WIN 7 Pro 64-bit and 4GB DDR2

[bosamar]

I ran WIN 7 Pro 32-bit and my K9N Diamond showed 3GB of RAM. 

Now I'm running WIN 7 Pro 64-bit and it still shows 3GB of RAM.  I thought with 64-bit installed I'd see all 4GB of RAM?

[Jack t.N.]

Make sure memory remapping is enabled in BIOS Setup.

[bosamar]

Make sure memory remapping is enabled in BIOS Setup.

I don't see that option in my bios....which I just flashed from v1.7 to v1.9.

[Fredrik]

You should do testing for both each individual stick of memory, and for each memory slot. Be sure to power off etc. before each test!
Even a 32-bit system usually finds a little more than exactly 3 GB.

[bosamar]

You should do testing for both each individual stick of memory, and for each memory slot. Be sure to power off etc. before each test!
Even a 32-bit system usually finds a little more than exactly 3 GB.

I'm going to test all four sticks as follows:

Sticks in DIMM1 and DIMM3... reboot

Sticks in DIMM2 and DIMM4... reboot

I should see 2048MB each time, right?

Will that be adequate?

[Bas]

Try this setting in the BIOS: SoftWare Memory hole

[bosamar]

Try this setting in the BIOS: SoftWare Memory hole

It's enabled and still no good.

[bosamar]

I performed the following memory tests:

Dual-Channel Test#1
Placed 2x1GB DDR2 in DIMM1 & DIMM3, rotating through all 4 sticks
Results:  2048MB in bios, all four sticks good

Dual-Channel Test #2
Placed first two sticks in DIMM2 & DIMM4
Results:  Failed to boot

Placed 3x1GB DDR2 in DIMM1, DIMM2, & DIMM3.
Results:  3072MB in bios

Placed 3x1GB DDR2 in DIMM1, DIMM3, & DIMM4.
Results:  2048MB in bios

I believe the DIMM4 slot is bad.

[bosamar]

Is there a diagnostic tool available to test all 4 of my DIMM slots?

Thanks.

[Bas]

Yes, CPU-z, as it reads all the slots for memory information.

[bosamar]

Yes, CPU-z, as it reads all the slots for memory information.

Thanks Bas.

[bosamar]

Here are the CPU-Z results (Thanks Bas!)

This confirms that DIMM4 is dead.

[Bas]

Looks like slot3 or ram3 isn't working.
I would suggest you test the module in slot3 alone in other slots.
See what happens.

[bosamar]

Looks like slot3 or ram3 isn't working.
I would suggest you test the module in slot3 alone in other slots.
See what happens.

I did test all the RAM as noted in an earlier post.  All four sticks are good.

My next step is to see if there is dirt or something blocking contact in that slot.

If DIMM4 is bad, and I'm betting it is, I'm going to buy a new mainboard.  I want to keep my current CPU and DDR2 RAM.  Any suggestions for a new mainboard?

[Bas]

Dude, it's slot3 that isn't working according to CPU-z
So why do you think it's slot4?

[bosamar]

Dude, it's slot3 that isn't working according to CPU-z
So why do you think it's slot4?

Here is my logic.

If you look at the mobo layout in the Quick User's Giude you will see that the DIMM slots are set up like this:

CPU Socket AM2
-DIMM3 (CPU-z Slot 4) closest to the CPU
-DIMM4 (CPU-z Slot 3)
-DIMM1 (CPU-z Slot 2)
-DIMM2 (CPU-z Slot 1)

Since DIMM4 doesn't read it has to be Slot 3 in CPU-z.

When I tested the RAM in Dual-Channel mode in DIMM3/DIMM1 it read 2048MB.

When I tested the RAM in Dual-Channel mode in DIMM4/DIMM2 it failed to boot. 

I then tested the other two RAM in DIMM3/DIMM1...it booted and read 2048MB. 

Next I tried 3 RAM at a time in DIMM3/DIMM1 and DIMM2....it read 3072MB.  When I tried DIMM3/DIMM1 and DIMM4 it only read 2048MB.

DIMM4 is broke.

[bosamar]

And now in addition.... now I'm even MORE certain that I'm correct....DIMM4 is bad....

The CPU-z Tools Save Report names the DIMMs by name....1, 2, and 3...... #4 isn't listed.....  lookee here:

Memory SPD   
DIMM # 1
     SMBus address 0x50
     Memory type DDR2
     Module format Regular UDIMM
     Manufacturer (ID) Crucial Technology (7F7F7F7F7F9B0000)
     Size 1024 MBytes
     Max bandwidth PC2-6400 (400 MHz)
     Part number 
     Serial number FFFFFFFF
     Manufacturing date Week 08/Year 32
     Number of banks 1
     Data width 64 bits
     Correction None
     Nominal Voltage 1.80 Volts
     EPP no
     XMP no
JEDEC timings table CL-tRCD-tRP-tRAS-tRC @ frequency
     JEDEC #1 4.0-4-4-11-15 @ 266 MHz
     JEDEC #2 5.0-5-5-14-19 @ 333 MHz
     JEDEC #3 6.0-6-6-16-22 @ 400 MHz
SPD registers 
      00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 0A 0B 0C 0D 0E 0F 
     00 80 08 08 0E 0A 60 40 00 05 25 40 00 82 08 00 00 
     10 0C 08 70 01 02 00 03 30 45 3D 50 3C 1E 3C 28 01 
     20 17 25 05 12 3C 1E 1E 00 06 37 7F 80 14 1E 00 00 
     30 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 13 D3 
     40 7F 7F 7F 7F 7F 9B 00 00 FF 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 
     50 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 04 32 08 FF 
     60 FF FF FF 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 
     70 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 
     80 FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF 
     90 FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF 
     A0 FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF 
     B0 FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF 
     C0 FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF 
     D0 FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF 
     E0 FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF 
     F0 FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF 
   
DIMM # 2
     SMBus address 0x51
     Memory type DDR2
     Module format Regular UDIMM
     Manufacturer (ID) Crucial Technology (7F7F7F7F7F9B0000)
     Size 1024 MBytes
     Max bandwidth PC2-6400 (400 MHz)
     Part number 
     Serial number FFFFFFFF
     Manufacturing date Week 08/Year 32
     Number of banks 1
     Data width 64 bits
     Correction None
     Nominal Voltage 1.80 Volts
     EPP no
     XMP no
JEDEC timings table CL-tRCD-tRP-tRAS-tRC @ frequency
     JEDEC #1 4.0-4-4-11-15 @ 266 MHz
     JEDEC #2 5.0-5-5-14-19 @ 333 MHz
     JEDEC #3 6.0-6-6-16-22 @ 400 MHz
SPD registers 
      00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 0A 0B 0C 0D 0E 0F 
     00 80 08 08 0E 0A 60 40 00 05 25 40 00 82 08 00 00 
     10 0C 08 70 01 02 00 03 30 45 3D 50 3C 1E 3C 28 01 
     20 17 25 05 12 3C 1E 1E 00 06 37 7F 80 14 1E 00 00 
     30 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 13 D3 
     40 7F 7F 7F 7F 7F 9B 00 00 FF 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 
     50 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 04 32 08 FF 
     60 FF FF FF 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 
     70 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 
     80 FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF 
     90 FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF 
     A0 FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF 
     B0 FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF 
     C0 FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF 
     D0 FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF 
     E0 FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF 
     F0 FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF 
   
DIMM # 3
     SMBus address 0x53
     Memory type DDR2
     Module format Regular UDIMM
     Manufacturer (ID) Crucial Technology (7F7F7F7F7F9B0000)
     Size 1024 MBytes
     Max bandwidth PC2-6400 (400 MHz)
     Part number 
     Serial number FFFFFFFF
     Manufacturing date Week 08/Year 32
     Number of banks 1
     Data width 64 bits
     Correction None
     Nominal Voltage 1.80 Volts
     EPP no
     XMP no
JEDEC timings table CL-tRCD-tRP-tRAS-tRC @ frequency
     JEDEC #1 4.0-4-4-11-15 @ 266 MHz
     JEDEC #2 5.0-5-5-14-19 @ 333 MHz
     JEDEC #3 6.0-6-6-16-22 @ 400 MHz
SPD registers 
      00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 0A 0B 0C 0D 0E 0F 
     00 80 08 08 0E 0A 60 40 00 05 25 40 00 82 08 00 00 
     10 0C 08 70 01 02 00 03 30 45 3D 50 3C 1E 3C 28 01 
     20 17 25 05 12 3C 1E 1E 00 06 37 7F 80 14 1E 00 00 
     30 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 13 D3 
     40 7F 7F 7F 7F 7F 9B 00 00 FF 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 
     50 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 04 32 08 FF 
     60 FF FF FF 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 
     70 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 
     80 FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF 
     90 FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF 
     A0 FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF 
     B0 FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF 
     C0 FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF 
     D0 FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF 
     E0 FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF 
     F0 FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF 
   

[bosamar]

Come on Bas... tell me I'm right 

[Henry]

 That seems to confirm you have a dead slot. With a bad RAM slot it seems like a good excuse to upgrade to an AM2+ or AM3 MB. If you go for AM2+ MB that supports all of the AM3 CPU's then you can continue using all of the components you now have and then upgrade CPU whenever you want to.

[bosamar]

That seems to confirm you have a dead slot. With a bad RAM slot it seems like a good excuse to upgrade to an AM2+ or AM3 MB. If you go for AM2+ MB that supports all of the AM3 CPU's then you can continue using all of the components you now have and then upgrade CPU whenever you want to.

Thanks Henry.

Can you recommend a new MSI board that will work with all of my current components?  Something I can upgrade/improve in the future would be nice.

[Henry]

 I really wouldn't know which one to recommend but here is a list to chose from. Look through it and if you liked the MB you now have select a couple that have simliar features and then you can ask for some opinions from users that have them and look through the forum for posts regarding them.

 Ooops forgot the link.

 http://www.msi.com/html/popup/MB/45nm/en/index.html

[Mike]

CPU-z is showing that it's slot 3.  You are mistaken about it being slot#4. 

CPU-z of mine:

Memory SPD
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

DIMM #            1
   SMBus address      0x50
   Memory type      DDR3
   Module format      UDIMM
   Manufacturer (ID)   Corsair (7F7F9E0000000000)
   Size         1024 MBytes
   Max bandwidth      PC3-10700H (667 MHz)
   Part number      CM3X1024-1333C9DHX
   Number of banks      8
   Nominal Voltage      1.50 Volts
   EPP         no
   XMP         no
JEDEC timings table      CL-tRCD-tRP-tRAS-tRC @ frequency
   JEDEC #1      6.0-6-6-16-22 @ 444 MHz
   JEDEC #2      8.0-9-9-22-30 @ 593 MHz
   JEDEC #3      9.0-10-10-25-34 @ 667 MHz
SPD registers   
      00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 0A 0B 0C 0D 0E 0F
   00   92 10 0B 02 01 09 00 09 03 51 01 08 0C 00 34 00
   10   6C 78 6C 30 6C 11 20 8C D0 02 3C 3C 00 F0 83 05
   20   00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
   30   00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 0F 11 01 01
   40   00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
   50   00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
   60   00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
   70   00 00 00 00 00 02 9E 01 00 00 00 00 00 00 A8 3B
   80   43 4D 33 58 31 30 32 34 2D 31 33 33 33 43 39 44
   90   48 58 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
   A0   00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
   B0   00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
   C0   00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
   D0   00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
   E0   00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
   F0   00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00

DIMM #            2
   SMBus address      0x52
   Memory type      DDR3
   Module format      UDIMM
   Manufacturer (ID)   Corsair (7F7F9E0000000000)
   Size         1024 MBytes
   Max bandwidth      PC3-10700H (667 MHz)
   Part number      CM3X1024-1333C9DHX
   Number of banks      8
   Nominal Voltage      1.50 Volts
   EPP         no
   XMP         no
JEDEC timings table      CL-tRCD-tRP-tRAS-tRC @ frequency
   JEDEC #1      6.0-6-6-16-22 @ 444 MHz
   JEDEC #2      8.0-9-9-22-30 @ 593 MHz
   JEDEC #3      9.0-10-10-25-34 @ 667 MHz
SPD registers   
      00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 0A 0B 0C 0D 0E 0F
   00   92 10 0B 02 01 09 00 09 03 51 01 08 0C 00 34 00
   10   6C 78 6C 30 6C 11 20 8C D0 02 3C 3C 00 F0 83 05
   20   00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
   30   00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 0F 11 01 01
   40   00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
   50   00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
   60   00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
   70   00 00 00 00 00 02 9E 01 00 00 00 00 00 00 A8 3B
   80   43 4D 33 58 31 30 32 34 2D 31 33 33 33 43 39 44
   90   48 58 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
   A0   00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
   B0   00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
   C0   00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
   D0   00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
   E0   00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
   F0   00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00

My RAM is in slots 1 and 3. 
Notice it is labled Dimm #1 and Dimm #2, but also notice in the screenshot below, my RAM is in Slot 1 and Slot 3.

[Bas]

You could be right, however...
I notice this, you run all 4 sticks at DDR800 speed.
But your CPU only support 2 at DDR800, 1 per channel.
I'm not so sure the channel is bad.
Have you tried setting DDR667 with all 4?

If that does the same, then we can conclude the board or CPU is bad...or the CPU has a bad contact.
In that case I first would redo the CPU, it's free and worth a try.
If that fails, test the CPU in another system, then you know if it's the board or CPU.

However if the single slot is bad, 1 stick in that slot only would fail too, therefor I asked you to test 1 memory stick in all slots and see if it starts (so 4x boot with 1 stick only), but you never answered if you tried that.

[bosamar]

CPU-z is showing that it's slot 3.  You are mistaken about it being slot#4. 

Let's get the language right.  DIMM4 on my board is Slot 3 in CPU-z.

So if you're correct then why does my mobo boot to 3072MB with sticks in DIMM1/DIMM2/DIMM3!  DIMM3 on my board is fine.

You did not get my point about the difference between "Slot" and "DIMM" in CPU-z.  Apples are apples and oranges are oranges.  CPU-z reads them differently.  The DIMM slots on a mainboard are NOT set up sequentially like 1, 2, 3, 4.  No they are staggered like 3, 4, 1, 2.  So here I will post it again:

-DIMM3 (CPU-z Slot 4) closest to the CPU
-DIMM4 (CPU-z Slot 3)
-DIMM1 (CPU-z Slot 2)
-DIMM2 (CPU-z Slot 1)

I have proven by systematic testing that DIMM4 is not working. 

[bosamar]

You could be right, however...
I notice this, you run all 4 sticks at DDR800 speed.
But your CPU only support 2 at DDR800, 1 per channel.
I'm not so sure the channel is bad.
Have you tried setting DDR667 with all 4?

If that does the same, then we can conclude the board or CPU is bad...or the CPU has a bad contact.
In that case I first would redo the CPU, it's free and worth a try.
If that fails, test the CPU in another system, then you know if it's the board or CPU.

However if the single slot is bad, 1 stick in that slot only would fail too, therefor I asked you to test 1 memory stick in all slots and see if it starts (so 4x boot with 1 stick only), but you never answered if you tried that.

I will run tests:

- All sticks at 667
- Single stick memory test in each DIMM slot.

[bosamar]

I ran all 4 sticks at 667.  Same results as all at 800.

[bosamar]

Test Results in single stick:

-DIMM3 booted to 1024MB / CPU-z: DIMM1/Slot 2
-DIMM4 booted to 1024MB / CPU-z: DIMM1/Slot 4
-DIMM1 booted to 1024MB / CPU-z: DIMM1/Slot 1
-DIMM2 failed to boot

I also ran:

DIMM3/DIMM1/DIMM2 = 2048MB
DIMM3/DIMM4/DIMM1 = 3072MB

Now that was interesting...

[Bas]

Please redo the CPU, take it out and place it back, could be a bad contact.

If that doesn't help it's replacing time, for either the board or the CPU.

As for the memory difference you notice, sorry I do not care about that.
That CPU isn't supposed to work with 3 sticks anyway, so that it not interesting.

You have to test both parts to find the broken one, if REDO doesn't help.

[bosamar]

Please redo the CPU, take it out and place it back, could be a bad contact.

I reseated the CPU and it did not fix the problem.

[Bas]

Well then it's testing time, as it's either the CPU or the board.

[Fredrik]

Sorry! I should have answered your question once you put it.

There are no shortcuts really in memory testing. Stick 1 is placed in each and every slot, and then put away in a good place. Then you go on to stick 2, etc.

Would have saved you time in the long run. Why you should power off in-between is to minimize the factor of sticks and system getting "charged" - static electricity - differently and thus not liking each other.

And yes, the processor is an item to test too, but wouldn't that affect all of the system I'm thinking.

[Mike]

Whoever is correct, not important, it's the CPU or the board. 

[bosamar]

What tests do I perform now?

[Fredrik]

The processor is a little hard to test if you have no compatible system nearby, or a compatible processor for the system you got.

[bosamar]

I don't have the resources to test the CPU so I guess I just going to live with this for a while.  I may just run 2x2GB sticks in dual channel for now.

[Henry]

"...run 2x2GB sticks in dual channel for now."

 For AMD it's best that way than 4 sticks anyway.

[bosamar]

... you run all 4 sticks at DDR800 speed.
But your CPU only support 2 at DDR800, 1 per channel.

What CPU would my mainboard support using all 4 sticks at 800?

[Stu]

There is none for your board. For four sticks, drop the speed to 667mhz, or get 2 2gb sticks to run at 800mhz. The performance difference in 'real-life' will be hardly noticeable anyway.

[bosamar]

There is none for your board. For four sticks, drop the speed to 667mhz, or get 2 2gb sticks to run at 800mhz. The performance difference in 'real-life' will be hardly noticeable anyway.

I can't utilize 4x1GB DDR2 at 667 because it still only shows 3072MB.  Guess I will try 2x2GB in Dual-Channel until I get my new mainboard.  I've been with MSI for almost 7 years now and am disappointed with my K9N Diamond, i.e. the dead DIMM slot.

Now I've got my eye on an Asus' P6T-SE Intel board and an i7 920 CPU; I'll put 6GB of DDR3-1333 in it.  My other option would be a MSI X58.