unable to install windows XP

[Rootseer]

I'm trying to install XP on a home-built machine, it freezes every time after a few minutes. Once it stopped with reason:
IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL
Technical information:
***STOP:0x0000000A (0x0001E6DE,0x00000002,0x00000001,
0x80516C45)

It advises disabling caching or shadowing but my BIOS does not refer to these settings. I disabled all serial and parallel, no diiference.

My system is: ASROCK K7VT2,Athlon 1800+,256 DDRAM,CPU temp 48C.

I swapped the same board into another machine that had blown up, no
problem, so I have some confidence in the board.

Ideas welcome (don't ya just love a good problem!)

[nh3com]

i have had this problem a couple of times on different machines

first machine was the PSU(350w) replaced it and everything was ok


the second was corsair memory and i upped the voltage by .1 volt and that installed after that.

[crossedup]

Try updating BIOS as well. I know, no brainer.

Had a brand new board do something similar myself recently. The BIOS turned out to be over a year old and after flashing it with the new one xp installed.

Had tried about 5 times previuos to that with no luck. Just another thought.

[Rootseer]

thanks fellas, I will try them both when time permits.

the board accepts SDRAM as well as DDRAM, so I could swap in
some SDRAM to eliminate that as the source.

I have no idea about increasing the voltage by 0.1. Which voltage is that on the hardware monitor list?

with thanks,
rs

[nh3com]

just downloaded your manual and it doesn’t appear to have a voltage selection. like i said this error only ever happened when using high performance corsair memory so if you memory is from crucial or generic ddr modules then you should be ok.

i would bet that it's the power supply.

if you have any usb devices except mouse and keyboard i would remove them before you try to install XP

[genesound]

Originally posted by Rootseer
...I swapped the same board into another machine that had blown up, no problem, so I have some confidence in the board....

Was that the mobo, cpu, and ram? And XP installs? Then that stuff is prolly ok. Sounds like it must be the PSU...

[Baddog]

http://www.google.com/search?q=IRQL_...utf-8&oe=utf-8

[Rootseer]

OK guys, I have got XP installed; here's the story: The BIOS was 1 version behind, I updated it , no change to the problem.
I exchanged the DDram for SDram, installation finished OK.
the DDram that I removed was: 2 times takeMS 256Mb DDR PC400. The mobo supports 200Mhz or 266MHz clock, I had tried both, the system still stopped. I guessed that PC400 memory would be more reliable than slower memory, was this a good guess or not?

Now my machine is running on PC133 SDram, but I wanted the speed improvement of DDR 266.

The first login to XP produced a fatal error report, but that could be because the installation started badly with the DDR memory I suppose. I sure hope so anyway!I'll wipe the disc and reinstall.

Thanks to all for your ideas.

[Strawbs]

Originally posted by Rootseer
...
the DDram that I removed was: 2 times takeMS 256Mb DDR PC400. The mobo supports 200Mhz or 266MHz clock, I had tried both, the system still stopped. I guessed that PC400 memory would be more reliable than slower memory, was this a good guess or not?

Now my machine is running on PC133 SDram, but I wanted the speed improvement of DDR 266.

...

You have your figures wrong somewhere along the line!

a 100MHz FSB supports 100MHz Ram (PC100), if DDR eanbled board = 200MHz DDR Ram (PC1600)
a 133MHz FSB supports 133MHz Ram (PC133), if DDR enabled board = 266MHz DDR RAM (PC2100)
a 166MHz FSB supports 333MHz DDR RAM (PC2700)
a 200MHz FSB supports 400MHz DDR RAM (PC3200)

...or something like that!

you claim you have PC400 Ram, it is in fact PC3200 so you would need a mobo with a 200MHz DDR FSB to run it at full speed. On your current board, you need PC2100 to run at 266MHz FSB.

DDR = Double Data Rate!

Hope this helps.

[Billforce]

According to Viking Memory, DDR ram is BACKWARD compatible. So should be O.K. at 266 mhz.

[Rootseer]

My local store only stocks PC2700 and PC3200 (sorry about the confusion; need some PC400?). I bought the fastest to be future-proof, but it is just not reliable.

I don't want to spend more money simply to try the PC2700.

I'l try mail order to get some PC1600, the FSB is running at 100 Mhz.

[Strawbs]

This may seem obvious, but ...When you install the PC1600 Ram, make sure you leave the FSB at 100MHz, the Ram will run at 200MHz automatically, DO NOT CHANGE THE FSB TO 200MHz ...or you will burn something out.

[Rootseer]

OK guys, I got what I wanted, after a few more problems: I bought
256Mb of 333MHz DDRAM, machine would not even POST!
I asked at another store, they guessed I had chips on only 1 side of the card (yep, they were right! ), and I needed chips both sides. I took
512MB 333MHz on sale-or-return and it worked fine. I put the 256Mb in
the second slot, and now I have 768Mb, everything OK (except the 400MHz that I paid for but which has to wait for my next upgrade!!).

Who's heard of this 1 side/2 sides thing? KInda important, don't ya think?

[Rob R.]

Yes, single sided and double sided RAM don't play together.