2 x 512MB SDRAM on Abit KT7 Mobo

[Pudding]

Yes - it's quite old! Some of you may remember it though - Athlon 1.1Ghz and Soft Menu III non RAID.
As there's not much to chase up in this forum (yet) I thought you may have some ideas for me to try.
I've run with this mobo for a few weeks now with (new) 512MB Crucial SDRAM and \"optimum\" Memory settings as defined in various places but most usefully \"Paul's FAQ\" (which seems to have recently lost its berth at sudihan.com)
As this SDRAM got a bit cheaper the other day, I bought a further 512MB stick of Crucial memory. They both run through Memtest86+ OK individually but they just don't get along together at 1GB.
I dropped all performance memory settings progressively down to Fail Safe but no joy and I've tried those other ones - you know the ones where it might work with this and it might work with that - in particular 3.40v I/O voltage, all the Delay DRAM Read Latch settings (5) and using different DIMM slots (choice of 3 - max 1.5GB)
Only when I also tried \"MD Driving Strength\" Lo did I start to make progress. Usually it was blank screens or speedy BSODs.
I can get into XP (convincingly) and run IE6, PS7 and Sandra with optimum memory settings together with 3.40v I/O, Delay DRAM Read Latch anything but Auto and 1.0ns, MD Driving Strength Lo, using DIMMS 2/3 and 1/3 BUT.... Memtest fails like a drain around the 500MB mark with this set up!
I'm on the verge of giving up - I was never sure I needed more than 512MB anyway - I'm not a games player - but I thought Photoshop might like it.
So, any ideas? Am I missing other areas to try/check?
(When I say fail safe I mean as low as 100 CL3 - Sandra Memory Bandwidth (512Mb) is nearly half)
... and does anyone know where Paul's FAQ on the KT7 has gone?

[Robin]

Ahhhh.. Pauls KT7 FAQ. I had a bound copy a few years back when I went through my KT7 and KT7A era. The host viahardware.com seems to be some sort of horrid ad farm now. Shame. There are lots of posts on ABits own forums though regarding the KT7.

As far as I can recall, I was using 2x512MB PQI PC133 SDRAM on the KT7 and it worked like a dream. I had some horrid times getting it set up though - I was going through all the memory settings one by one to try and isolate the one that was causing the lockups/bluescreens - I do remember putting them in DIMM slots 0 and 2 though, and I never messed with voltages.

Can you post the BSOD STOP error number and the filename if any to see if it jogs my memory?

You might want to have a look at http://forum.abit-usa.com - the Socket A Via chipset forum is still very active.

[Pudding]

Thanks Robin
I'm afraid Paul's FAQ left viahardware.com for sudihan.com some years ago - but I do have some printouts.
If only I could get to a working slugged state then I too could attempt to isolate the problem - interesting that you had to use DIMM slots 0 and 2 though.
I don't always get a BSOD but when I do it's at the XP logon screen and too quick to read without even more clonk being introduced. As I say, I can get into XP without any apparent problems but then booting with Memtest tells me it's not as sound as it seems.
I'm now not keen on continuing this exercise without a Memtest check first - when I do get through to XP there are sometimes \"recovered from serious error\" and \"recovered the registry\" messages that suggest I might just cause myself more problems if I don't get an error free run between failures.
I have ploughed through the forum you suggest (how do some people expect an answer with the Subjects they use?) but I've not found anything yet other than similar, but unanswered, questions.

BTW: The BIOS reports the wrong info about the number of slots and memory in Bank 0 (but not within BIOS Setup) - PCPitstop picks this up as a discrepancy, parts of Sandra report it incorrectly, Crucial's Memory Advisor detects it incorrectly and MSINFO32 reports the Total Physical Memory as 1GB when there is just 1 x 512MB stick in DIMM0. With just 512MB in DIMM1, MSINFO32 reports the correct amount. This concerned me when I first introduced 512MB but it didn't seem to cause any problems.

[Robin]

When you get into Windows:

Open System in Control Panel.

On the Advanced tab, under Startup and Recovery, click Settings.

Under System Failure, uncheck the following box:

Automatically reboot

You should then get a look at the STOP error that has been casing you so much trouble. When you have it all written down, post it here.

[Pudding]

Thanks for that Robin. When the rain returns (won't be long) I'll get back to this and I'll let you know of any progress.

[Pudding]

Hi
I've stumbled across a suitable combination of settings that work. :D
Like you Robin (and others), I had to have the SDRAM in DIMM1/3. It then took a touch of extra I/O voltage (3.40v), a bit of Delay DRAM Read Latch at 0.5ns and a change of MD Driving Strength to Lo - all as advised in Paul's FAQ. This didn't work at full DRAM Timing so I had to drop back and then up to Fast. I've sat around for hours as Memtest86+ ploughs through all its tests and then Sandra Memory Bandwidth Benchmark.
It still reports that \"System Bandwidth appears memory limited\" which I've never understood - Sandra's advice is not applicable to my mobo.