Vista64 unstable with 6gb

[Stoly]

A couple of weeks ago I started to test Vista64 Business and Windows 7 with 2, 4, 6 and 8 gb of ram.

I would test each configuration for a week and see if there were any realworld benefits.

During the past 2 weeks I tested 2 and 4 gb. Yesterday I started 6gb and I noticed instabilities. Applications would stop responding for a while and then start working again. Going back to 4gb solved the issue, but then I tested with 8gb and everything worked fine.

The ram sticks are new, I triple checked and they all work.

Only 6gb on vista 64 is unstable, windows7 has no problems what so ever.

I'm using 2gb DDR2800 kingston sticks on 2 pcs with C2D E7400, gigabyte EP35DS3L, 500gb WD.

No overclocking.

 

[Bigbacon]

least with my i7 and 6gb of ram, I am not noticing any stability or application issues. Wonder if the 775s and dual channel just don't like that odd amount of ram??

2 - 4 - 8 make sense for dual channel.

6 is an off number. that requires different sized chips using up all 4 slots.

Either way, thats a weird find. Specially since W7 doesn't have the same issue.

 

[GreenMonkey]

You might want to check for motherboard BIOS updates.

I just went from 2GB to 6GB on my Intel 965 board, and it took a VERY long time to boot up (about 6-7 minutes).

I did some googling and it turns out there were some issues with Intel and Vista on my board with > 4GB of RAM

For a while people were rolling back to an older BIOS, but the latest BIOS release late, late last year fixed the problem. Everything runs fine now.

Might be worth checking up on your board's latest BIOS updates.

 

[Pkirk618]

i bet it's a bios setting giving u issues. Lax the timings, up the voltage if you have to. Vista64 is quite stable IMO however, in the beginning, it wasn't so user friendly.

SO yeah, GM's advice seems solid.

 

[Jon55]

Well before we go blaming the OS, how about checking out the obviously faulty hardware. I know several people using 6 GB of RAM in Vista 64 that have had no issues. Perhaps the motherboard is at fault (seeing as you said you checked the RAM)? As others have said check the BIOS version.

 

[Stoly]

Well before we go blaming the OS, how about checking out the obviously faulty hardware. I know several people using 6 GB of RAM in Vista 64 that have had no issues. Perhaps the motherboard is at fault (seeing as you said you checked the RAM)? As others have said check the BIOS version.

Obviously faulty hardware has been checked and its obviously working. I have 2 identical machines and the problem presents on both. I did a clean vista install on a new hd and the problem persists.

It might be a bios or chipset issue.

Anyway I'm leaving it, as it's really not a problem for me.