I need help troubleshooting new pc

[Rich_S]

I have built my first pc, and am having a few problems.

the first is that windows vista 64 bit would only allow me to install it with 2 memory sticks in it (each is 1Gb) instead of the 4 sticks i bought for the computer. I installed it with the 2 in it, and of course afterward tried putting them back in, but on boot I get an error 4 of every 5 tries (STOP: 0x000007E .........). I don't think its bad RAM becuase either set works, just not both at once. What kind of issue might I be having with this?

My other problem is with the graphics card. Its a 9800GTX. I installed the drivers from nvidia's website, and restarted. Upon restarting, I now get a really f**ked up screen with random colours everywhere and the computer becomes unoperable. This happens not by being in windows iteslf, but whenever I open any application not part of windows itself. Im not too sure about the card because I opened it and there were a few parts missing (VGA adapter) and the driver cd!!! Maybe I should take it back?

Thanks.

-Rich

 

[Trotter]

the first is that windows vista 64 bit would only allow me to install it with 2 memory sticks in it (each is 1Gb) instead of the 4 sticks i bought for the computer. I installed it with the 2 in it, and of course afterward tried putting them back in, but on boot I get an error 4 of every 5 tries (STOP: 0x000007E .........). I don't think its bad RAM becuase either set works, just not both at once. What kind of issue might I be having with this?

You might have a bad RAM slot on your mobo. Try booting with a single stick, one slot at a time and see if you hit a bad one. you might try booting several times in each. If that doesn't trigger anything, starts putting in sticks in different combinations to find the problem.

My other problem is with the graphics card. Its a 9800GTX. I installed the drivers from nvidia's website, and restarted. Upon restarting, I now get a really f**ked up screen with random colours everywhere and the computer becomes unoperable. This happens not by being in windows iteslf, but whenever I open any application not part of windows itself. Im not too sure about the card because I opened it and there were a few parts missing (VGA adapter) and the driver cd!!! Maybe I should take it back?

I would take it back so fast that the color of my car would have to catch up to me.

 

[Rich_S]

thanks for those ideas. I have tried doing what you said with the RAM. Each slot booted fine with just 1 stick of memory. Now, with all 4 in, it lets me boot some of the time and some of the time not. I will return the video card for exchange asap, tonight i think. Could the problem with the graphics at all be related to the memory giving me problems?

 

[Redmo0n]

I would take it back so fast that the color of my car would have to catch up to me.

That's gold

Could the problem with the graphics at all be related to the memory giving me problems?

You could try just 1 stick at a time and see if the card is still messed up after different ram in different slots. I think that the motherboard could be faulty.

 

[Rich_S]

Ok, I am on the computer right now writing this, I switched the 9800 GTX with my old Radeon X850, installed it and it works. So the 9800GTX video card is faulty and I will take it back. Also, I've updated the bios, but still get the blue screen crash some of the time, because i have 4 sticks of RAM as opposed to never getting the blue Screen with 2 sticks. But each memory slot worked by itself, that to me is strange.

 

[Kharn]

Did you try it with 3 sticks?

 

[Thehbcrew]

overclock the ram to 2.0 volts if you can or atleast something other than the 1.8v

 

[Rich_S]

Ok so ive returned the 9800GTX and got a new one - IT WORKS!

And i think ive found a combination for the memory where its fine, it hasnt given me an error in the last 10 or so boots, so i think im good to to.
Thanks for your help guys

 

[NightSurge]

Actually, all he needs is to update his Windows 64-bit. On microsoft's website they have an update to fix the 4gb problem. I had to do it with my latest build and after I applied the update all was well. I'm guessing it blue screens right when it shows the loading bar for Windows?

Error message when you try to install Windows Vista on a computer that uses more than 3 GB of RAM: "STOP 0x0000000A"

The description isn't exactly the same as what your issue is, but this is the update I used and this is what you will need in order to use all 4GB of ram.