errors (including Vista 64 setup files for
motherboard & graphics card drivers) and nothing will run or install.

I've done a little googling this morning since I got to work and they
suggested installing with only 2Gig of RAM in the system, then getting a
windows hotfix to access the extra memory, but the forum posts I found
with this information were made in mid 2007. Is this info still valid
with my copy of Vista 64 including SP1?

Obviously I don't expect you guys to be able to help much until I get
back home and can report the specific errors, but has anybody come
across anything like this?


--
Kaouthia

Just got home and about to power it up to get exact error messages
before I start messing around (just in case it's something else that's
the issue).

1. I didn't know about that until I'd done some research earlier, so it
is something I'm going to be checking when I power it up (the last time
I used a 64Bit OS was WinXP Pro when that had just been released, and
wasn't really impressed, so haven't kept up much with 64Bit for a
while).

2. The BIOS is whatever comes distributed with the board, but I will be
looking to flash it up to the latest if I can't get it to install on the
current one.

3. The DVD drive is on the only ATA interface on the board (as master).
Both hard drives are SATA.

4. It has built in sound, which I'll be using for a while, but no
on-board video. I'll probably end up pulling out one of the 9800s
temporarily to see if that helps.

5. It's not even hooked up to the LAN, so it's not able to download any
updates.

6. I was initially attempting to install the Vista 64 drivers from the
DVDs distributed with the devices, but I will be downloading the latest
ones now from the manufacturer websites.

Thanks for the info, once I've downloaded all the latest drivers,
burned them out, and hooked up the new PC, I'll pop back and let you all
know how it went.


--
Kaouthia

So I took out three of the RAM chips and dropped it down to 2Gig. Also
disabled one of the hard drives (didn't remove the second graphics
card). Booted up and still kept getting the same errors.

Booted from the setup DVD, wiped the drive, and reinstalled, all seems
to be OK now.

Still sitting on only 2Gig of RAM, but at least the graphics drivers
are installing now. Once that's all set, I'll stick the rest of the ram
back in and see what happens.


--
Kaouthia

Hi 'Kaouthia' (http://www.vistax64.com/members/kaouthia.html)

Since your system is running good on 2 gig of mem did you install Vista
Service Pack 1 then reboot and then power off the system and install the
rest of the memory?
Raj


--
rajinisback

RAJ :P
*Please give Karma if I helped you fix the issue. Thanks *

The copy of Vista I purchased came with SP1 included.

After installing windows, all that was left were a couple of security
updates, a defender definitions update, and a new network adapter
driver.

But, I am still having some issues. After putting all 8Gig in the
machine, it randomly bluescreens. It could be two hours after I turn
the PC on, or two minutes.

At the moment, I'm running on 2Gig, and it seems to be more stable.
Over the next few nights, I'm running Memtest86 overnight, switching out
the memory chips each night to see if any errors pop up on any of them.

According to the Asus website, the Corsair ram I have is compatible
with this board (in fact, it's the first in the list), so I'm thinking I
might have some bad ram.


--
Kaouthia

Sounds like you got some bad ram yes I agree.
Raj


--
rajinisback

RAJ :P
*Please give Karma if I helped you fix the issue. Thanks *