# Games Locking up on Vista



## Wsimp58 (Dec 17, 2007)

I just built a new computer and i decided to go with vista. I think i have all the updates availible from the windows updater and the most recent video card drivers.

 I have 4 gigs of ram and a Intel core duo 2 3ghz and a nvida 8800gtx video card. Vista itself runs fine But when i play games(crysis, wow, tf2) sometimes they will randomly freeze and i will have to restart the computer. I also do not think it is a heating issue becuase i have pleant of air moving through the case.


----------



## jcmax (Dec 17, 2007)

xp is better than vista at gaming


----------



## wiak (Dec 17, 2007)

jcmax said:


> xp is better than vista at gaming


thats a myth, vista has gotten to the point that 3dmark results are nearlt identical etc 

btw try a defrag and
http://askbobrankin.com/computer_restarts_itself.html
read the "Don't Do Me Any Favors" part
you might get a bsod, and check event viewer

```
eventvwr.msc /s
```
and that performace and reability tool check Reliability Monitor section

```
perfmon.msc /s
```

should say what crashes and what does not


----------



## Wsimp58 (Dec 18, 2007)

what...


----------



## AphexDreamer (Dec 18, 2007)

You need to tells us your system specs, Im intreaseted to find out what PSU you have and what GPU.

Also do you overclock your GPU?

Vista freezes on some of my games too, but thats becuase my CPU is not stable and my PSU is not good enough.


----------



## Wsimp58 (Dec 18, 2007)

Yeah sorry i forgot to list my specs
4 gigs of ram
Intel Core 2 Duo 3ghz
OCZ 700 watt powersupply
Evga nivida geforce 8800gtx 700 something ram on the card
Vista home premium 32bit
All my drivers are new the the current ones minus my sound card which is a sound blaster audiogy2 ...and creative hates vista or something.

And nothing is overclocked right now.I downloaded the Vista service pack 1 thing they put out just recently and it did not fix anything that i could see( i  know it's not the final version of sp 1). It's really hit or miss, like i played TF2 a nightor 2 ago and it never game me any problems, but last night when i tried to play it froze every 20 mins.

I keep looking around on other forums and this seems to be pretty common and i havent found any answers to why it would be locking up on games. So if thats the case i will just have to buy a copy of xp. I only went with vista is for crysis and direct x 10 and i cannot really see where having direct x 10 made difference in the graphics.


----------



## Kreij (Dec 18, 2007)

It's possible that a process is launching to try to update something and causing your problems. If on a given night the updater does not try to run, you don't have problems.

HP Printer drivers with auto-update turned on were notorious for this kind of problem.

You can try shutting down any processes that you don't need whenever you play and see if the problem goes away. If it does, you then just need to find the offending process and set it to only run when you request it to do so.


----------



## Easy Rhino (Dec 18, 2007)

are the games legit or bootleg?


----------



## AphexDreamer (Dec 18, 2007)

And wait, do you have an OEM machine?


----------



## Wsimp58 (Dec 18, 2007)

My machine is not running an OEM copy of vista, the games i am currently playing are not bootleg and if any updater is running it would be the windows updater. I guess tonight i can turn that off and play a little bit to see if that is the problem.


If the updater turns out to not be the problem what else could be causing this? I am really ready to just go buy xp.


----------



## Easy Rhino (Dec 18, 2007)

Wsimp58 said:


> My machine is not running an OEM copy of vista, the games i am currently playing are not bootleg and if any updater is running it would be the windows updater. I guess tonight i can turn that off and play a little bit to see if that is the problem.
> 
> 
> If the updater turns out to not be the problem what else could be causing this? I am really ready to just go buy xp.



your problem tends to exist because the game(s) or the OS you are running is not legit. i do not know a lot about coding games or operating systems but i know that when a game is bootleged a significant amount of code is altered in the crack execute file that replaces the original execute file. sometimes the bootleger does a poor job and that is why the game runs but crashes. or if the bootlegg game is using emulation software to bypass the security check that too creates problems.


----------



## erocker (Dec 18, 2007)

wiak said:


> thats a myth, vista has gotten to the point that 3dmark results are nearlt identical etc



That's completely false.


----------



## sneekypeet (Dec 18, 2007)

erocker said:


> That's completely false.



How is it false , I only differ by less that 300PTS in both 3D05 and 06. BTW get back on topic , as I have no issues with games crashing on mine anylonger. I used to get GPU shutdown errors , but personally I blame that on the drivers, not VISTA!!!!


----------



## Wsimp58 (Dec 18, 2007)

Rhino i am not quite sure what you are trying to say, either you are backing up what you previously said or you still immplying i am useing bootleged software.

I said that i am not running an OEM vista nor is it running on a OEM machine, i bought my comp and  vista out right, and the games i am playing are not bootlegged in anyway( wow Team fortress 2 and crysis). 

The game just locks up and i have to restart the computer and it is starting to annoy me.


----------



## Easy Rhino (Dec 18, 2007)

Wsimp58 said:


> Rhino i am not quite sure what you are trying to say, either you are backing up what you previously said or you still immplying i am useing bootleged software.
> 
> I said that i am not running an OEM vista nor is it running on a OEM machine, i bought my comp and  vista out right, and the games i am playing are not bootlegged in anyway( wow Team fortress 2 and crysis).
> 
> The game just locks up and i have to restart the computer and it is starting to annoy me.



sorry, i dont mean to imply you are a thief. i would suggest you return your computer and put a new one together.


----------



## Judas (Dec 19, 2007)

If you are overclocking your system have you tried it at stock.  Have you tried memtest 86+ or Orthos ?
Gaming wise i have had no problems as of yet


----------



## Wsimp58 (Dec 19, 2007)

No prob rhino i never thought you were implying that i just was not to clear the point you were tying to make.


I am not overclocking anything at the moment . Just now i have tried to play WoW and it has froze 3 times in 15 mins. Also typing this message it froze...so it's starting to feeze up on the desk top as well. This is annoying.

Btw what does memtest 86+ or Orthos do?


----------



## Easy Rhino (Dec 19, 2007)

Wsimp58 said:


> No prob rhino i never thought you were implying that i just was not to clear the point you were tying to make.
> 
> 
> I am not overclocking anything at the moment . Just now i have tried to play WoW and it has froze 3 times in 15 mins. Also typing this message it froze...so it's starting to feeze up on the desk top as well. This is annoying.
> ...



wsimp, memtest tests your mem and i believe orthos is a stress test for the cpu. have you watched movies on your new pc or done other 3d applications that were not games? it could be any number of things.


----------



## Wsimp58 (Dec 19, 2007)

I have pretty much just played games since i have gotten the comp up and running. Other than games i have been looking at streaming video and such


----------



## Fitseries3 (Dec 19, 2007)

there are several updates that address this issue. http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=46920


----------



## Wsimp58 (Dec 19, 2007)

thanks fit i will try this and hopefully it will work


----------



## Wsimp58 (Dec 19, 2007)

noob question x86 = 32 bit vista...which is what i am running


----------



## Fitseries3 (Dec 19, 2007)

Wsimp58 said:


> noob question x86 = 32 bit vista...which is what i am running



correct. go ahead and try to do all the updates in that list.


----------



## Wsimp58 (Dec 19, 2007)

I keep getting " these updates do not apply" message when i try to do the hot fixes


----------



## Fitseries3 (Dec 19, 2007)

Wsimp58 said:


> I keep getting " these updates do not apply" message when i try to do the hot fixes



a lot of them will already be installed on your system. it's the few that will install that will help you and there is a good chance one of them will fix your problem. have you tried just using 2gigs and see what happens?


----------



## Wsimp58 (Dec 19, 2007)

No i have not tried that yet. I was not aware that more ram could cause a problem


----------



## Fitseries3 (Dec 19, 2007)

Wsimp58 said:


> No i have not tried that yet. I was not aware that more ram could cause a problem



if your running a 32bit vista the 4gigs wont be too much different than 2gigs. 32bit can only see 2.8gigs and vista will use about half that for itself. 4gig's is nice, but you should look into a 64bit OS to take full advantage of the 4gigs. there is an update on that list that will help 32bit vista better use the extra ram.


----------



## Wsimp58 (Dec 19, 2007)

all of these updates i guess i already have...


----------



## Wsimp58 (Dec 19, 2007)

Oh....well...i didnt know that... so i may just need to upgrade to the 64 bit vrs?


----------



## Fitseries3 (Dec 19, 2007)

Wsimp58 said:


> all of these updates i guess i already have...



i see that as a good thing. it was just a suggestion to help.


----------



## Fitseries3 (Dec 19, 2007)

Wsimp58 said:


> Oh....well...i didnt know that... so i may just need to upgrade to the 64 bit vrs?



you dont need to, but would be a good idea if you want to keep your 4gigs of ram. a fresh install of vista also may help if it's a software problem. 

are all 4 sticks the same? i assume you have 4x1gigs.


----------



## Wsimp58 (Dec 19, 2007)

2 sticks of 2gig.

Edit: is there a way to upgrade 32bit to 64 bit through the internet?


----------



## Fitseries3 (Dec 19, 2007)

Wsimp58 said:


> 2 sticks of 2gig.



in that case... i would recommend getting home premium x64. i know a lot of people will tell you not to but... they are clearly stuck on XP. I've been using 64bit vista for a year and haven't found any problem yet that couldn't easily be solved. 64bit drivers are out for almost everything now. BE AWARE.... vista will try to use as much of the ram as it can to make your computer run faster. don't be surprised if it uses upwards of 2gig's just for itself. your games a software will run smoother as well.


----------



## Fitseries3 (Dec 19, 2007)

Wsimp58 said:


> 2 sticks of 2gig.
> 
> Edit: is there a way to upgrade 32bit to 64 bit through the internet?



no, but if you bought a full retail box of vista your key will work for both 32 and 64 bit versions and both versions are on the one DVD.


----------



## Wsimp58 (Dec 19, 2007)

Ok cool...i am just assuming that the 4 gigs of ram is throwing off Vista causing games to freeze etc.



Is there a way to upgrade to 64 bit vista with out buying a whole new OS?


----------



## Wsimp58 (Dec 19, 2007)

so how do i install the 64 bit on the disk i got?


----------



## Fitseries3 (Dec 19, 2007)

what disc do you have? if it's the OEM DVD there is only either 32bit or 64bit on the DVD. IF you got the full retail box then you can install 64bit home premium without typing in the cd key from the disc.


----------



## Wsimp58 (Dec 19, 2007)

I am pretty sure i got the full retail.I dont remember seeing OEM anything when i got it at newegg.

So it will just install the 32 bit automatically or is the 64 bit optional?


----------



## Fitseries3 (Dec 19, 2007)

if you dont type in the cd key you can choose what version you want. BE AWARE... choose the version you are gonna keep. once you install it, you cant type in a cd key from a different version. the retail version comes in a funky plastic box. the OEM comes in a regular clear DVD case. like i said, if you have a retail version, you can install the 64bit and then enter your cd key in windows after the install is done. you will have to activate your copy of vista over the phone.


----------



## Wsimp58 (Dec 19, 2007)

I think i already did the cd key with the first installation and i didnt see an option between the 2 versions. Sorry to be so questiony i am kinda new to all this.


----------



## Wsimp58 (Dec 19, 2007)

The version of windows that i bought only came with the 32bit software . So do i have any other options to upgrade to the 64 bit version? Or do i need to bite the bullet and go back to xp?


----------



## LiveOrDie (Dec 19, 2007)

I have the same problem what is your Mother board and ram brand? mine locks up after about 20-40min my problem im using a backup board asus striker extreme and it cant run my ram at full speed that is 1066Mhz only 800Mhz and i cant have all slots filled up, it not a windows problem more a hardware try using only 2GB of ram.


----------



## Wsimp58 (Dec 19, 2007)

I am using muskin ram and i cant remember the mghz on it...maybe 800 i am not to sure.and a asus p5n-e 680 sli



I really would like to get full use of the ram that i bought and if upgrading to the 64 bit would allow that. That would be the route i would like to take.


----------



## Wsimp58 (Dec 19, 2007)

Since my retail vista does not have the 64 bit software i have to buy a whole new OS


----------



## Fitseries3 (Dec 19, 2007)

asus's 680i boards all have problems. i had 4 of them and all of them were crap.


----------



## Wsimp58 (Dec 19, 2007)

Well thats good to know i guess.I guess i'll just have to make due for now. Anyways i took the other stick of ram out and played some crysis for about 20 mins and it seemed to run fine. 


So  for now i guess am just gonna do that until i can get vista 64 bit some how. Considering my copy of vista only has the 32 bit software i guess i will have to buy another copy of vista to get the 64 bit?


----------



## Fitseries3 (Dec 19, 2007)

yeah, but you can sell your 32bit copy. IT CAN BE DONE.


----------



## alexp999 (Dec 20, 2007)

Please correct me If I am wrong, but what you pay for when you buy Vista is the CD key right?
Cus if you install Vista without a CD key you get a 60day trial or something.
So when I wanted to try out X64 Vista, I got it off the internet. The copies on torrent sites are only technically illegal if you use the cd key or crack with them.
Thats how I did it, cus as far as I am aware that is legal right?
Please let me know, PM me or something, i don't want to get kicked off here for illegal stuff and piracy, but that is how I did it. It worked for me and surely if your key wasnt legit for x64 it would not accpet it and/or activate?
Cus the other way is that I think there is a link somewhere which enables you to order the 64Bit media (cus thats all it is, software, your paid key unlocks it) and you just pay for CD and P+P costs.

As I say please let me know if I am wrong and I will take it back, but otherwise, assuming I am right and you are doing nothing wrong,

I hope it helps.


----------



## Wsimp58 (Dec 20, 2007)

Wow this is turning into a headache . So basically i just need to buy/attain vista 64 bit some how and all my problems should be fixed


----------



## alexp999 (Dec 20, 2007)

Wsimp58 said:


> Wow this is turning into a headache . So basically i just need to buy/attain vista 64 bit some how and all my problems should be fixed



Well I was reading through this thread and assumed you were at the point of wanting 64bit vista. So that is how I would do it, assuming it is legal and I cant see why it wouldnt be. What type of media is your 32bit Vista? (retail -nice fancy box?) and which version do you have (ultimate/premium/basic, etc)


----------



## LiveOrDie (Dec 20, 2007)

Wsimp58 said:


> Well thats good to know i guess.I guess i'll just have to make due for now. Anyways i took the other stick of ram out and played some crysis for about 20 mins and it seemed to run fine.
> 
> 
> So  for now i guess am just gonna do that until i can get vista 64 bit some how. Considering my copy of vista only has the 32 bit software i guess i will have to buy another copy of vista to get the 64 bit?



All the Asus 680i board only like so types of ram like Corsair seem to work the best i've found, but brands that are not well known of, some will works and have problems or some will not even post, that why i always go with EVGA boards they work fine with my memory i use,but upgrading to Vista 64bit will not help vista 32bit can uses all 4GB of ram thats its limit, even if windows only picks up 3.2GB, games will still uses all 4GB of ram, windows only can recognize up to 4GB of memory thats your video card memory,RAM,and even bios roms, all 32bit os's have a limit of 4GB max.


----------



## Fitseries3 (Dec 20, 2007)

Live OR Die said:


> All the Asus 680i board only like so types of ram like Corsair seem to work the best i've found, but brands that are not well known of, some will works and have problems or some will not even post, that why i always go with EVGA boards they work fine with my memory i use,but upgrading to Vista 64bit will not help vista 32bit can uses all 4GB of ram thats its limit, even if windows only picks up 3.2GB, games will still uses all 4GB of ram, windows only can recognize up to 4GB of memory thats your video card memory,RAM,and even bios roms, all 32bit os's have a limit of 4GB max.



wrong... 32bit can only see 2.8gigs of ram and will only use up to 3.2gigs. you'll be better off with the 64bit for sure. 

how much do you want for your copy of vista?


----------



## Wsimp58 (Dec 20, 2007)

Well i am positive that the 4 gigs of ram was the problem.I took the other stick out earlier today  and  I played crysis for about 3 hours straight with out any hiccups. 

So i am assuming if i want to get the 64 bit version of vista i will have to buy a whole new vista? Becuase from what i have seen there is no way to update it over the internet.

Also, if i got vista 64 bit and added the second stick of 2gig would i see a jump in performance?


As for selling it, i dunno 150 bucks maybe, i am up for negotiating.


----------



## Fitseries3 (Dec 20, 2007)

Wsimp58 said:


> Well i am positive that the 4 gigs of ram was the problem.I took the other stick out earlier today  and  I played crysis for about 3 hours straight with out any hiccups.
> 
> So i am assuming if i want to get the 64 bit version of vista i will have to buy a whole new vista? Becuase from what i have seen there is no way to update it over the internet.
> 
> ...



if you get the full retail version of home premium it has both 32 and 64 bit versions. i would just get the OEM version myself. thats what i have. i got it for $79. 

performance increase, maybe. everything will run smoother, thats for sure. 64bit is more stable than 32bit. no viruses either.


----------



## LiveOrDie (Dec 20, 2007)

Wsimp58 said:


> Well i am positive that the 4 gigs of ram was the problem.I took the other stick out earlier today  and  I played crysis for about 3 hours straight with out any hiccups.
> 
> So i am assuming if i want to get the 64 bit version of vista i will have to buy a whole new vista? Becuase from what i have seen there is no way to update it over the internet.
> 
> ...



It not windows thats locking up it the board not supporting 4 stick of your ram mine evga 680i i use 4GB with no problems at all, and vista 64bit uses alot of ram because it windows in windows program to run 32bit programs there is no need to goto vista 64bit just yet, take your ram or board back and just get hardware that supports each other


----------



## Fitseries3 (Dec 20, 2007)

Live OR Die said:


> It not windows thats locking up it the board not supporting 4 stick of your ram mine evga 680i i use 4GB with no problems at all, and vista 64bit uses alot of ram because it windows in windows program to run 32bit programs there is no need to goto vista 64bit just yet, take your ram or board back and just get hardware that supports each other



he said he has 2x2gig sticks. 

is it an asus board? if it is, get rid of it and get a gigabyte or evga.


----------



## LiveOrDie (Dec 20, 2007)

fitseries3 said:


> wrong... 32bit can only see 2.8gigs of ram and will only use up to 3.2gigs. you'll be better off with the 64bit for sure.
> 
> how much do you want for your copy of vista?



WRONG yes in a way, any 32bit os can see upto 3.5GB of physical memory depending on how big your video card memory is and other hardware, because all 32bit os's are limited to 4GB if it ram or video memory, sorry did see that you were using 2gb sticks i would goto the asus site and see if your ram is supported QVL


----------



## Wsimp58 (Dec 20, 2007)

fitseries3 said:


> if you get the full retail version of home premium it has both 32 and 64 bit versions. i would just get the OEM version myself. thats what i have. i got it for $79.
> 
> performance increase, maybe. everything will run smoother, thats for sure. 64bit is more stable than 32bit. no viruses either.



Yeah i got the retail home premium(green box) but  on the disk it says it only has the 32 bit software. Unless i am just blind and retard(possible) or it has it on the disk and doesnt say it.I can install the OEM copy on 1 comp as many times as i can correct?

yeah....it's an asus board... i dont really want to spend money on another though.


----------



## alexp999 (Dec 20, 2007)

K, now you say you have run games with only two gig and it is fine, then it is a hardware problem, running vista 64 will not solve your problem. 32bit vista can only address 2^32 of memory (i.e 32bit) which is 4GB. But this includes every bit of memory!, so you grafix card memory is included, and where vista and the graphics driver normally share some memory, bit like laptops do (if you ever go into CCC or Nvidia control Panel) you will see that it will say onboard mem, and total available mem. When my dad was using 32bit and upgraded to 4gb of ram, vista allocated itelf the max of 2.8GB and the rest was shoved over to the graphics card, it said there was about 2gb of mem available for his 8800GTS, lol!!!
Then when we updated to x64, vista could access all 4gb itself (2^64 can handle upto 17179869184 Gb in theory!!!) and then the graphics dropped to about 1.5gb now I think.
I know it is hardware conflict or problem as 32bit vista although it cant address all of it, does not have problems running with 4gb. You have a problem with either bad ram or bad compatibility of ram.
So:
1, Are the two 2gig sticks the same (i.e a kit?)
2, Do you have the latest BIOS for your mobo?
3, Try swapping the sticks around to see if you get problems, that way, if one stick is dodgy it will show up!

I'm gonna do bit of surfing, see if your board can take 2x2gig, it is quite new tech, even if it physically takes it the BIOS may not fully support it. My dad is running 4x1gb, which I think is quite common for people on 4gb.

Good luck.


----------



## alexp999 (Dec 20, 2007)

fitseries3 said:


> if you get the full retail version of home premium it has both 32 and 64 bit versions. i would just get the OEM version myself. thats what i have. i got it for $79.
> 
> performance increase, maybe. everything will run smoother, thats for sure. 64bit is more stable than 32bit. no viruses either.



As far as I aware only Ultimate retail comes with both 64 and 32.

But you should be able to get a 64 media from microsoft, if I can just find that link...


----------



## Wsimp58 (Dec 20, 2007)

Well this was the first computer that i have ever built myself so it is quite possible that my ram and mobo dont like each other.I got that motherboard for the SLi capability becuase i though a year or 2 down the road when software made better use of the techonlogy i could upgrade my comp without getting a new mobo.

Vista aslo  recognized that i had 4 gigs of ram,But i will say removing 1 stick solved the problem so far.I really dont think the ram is bad though.If i really have to get a new mobo to get better or results i will just do that as well( i really dont want too though), along with getting the 64 bit vista and if you can find that link alex that would rock.


----------



## alexp999 (Dec 20, 2007)

Wsimp58 said:


> Well this was the first computer that i have ever built myself so it is quite possible that my ram and mobo dont like each other.I got that motherboard for the SLi capability becuase i though a year or 2 down the road when software made better use of the techonlogy i could upgrade my comp without getting a new mobo.
> 
> Vista aslo  recognized that i had 4 gigs of ram,But i will say removing 1 stick solved the problem so far.I really dont think the ram is bad though.If i really have to get a new mobo to get better or results i will just do that as well( i really dont want too though), along with getting the 64 bit vista and if you can find that link alex that would rock.



Okay, here is the link to order the 64bit media from microsoft:

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsvista/1033/ordermedia/default.mspx (North America)
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsvista/2057/ordermedia/default.mspx (International)

and what mobo you got?

Hope it helps.


----------



## Wsimp58 (Dec 20, 2007)

it's an Asus asus p5n-e 650 or 680 sli...i cannot rememeber right now( i am posting this from my g/fs house). Come to think of it i haven't dled the drivers for the mobo. The ram came in a kit(muskin enchanced 2gigx 2) and i honestly dont think the ram is bad,although tonight i will switch it out with the sticks to see if i have any lock ups. Thanks for all the help btw fit and alex.


----------



## Wsimp58 (Dec 21, 2007)

So....if i was to get a new mobo...whats a good one to back my 4 gigs of ram and my geforce 8800gtx 758mbs ram and my core 2 duo 3gig? I attempted to make this comp a nice gaming rig


----------



## LiveOrDie (Dec 21, 2007)

Go for a EVGA 780i there a good board and will work with lots of brands of ram, Asus nvidia boards have all types of problems and the 8800GTX have 768MB of ram


----------



## Wsimp58 (Dec 21, 2007)

k...cool..still witht he 2 gigs of ram in this board i havent had problems since i took the other out...so when i get the money i guess i will just buy the evga board and vista 64...


----------



## Wsimp58 (Dec 21, 2007)

yeah that board is kind of expensive though . I hope it's worth it.


----------



## alexp999 (Dec 21, 2007)

Wsimp58 said:


> it's an Asus asus p5n-e 650 or 680 sli...i cannot rememeber right now( i am posting this from my g/fs house). Come to think of it i haven't dled the drivers for the mobo. The ram came in a kit(muskin enchanced 2gigx 2) and i honestly dont think the ram is bad,although tonight i will switch it out with the sticks to see if i have any lock ups. Thanks for all the help btw fit and alex.



Okay, well the 650i is the P5N-E SLI and the 680i is the P5N32-E SLI. So lets you do have the 650i version. That is still a very good mobo and I would not even consider replacing it before you cover every avenue. According to asus site this board is capable of taking both sticks of your ram as it supports upto 8gb across 4 slots (i.e. 4x 2g sticks)

1, Now could you download the latest CPU-Z (http://www.cpuid.com/cpuz.php) and when you have it running, got to the end tab (About) and click on HTML Dump, save that file somewhere and copy and paste the info as a post on here (I have included mine at the bottom of the post so you know what it should should look like. there is no personal 4, information it collects, just system info)

2, I have just checked the ASUS website, the BIOS update before last says "Enhance compatibility of certain memroy module", so I would update to the latest BIOS for your board (in the case of the 650i it is 0801 at the time of writing.) I had to update my bios for my gfx card to work, so it is always best to have the latest bios.

3, Get all the latest drivers for your hardware. But DO NOT get them from the ASUS site, they are nearly always out of date. (with exception of the BIOS) Get your drivers for the motherboard (680i or 650i) from Nvidia (http://www.nvidia.com/Download/index.aspx?lang=en-us) you can also pick up the latest drivers for your gfx card there too! on the line of drivers, you can also pick up the latest driver for your sound device (if you are using on board sound) from Realtek (http://www.realtek.com.tw/downloads...=24&Level=4&Conn=3&DownTypeID=3&GetDown=false)

4, And any other hardware you have, make sure you get all the latest drivers. and all the latest windows updates.

If you do all of this and let me know how it goes, it would be best to try all of this on vista 32bit, then if you get the hardware working happy, THEN you can worry about accessing it all with vista 64bit.


Here is the info from the CPUZ HTML dump on my PC:

CPU-Z 1.42 report file
Processor(s)	 
Number of processors	1
Number of cores	2 per processor
Number of threads	2 (max 2) per processor
Name	Intel Core 2 Duo E6600
Code Name	Conroe
Specification	Intel(R) Core(TM)2 CPU 6600 @ 2.40GHz
Package	Socket 775 LGA
Family/Model/Stepping	6.F.6
Extended Family/Model	6.F
Core Stepping	B2
Technology	65 nm
Core Speed	2520.4 MHz
Multiplier x Bus speed	9.0 x 280.0 MHz
Rated Bus speed	1120.2 MHz
Stock frequency	2400 MHz
Instruction sets	MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3, EM64T
L1 Data cache (per processor)	2 x 32 KBytes, 8-way set associative, 64-byte line size
L1 Instruction cache (per processor)	2 x 32 KBytes, 8-way set associative, 64-byte line size
L2 cache (per processor)	4096 KBytes, 16-way set associative, 64-byte line size
Chipset & Memory	 
Northbridge	VIA PT880 Pro rev. 00
Southbridge	VIA VT8237A rev. 00
Graphic Interface	PCI-Express
PCI-E Link Width	x4
PCI-E Max Link Width	x16
Memory Type	DDR2
Memory Size	2048 MBytes
Memory Frequency	350.1 MHz (4:5)
DRAM Interleave	4-way
CAS# Latency (tCL)	4.0 clocks
RAS# to CAS# (tRCD)	4 clocks
RAS# Precharge (tRP)	4 clocks
Cycle Time (tRAS)	12 clocks
Command Rate (CR)	2T
System	 
System Manufacturer	To Be Filled By O.E.M.
System Name	775Dual-VSTA
System S/N	To Be Filled By O.E.M.
Mainboard Vendor	 
Mainboard Model	775Dual-VSTA
BIOS Vendor	American Megatrends Inc.
BIOS Version	P3.00
BIOS Date	09/17/2007
Memory SPD	 
Module 1	DDR2, PC2-5300 (333 MHz), 1024 MBytes, Corsair
Module 2	DDR2, PC2-5300 (333 MHz), 1024 MBytes, Corsair
Software	 
Windows Version	Microsoft Windows Vista (6.0) Ultimate Edition (Build 6000)
DirectX Version	10.0


Good luck.

Hope it helps.


----------



## Wsimp58 (Dec 21, 2007)

Ok sweet...well thats good news i found the box and it's a 650i so when i go back to my friends( where my comp is for now) i will do all this stuff. Should i just leave the 1 stick of 2 gig in or put the other stick in as well when i run cpu-z??

Also my i am using a creative sound card....soundblaster audiogy(sp?) 2, which from what i see on the website they have drivers for vista yet.


----------



## alexp999 (Dec 21, 2007)

Wsimp58 said:


> Ok sweet...well thats good news i found the box and it's a 650i so when i go back to my friends( where my comp is for now) i will do all this stuff. Should i just leave the 1 stick of 2 gig in or put the other stick in as well when i run cpu-z??
> 
> Also my i am using a creative sound card....soundblaster audiogy(sp?) 2, which from what i see on the website they have drivers for vista yet.



Do you mean they do or dont have drivers? in any case they should do, my dad has the same sound card, and I got the vista drivers for him, lol!!!
And do all four things with one stick of 2gig in, and then after you have done ALL four, then try both sticks. 

Let me know if you get stuck with any thing, I am on here most days, tho being in the UK, I don't coincide with the US timezone very well 

Good luck.


----------



## Wsimp58 (Dec 22, 2007)

This is with 1 stick of 2 gig in.


Number of cores	2 per processor
Number of threads	2 (max 2) per processor
Name	Intel Core 2 Duo E6850
Code Name	Conroe
Specification	Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU E6850 @ 3.00GHz
Package	Socket 775 LGA
Family/Model/Stepping	6.F.B
Extended Family/Model	6.F
Core Stepping	G0
Technology	65 nm
Core Speed	3000.0 MHz
Multiplier x Bus speed	9.0 x 333.3 MHz
Rated Bus speed	1333.3 MHz
Stock frequency	3000 MHz
Instruction sets	MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3, EM64T
L1 Data cache (per processor)	2 x 32 KBytes, 8-way set associative, 64-byte line size
L1 Instruction cache (per processor)	2 x 32 KBytes, 8-way set associative, 64-byte line size
L2 cache (per processor)	4096 KBytes, 16-way set associative, 64-byte line size
Chipset & Memory	 
Northbridge	NVIDIA nForce 650i SLI SPP rev. A2
Southbridge	NVIDIA nForce 650i SLI MCP rev. A3
Graphic Interface	PCI-Express
PCI-E Link Width	x16
PCI-E Max Link Width	x16
Memory Type	DDR2
Memory Size	2048 MBytes
Memory Frequency	400.0 MHz (5:6)
CAS# Latency (tCL)	5.0 clocks
RAS# to CAS# (tRCD)	5 clocks
RAS# Precharge (tRP)	5 clocks
Cycle Time (tRAS)	31 clocks
Bank Cycle Time (tRC)	24 clocks
Command Rate (CR)	2T
System	 
System Manufacturer	System manufacturer
System Name	System Product Name
System S/N	System Serial Number
Mainboard Vendor	ASUSTeK Computer INC.
Mainboard Model	P5N-E SLI
BIOS Vendor	Phoenix Technologies, LTD
BIOS Version	ASUS P5N-E SLI ACPI BIOS Revision 0703
BIOS Date	08/09/2007
Memory SPD	 
Module 1	DDR2, PC2-6400 (400 MHz), 2048 MBytes, Mushkin
Software	 
Windows Version	Microsoft Windows Vista (6.0) Service Pack 1, v.668 (Build 6001)
DirectX Version	10.0


----------



## Wsimp58 (Dec 22, 2007)

Both sticks of 2 gig.

Number of processors	1
Number of cores	2 per processor
Number of threads	2 (max 2) per processor
Name	Intel Core 2 Duo E6850
Code Name	Conroe
Specification	Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU E6850 @ 3.00GHz
Package	Socket 775 LGA
Family/Model/Stepping	6.F.B
Extended Family/Model	6.F
Core Stepping	G0
Technology	65 nm
Core Speed	3000.1 MHz
Multiplier x Bus speed	9.0 x 333.3 MHz
Rated Bus speed	1333.4 MHz
Stock frequency	3000 MHz
Instruction sets	MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3, EM64T
L1 Data cache (per processor)	2 x 32 KBytes, 8-way set associative, 64-byte line size
L1 Instruction cache (per processor)	2 x 32 KBytes, 8-way set associative, 64-byte line size
L2 cache (per processor)	4096 KBytes, 16-way set associative, 64-byte line size
Chipset & Memory	 
Northbridge	NVIDIA nForce 650i SLI SPP rev. A2
Southbridge	NVIDIA nForce 650i SLI MCP rev. A3
Graphic Interface	PCI-Express
PCI-E Link Width	x16
PCI-E Max Link Width	x16
Memory Type	DDR2
Memory Size	4096 MBytes
Memory Frequency	400.0 MHz (5:6)
CAS# Latency (tCL)	5.0 clocks
RAS# to CAS# (tRCD)	5 clocks
RAS# Precharge (tRP)	5 clocks
Cycle Time (tRAS)	31 clocks
Bank Cycle Time (tRC)	24 clocks
Command Rate (CR)	2T
System	 
System Manufacturer	System manufacturer
System Name	System Product Name
System S/N	System Serial Number
Mainboard Vendor	ASUSTeK Computer INC.
Mainboard Model	P5N-E SLI
BIOS Vendor	Phoenix Technologies, LTD
BIOS Version	ASUS P5N-E SLI ACPI BIOS Revision 0703
BIOS Date	08/09/2007
Memory SPD	 
Module 1	DDR2, PC2-6400 (400 MHz), 2048 MBytes, Mushkin
Module 2	DDR2, PC2-6400 (400 MHz), 2048 MBytes, Mushkin
Software	 
Windows Version	Microsoft Windows Vista (6.0) Service Pack 1, v.668 (Build 6001)
DirectX Version	10.0


Gonna run some games with both sticks in now to see if i get any lock ups


----------



## Wsimp58 (Dec 22, 2007)

Ok i added the 2nd stick in and played some crysis and it froze up within 20 mins. Where as with the 1 stick it ran fine.


In the ram slots, does it matter where the ram is? I.e i have 4 slots that go black,yellow, black, yellow i have the sticks sitting in the black slots.


----------



## alexp999 (Dec 23, 2007)

Wsimp58 said:


> Ok i added the 2nd stick in and played some crysis and it froze up within 20 mins. Where as with the 1 stick it ran fine.
> 
> 
> In the ram slots, does it matter where the ram is? I.e i have 4 slots that go black,yellow, black, yellow i have the sticks sitting in the black slots.



Okay, well according to your manual, the yellow slots are the first dimm channel, the black slots are the second dimm channel. So yes, I would definetly try the memory in the yellow slots and see how that goes, also is it just crysis or any game or app that it locks with?? Let me know how you do,

Good luck.


----------



## Vincent11 (Dec 23, 2007)

i know why it locks up on vista, because windows sucks balls & microsoft can kiss my arse and burn in hell, bunch of cunts they are, lol! just telling you like it is.


----------



## erocker (Dec 23, 2007)

Vincent11 said:


> i know why it locks up on vista, because windows sucks balls & microsoft can kiss my arse and burn in hell, bunch of cunts they are, lol! just telling you like it is.



Wow, that's extremely intelligent!  Great use of language too!  Instead of making empty stupid comments about something you obviously know absolutely nothing about, why don't you go read up on how to make an O/S?  Yeah, Vista has it's problems, but most of the time the problems come from uninformed, or ignorant customers.


----------



## alexp999 (Dec 23, 2007)

Vincent11 said:


> i know why it locks up on vista, because windows sucks balls & microsoft can kiss my arse and burn in hell, bunch of cunts they are, lol! just telling you like it is.



How is that going to help him? If you don't like vista thats fine, but I dont think that is the problem. Try to keep constructive criticism, we are trying to help him after all.


----------



## alexp999 (Dec 23, 2007)

erocker said:


> Wow, that's extremely intelligent!  Great use of language too!  Instead of making empty stupid comments about something you obviously know absolutely nothing about, why don't you go read up on how to make an O/S?  Yeah, Vista has it's problems, but most of the time the problems come from uninformed, or ignorant customers.



lol, beat me too it!!!


----------



## erocker (Dec 23, 2007)

Wsimp58 said:


> Ok i added the 2nd stick in and played some crysis and it froze up within 20 mins. Where as with the 1 stick it ran fine.
> 
> 
> In the ram slots, does it matter where the ram is? I.e i have 4 slots that go black,yellow, black, yellow i have the sticks sitting in the black slots.



Unless, you are putting your ram in the wrong slots, I'm pretty positive you have a bad stick of ram.


----------



## alexp999 (Dec 23, 2007)

erocker said:


> Unless, you are putting your ram in the wrong slots, I'm pretty positive you have a bad stick of ram.



Yeah, but then I got wsimp58 to try swapping sticks, so still only 1 stick but the other stick and it was still fine, be interesting to see what he comes back with from my post before last.


----------



## Wsimp58 (Dec 23, 2007)

It's any game Alex, Team fortress 2, World of Warcraft, Crysis. Oddly enough Portal has no problems.Also sometimes the desktop would just randomly lock up. If memory serves me correct i think my ram is in the yellow slots( my comp is not here at my house).

I think last night i got my new bios( which had a hot fix for ram compatibilty and other ram related issues) and i got my mobo drivers from nvida or at least i am pretty sure i got the mobo drivers i will have to check again tonight. But i played crysis for about 2 hours and WoW for a while and had no lock ups...so maybe we have the problem ironed out. We'll see when i get to spend more time with my comp.

i still wanna get 64bit vista thought 


Edit: i also ran those games last night with both sticks in.


----------



## Wsimp58 (Dec 23, 2007)

Vincent11 said:


> i know why it locks up on vista, because windows sucks balls & microsoft can kiss my arse and burn in hell, bunch of cunts they are, lol! just telling you like it is.



:shadedshu


----------



## alexp999 (Dec 24, 2007)

Wsimp58 said:


> It's any game Alex, Team fortress 2, World of Warcraft, Crysis. Oddly enough Portal has no problems.Also sometimes the desktop would just randomly lock up. If memory serves me correct i think my ram is in the yellow slots( my comp is not here at my house).
> 
> I think last night i got my new bios( which had a hot fix for ram compatibilty and other ram related issues) and i got my mobo drivers from nvida or at least i am pretty sure i got the mobo drivers i will have to check again tonight. But i played crysis for about 2 hours and WoW for a while and had no lock ups...so maybe we have the problem ironed out. We'll see when i get to spend more time with my comp.
> 
> ...



Cool, well hope you get things sorted, and check out those links I posted earlier, should enable you to get a genuine vista 64 disc for next to nothing, and you can use your existing key,

Good luck.


----------



## Wsimp58 (Dec 24, 2007)

Well everything is running fine now...thanks guys. Now for overclocking


----------

