# Solved: Getting blue screen (BSoD) after installing RAM.



## i4gotmyname281 (Aug 9, 2010)

Good afternoon everyone,

Today I installed 4GB x 2 Corsair Red Vengeance RAM sticks, these were added to my 2GB x 2 Corsair Ram Sticks that have a lower clock speed.
Whenever I start up a game I can play for a bit I tend to get a BSoD, I know this is a common problem but I'm not quite sure how to fix it.

I have a feeling the problem may stem from the fact that I'm mixing 2 different types of RAM sticks with different clock speeds.

Considering that I've never posted a thread on TSG that was not solved by the gentlemen here, I'm hoping that this problem can be resolved.

*Also:* Even though my system states that I have 12.0 GB, TSG SysInfo still claims I have 4GB.

Tech Support Guy System Info Utility version 1.0.0.2
OS Version: Microsoft® Windows Vista™ Ultimate, Service Pack 2, 32 bit
Processor: AMD Phenom(tm) II X4 970 Processor, x64 Family 16 Model 4 Stepping 3
Processor Count: 4
RAM: 3325 Mb
Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450, 1024 Mb
Hard Drives: C: Total - 476937 MB, Free - 26772 MB; D: Total - 953867 MB, Free - 46892 MB; X: Total - 1907726 MB, Free - 5714 MB;
Motherboard: Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd., GA-890XA-UD3
Antivirus: Microsoft Security Essentials, Updated and Enabled

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*Here's what has happened so far:*

Had two old RAM sticks & two new RAM sticks = Blue Screen of Death
Took out the old RAM and tested the new sticks. There were no errors.
With only the new RAM, my PC froze twice and then would go to a black screen and not boot up.
After waiting for around 15 minutes, the black screen went away and I was able to use my computer

I'm sure that it will repeat this problem whenever it freezes again, so now I'm aiming to fix this black screen issue.


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## Oddba11 (May 13, 2011)

I would start by removing the old RAM and only using the new RAM. Test and see what happens.

Some motherboards have issues when running RAM in all four slots. Not too mention the RAM is slower in that configuration (even if they were all the same speed). You also aren't likely to notice the difference between 8gb and 12gb anyway.


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## i4gotmyname281 (Aug 9, 2010)

Thanks for your reply, I'll go ahead and give that a shot and report back.
I suppose I could always just purchase more of the same ram if I waned to push it back up to 12.

EDIT: Alright, I currently only have the new RAM in. I notice a bit of a slowdown without the extra 4GB but I guess it's a tad better than having to deal with the blue screens if it works.
I'm going to go mess around with a few games and see if it solved my problem.


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## i4gotmyname281 (Aug 9, 2010)

I'm getting on here from my sisters computer to give a quick update.
Thanks for your advice, it helped me out and fixed my blue screen issues.
Unfortunately it also caused a few issues as well, whenever I'm in certain applications my computer will just freeze and will need to be turned off.
To make things slightly worse my computer is unusable at the moment, it will boot up like normal until it's time to go to the windows homescreen to choose a user, then it just turns into a black screen and stays like that.

If someone could help me out I'd really appreciate it.


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## replay (Aug 13, 2003)

run a memory check http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/wind...y-using-windows-vista-memory-diagnostic-tool/


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## i4gotmyname281 (Aug 9, 2010)

replay said:


> run a memory check http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/wind...y-using-windows-vista-memory-diagnostic-tool/


Thanks for your reply.
I actually ran a test on both sticks whenever my computer was actually able to boot up and there were no errors found.
I supposed I'm just the type of person these things are bound to happen to.

Do you think it could possibly be a BIOS issue? Maybe I should be sure I'm up to date.
It's odd though, because my BIOS recognize my new RAM sticks and worked well with them whenever I first gave them a try.

EDIT: After waiting long enough (~15 minutes) the black screen went away and Windows booted.


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## managed (May 24, 2003)

Your specs say you're running Vista Ultimate *32 bit*

If that's correct then that's the problem, a 32 bit Windows OS can only use 4GB of ram.


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## Elvandil (Aug 1, 2003)

When you mix them, your new sticks will probably run at the slower speed of the older sticks, depending on the board's design. Even though it does not seem to make sense, some sticks do not work well when run at a slower speed, and that is why the specs usually include both a lower and upper limit on speed. 

Do a long-term memtest86 on the sticks, too. The built in test will catch blatant errors, but may not catch intermittent ones that occur less often. You can run memtest for a few hours.


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## i4gotmyname281 (Aug 9, 2010)

managed said:


> Your specs say you're running Vista Ultimate *32 bit*
> 
> If that's correct then that's the problem, a 32 bit Windows OS can only use 4GB of ram.


I have no clue how I never noticed this, but I thank you for pointing this out.
I had rearranged my RAM and reset CMOS all with no success (except for getting rid of the black screen).

I suppose I will start looking for a new OS that can support 12gb of RAM, before leaving do you think you may be able to recommend one?


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## i4gotmyname281 (Aug 9, 2010)

Elvandil said:


> When you mix them, your new sticks will probably run at the slower speed of the older sticks, depending on the board's design. Even though it does not seem to make sense, some sticks do not work well when run at a slower speed, and that is why the specs usually include both a lower and upper limit on speed.
> 
> Do a long-term memtest86 on the sticks, too. The built in test will catch blatant errors, but may not catch intermittent ones that occur less often. You can run memtest for a few hours.


I'll definitely do a long-term test as well and hopefully see that things go well.
I appreciate you dropping by to help, thanks!


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## managed (May 24, 2003)

It would have to be Windows 7 64 bit, or you could try Windows 8 but it's bound to have bugs.

You could try Ubuntu 64 bit, it's free and it should work with all your Ram. You don't need to install it it will run from the CD. Would be a good way to see if all the Ram sticks work together ok.


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