I have a very modified Gateway 560GE however this issue doesn't concern any hardware mods due to the fact the machine has been (and still is) running exceptional with them for nearly a year. The motherboard is an OEM Intel E210882 and is a socket 775 with a P4D (dual core) 3.00 Ghz processor. However this part number Intel seems to have used for other OEM boards from socket 423 in rare instances up. I have therefore included the current BIOS String to help in assisting me with this issue which is: AG91510J.15A.0816.2005.0214.1818. This machine originally came with and still has two PC3200 Low Density 256 mb DDR modules in two of it's 4 slots for a total of 512 mb and motherboard specs say it will handle up to 4 gb DDR with current BIOS. Here lies my problem:
I have 2 PC3200 1 gb High Density DDR modules I'd like to install in place of the original two. With these two 1 gb modules installed the machine starts and POST'S fine with no beeps or sign of error also in setup machine reads the two 1 gb modules fine stating everything is OK. However After POST VISTA Home premium, the current OS will not start. Instead the machine cycles and restarts (a common problem indicating problem with windows I know). Upon removing the 2 1 gb modules replacing them with the originals though, VISTA starts fine again. My first thought it was that the two original modules are low density and the two new ones are high density. But if the machine POST'S fine with the new ones with no beeps or indication of a problem plus reads them fine in setup VISTA should start also. Remember VISTA starts fine with the original modules.
Has anyone else out there had a similar problem? And if so, What was your solution?
I suspect the BIOS needs upgraded however I cannot seem to find any BIOS upgrades out there for this motherboard. Can anyone point me to a site where one can be obtained? All hardware has been independently tested and appears fine. I would appreciate any help with this issue, thanks.

The BIOS is designed for the specific mfg. The motherboard BIOS in a Gateway will be different than the same motherboard in, say, a Dell

Nope, that should not be related to the BIOS. After the machine runs POST (Power On Start Test), it hands control over to the Operating System. In this case, it appears that your ram is defective.

I suggest you test your ram with either

• The Windows Vista RAM test tool, included on your installation media
• Memtest86+

You can get MemTest86 from http://www.memtest.org/.

Billy3

Well...it's high-density RAM which is not compatible with various motherboards and is finicky.

The safest thing to have done would have been to get low-density PC3200 modules, since that (generally) works with more systems. It's been that way since the days of PC100, AFAIK.

Good reference (IMO) at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DDR_SDRAM

Louis

Yes, but most of the time

means that the motherboard can handle high-density modules

Billy3

Well...I have bought both high-density and low-density RAM modules since I've had XP...I wanted to see first-hand what others were talking about. The motherboard determines what works and what won't.

The reality is that anyone buying RAM really ought to use a memory configurator (Newegg now has one) when trying to determine if RAM is compatible with their present motherboard OR be very knowledgeable about the system and the parts he/she wants.

And...maybe not buy RAM on eBay.

I would never assume that high-density would work on any motherboard, I would be more inclined to assume that low-density would work in that manner.

That's just me...

Louis

I know it seems obvious but are you sure bios is completely happy with the ram? - are there any leftover settings from your last set (timings etc)?

Have you tried (again obvious but computers can be weird) putting the two new ones in with the old ones, instead of a complete swap?

http://www.majorgeeks.com/download4181.html

gather some data