Bizarre Crash

I have just installed two new DIMMs of memory, which my system has recognised without incident. However, now when I try to launch SL it just crashes. Oddly enough, the same is happeneing with Firefox and Internet Explorer. All other applications work just fine. It is definitely not my connectiong, as Age of Conan works fine too.

Anyone ever heard of a problem like this?

Detecting the presence of memory and actually running it hard are pretty different things. IE, Firefox, and SL may be the most memory intensive programs you use which would cause memory faults to manifest.

For a good time try
http://www.memtest86.com/

And don't just let it run for a few minutes, let it run overnight or for as long as you can. Some memory problems might not show up right away.

Yeah make sure they are the same size as other memory sticks and in the right paired slots, and same type as existing memory too,
It's a pain to buy memory at the moment because ideally if you want 4 sticks you should buy them all together otherwise you get a different brand/speed whatever in 2 years time.

Problem - I can't go to the link you provide on the computer in question without a working browser (I'm on a different computer at the moment). Also, Age of Conan is far more memory intensive and works fine. I have no other memory installed - the pair I bought were to replace, not augment, my existing memory.

may sound odd, have you rebooted after installing the memory?

And have you shut down and reseated the memory again?

I have a vague recollection of something similar happening 3 or 4 years ago when I installed additional memory. Never found out what caused it, except that it went away after removing and reseating the memory a couple of times. I assumed that one of the sticks was slightly faulty and had to be seated just so to work properly, never understood why it only seemed to affect certain software though.

EDIT: this is a very vague memory and might have nothing to do with what you're experiencing.

You Narsisscist.

Uh... admittedly dumb question, but what was wrong with the old memory? I'm thinking that maybe it was throwing errors because of problems on the memory bus upstream from the DIMMs themselves. In any case, is reinstalling the old memory units an option, for debugging purposes? (Also, for downloading test programs, who knows the lightest-weight browser? Is lynx still in existence? Would Opera be worth a try?)

Yes, about a dozen times. I have followed the instructions provided with the DIMMS, and have checked my motherboard's manual to see if there is anything else I need to do - nothing. I wondered if there was some setting in the BIOS I needed to change, but my motherboard manual makes no mention of it. If the DIMMs were damaged, surely my PC would not even recognise them, and would thus not boot up at all, right?

What was wrong with the old memory is that it was too damn small - only 384mb.
I've just put the old DIMMS back in. Everything works the way it did before. I'll look for a diagnostic program now and then reinstall the new DIMMs and run it.

Okay, so the total RAM did increase with the new DIMMs. Good. My guess at this point is that there's a timing setting that needs to be tweaked in the BIOS, but if there's no mention in the manual... that space is pretty big to search exhaustively. Hoping more hints from the mem test. Otherwise may need to delve into motherboard model and DIMM specs to get much further.

Yes, Task Manager recognises the presence of the new DIMMS.

I've tried each DIMM one at a time; in each of the two slots.
They both work fine individually, and both slots on my motherboard work fine. I can launch applications on either DIMM, just not with both installed together.

I have a sneaking suspiscion that the manufacturers of my motherboard have made an error when they say it supports 2gb.

That is the only logical conclusion I can reach. I'll try the diagnostic program linked to above though. It's not a huge problem if that is the case - I was planning on getting a new motherboard at the end of the month anyway, as I want one with 4 slots. It is, however, a minor annoyance that I have to wait to use all my memory.

EDIT: Task Manager recognises the presence of the full amount of memory - but when booting up, the CMOS only shows 1920mb with both 1gb DIMMS installed. Is that significant, or is that normal? Does this confirm my suspiscion that the motherboard does not, infact, support 2gb?

The motherboard may be at fault. 2 gig is 2048 so your short 128 mb...

Do you have onboard graphics? Or a video card?

ATI Xpress 200 with 128mb shared memory - which accounts for the discrepancy. With one DIMM I see 896mb + 128mb shared memory - which is as it should be.

Like I said, if it is the motherboard then I consider it a minor annoyance rather than a major issue - since I want a new one anyway. I'd rather the motherboard be at fault than for Crucial to have sent me faulty DIMMS. Particularly since I have a PCI-E card with 512mb onboard memory coming tomorrow.

Thanks for all the help, people. Although I can't be 100% certain, I'm pretty much convinced now that my motherboard is at fault.

Nope; having written Power-On Self Test memory sizing, and memory diagnostic code in a past life the two mechanisms are utterly different. It is quite possible for defective memory to be correctly (and quickly) sized.

As you are going to run real diagnostics this point is vaguely pedantic - but true.

One thing is Crucial uses the match based on the company's specs given to them.

I've had issues before where the specs didn't match due to a motherboard revision that Crucial didn't know about

I've now experimented with installing one DIMM at a time. Applications are able to use both DIMMs when they are installed individually - just not when they are both installed together - so I am 100% certain that the memory itself is not defective.

I'm using the MSI-7173 (RC410M) motherboard. It may be that there is some sort of 'lightweight' version of it that the OEM (a budget company called iQon) that built the computer have used. I didn't get a motherboard manual with the PC, and the PC manual itself does not mention what motherboard it is. I had to open the case when I got it to see what motherboard it was and then google for a manual.

Learn from my experience, kids, and build your own PC rather than go to an OEM.

Googling will help

Bigger name brands that have their own branded parts are usually best (HP, Dell, etc)

I'm sure it's not iQon's fault - they probably took MSI's specs in good faith too. Still, MSI are not a small company and I expected better from them. Next motherboard I buy will be a Gigabyte one, I can tell you that much.