memory and motherboard compatibility question

[goldenry]

I recently bought an Intel 965 Express Chipset MObo.
This Mobo has these requirements for memory:

Only DDR2-800 memory supporting JEDEC approved 1.8V operation with timings of 5-5-5 or 6-6-6 is supported on Intel Desktop Boards based on Intel 965 Express Chipsets. Any other timings or voltages above 1.8V are not supported and may result in memory initialization errors (indicated by three beeps when the system is powered on) or a no POST/no boot situation

Soooo...i bought this memory:
G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit
Cas Latency 5
Timing 5-5-5-15
Voltage 1.8V - 2.0V

Seems like it should work, but upon booting I get the 3 beeps and a black screen.

So, is this not the right memory or could there be another reason my mobo is beeping 3 times? Does what channels I plug the memory into have anything to do with it?
(note: I am a novice and have built one computer succesfully before)

It seems to start booting correctly when I DO NOT have my windows install disc in the drive, but then it asks me to put in a boot disc, and then it beeps upon reboot.

Thanks!!

 

[ex_reven]

Seems like it should work, but upon booting I get the 3 beeps and a black screen.

So, is this not the right memory or could there be another reason my mobo is beeping 3 times? Does what channels I plug the memory into have anything to do with it?

According the AMI beep code index (im not sure if thats what applies to you...but it seems the most relevant)

Your computer has memory problems. First check video. If video is working, you'll see an error message. If not, you have a parity error in your first 64K of memory. First check your SIMM's. Reseat them and reboot. If this doesn't do it, the memory chips may be bad. You can try switching the first and second banks memory chips. First banks are the memory banks that your CPU finds its first 64K of base memory in. You'll need to consult your manual to see which bank is first. If all your memory tests good, you probably need to buy another motherboard.

If youve been trying to boot with both sticks of ram in, id suggest first trying to attempt booting with one 1gb stick. According to that error code quote it COULD have to do with which slot you have put your ram into. So id advise you trying to put just the one gig in, try booting with that one stick in all of the four slots. If that fails, then try the other stick. If neither work that pretty much rules out faulty ram (unless your REALLY unlucky).

Can you get into BIOS??? Ive never heard of that memory restriction on the 965 boards...but seeing to as the RAM is listing to run on anywhere between

Voltage 1.8V - 2.0V

you should check in BIOS to see if its on a higher than supported voltage.

 

[goldenry]

getting closer

According the AMI beep code index (im not sure if thats what applies to you...but it seems the most relevant)



If youve been trying to boot with both sticks of ram in, id suggest first trying to attempt booting with one 1gb stick. According to that error code quote it COULD have to do with which slot you have put your ram into. So id advise you trying to put just the one gig in, try booting with that one stick in all of the four slots. If that fails, then try the other stick. If neither work that pretty much rules out faulty ram (unless your REALLY unlucky).

Can you get into BIOS??? Ive never heard of that memory restriction on the 965 boards...but seeing to as the RAM is listing to run on anywhere between you should check in BIOS to see if its on a higher than supported voltage.

I can't seem to get into the bios but...

If I take out the second mem stick it starts booting up and eventually says:
PXE-E61: Media test failure, check cable.
Exiting Intel Boot Agent
No bootable device - insert boot disk and press any key

So, I put in the windows install disc.

When it reboots it appears as if windows is starting to install, but eventually says it did not find any hard disk connected. So I've checked the connections on my SATA hard drive and tried to replace the power cables. still no luck in the computer recognizing the drive.

So I'm running into one problem after another.

Does the fact that removing the second mem stick lets the computer boot up mean that the second stick is bad? (computer wont start with only the second stick in it either

I can't figure out why my hard drive isn't being recognized. Could it be a bad drive completely? and how could I check that?

Thanks for the help.
I've made a small step with figuring out how to get it to at least start with the advice you've offered so far.

 

[bretts31344]

The second RAM stick is most likely bad. Try using Memtest86 to test the RAM sticks.

Your hard drive is Sata correct? If so, you probably need a Raid driver disk (should come with your motherboard or be on the motherboard disk). When entering the Windows setup, press F6 to allow the setup to use the driver to read your SATA hard drive.

 

[ex_reven]

not being able to get into bios is quite bad. Its really the foremost thing you should be aiming for (apart from hardware failure, which doesnt seem so likely)...

If its saying theres no bootable device, try putting your hdd into another SATA port.
Sometimes shoving it into anything other than SATA1 will stop it from bootng.
Try changing the sata cable etc.

Is your DVD/CD drive SATA? If so you may have to change the jumpers or something.
Perhaps try the ram/hard drive in another system if possible.