also, just had a look in bios, in advanced chipset features,
under DRAM timing setting, it has two headings,

firstly, MEMORY HOLE, currently disabled
secondly AGP APERTURE SIZE which is set to 64MB, othe options are 4,8,16,32,64,128,256

forgot to say i have 2x 512 MB of DDR- SDRAM400RAM,  and in correct slots to enable DDR

my bios version is also 1.6 and although there are updates , i do not wish to flash it as i am completely happy with the system as is. apart from this.

so, in my DRAM timing setting, there are only the two options i have specified above

what do i choose from the headings and which which options should i select?

Take a look in the BIOS if it allows you to change the CAS latency anywere, maybe this value has been set too hight for your memory configuration.

Also, you could try resetting the CMOS back to the dactory default settings to see if that fixes the problems.  There will probally be a setting in your bios to allow you to reset to the default values.

Thanks to AlbertaBeef, I have learned a lot about CAS latencies.  PC2100 at CL2 is the same as PC3200 at CL3, except that the PC2100 ram is faster by 6 billionths of a second.

ok, have tried factory defaults for safe performance. system still hangs. also, i only have a basic understanding of bios etc so bear with me. realised i can enter further into timing seting menu (DOH!!!) and noted the following

CAS latency is running at 2.5 clocks, manual says this is the most stable. other options include 2 or 3, it says 2 will increase the system performance but does not mention what 3 does.

tried setup defaults on this page which only changed the burst length from 8 -4 but still hung on rebooting so i just did reset factory defaults again. this time it booted but i am not convinced problem is solved as this only happens intermittedly and i havent chaged anything. it was on factory deafults before.

one quick note, i have quick boot enabled, a feature of this board, is that effecting it at all as i recall reading this means some checks are skipped.

futher info, not sure if its relevanti am running a 2.8ghz 800fsb cpu

CAS latency of 3 is a "safer" setting and allows enough time for you RAM to recycle for the next refresh.  Try it and see if it solves your problem.

i have tried adjusting my CL2 .5 to CL3 but system still hangs. It did finally boot up and strangely microsoft error reporting seems to think its a device driver problem but i think this is incorrect

so bios reports memory too tight & windows reports it a device driver. im inclined to believe the former and it makes more sense. after all system has been working fine with current (up to date) drivers for weeks.
what else can try changing in the bios? surely if system defaults wont boot up, something is really wrong or can it just be down to a memory setting?

however i have yet to try tinkering with the mhz setting, will try that next when i get home. apart from this anything else i can try?

This is Radomir's friend.  His account has been suspended, so he's forwarded his e-mail notices to me so that I can inform you about what has happened and not expect answers from him for a while.

Jim Passmore

ok, thank you all, one last question , at the risk of sounding like a complete newbie, how do I RMA'D my board (and what exactly does it mean?)

thanks all, then i can allocate points, this is a great forum, i onlly discovered it the other day. well cool :-)

It looks like your board has been tested with these chips:
http://www.msi.com.tw/html/support/testreport/6758/memory.pdf : Kingston KVR400X64C25/512 OK OK

What slots are your chips in?  They should be in 1&3 or 2&4 (this was the tested configuration at least).  You need to verify that the RAM is good as suggested above, or test the board with other, slower RAM which I believe is also mentioned above.

-dog*

thanks guys, am buying new ram :-)

RMA stands for Returned Material Authorization.  It means you have authorization from a supplier to return materials for replacement.  It generally involves contacting either the supplier or the manufacturer (whoever your warranty is with) and getting an RMA# from their service/RMA department.  The RMA # is generally good from most manufacturers for a period of 30 days.  You usually need to include that # on correspondence and on the outside of the package when shipping.

and yes, it is a really good forum.

>>secondly AGP APERTURE SIZE which is set to 64MB, othe options are 4,8,16,32,64,128,256

Here's some reading on AGP Aperture size settings.  I personally find the best setting is roughly 1/2 your system RAM.  IE:  if you have 512Mb of RAM, set it to 256Mb, etc.

http://www.tweak3d.net/articles/aperture-size/
http://www.ocfaq.com/article.php/overclocking/vidcard/43
http://www.cybercpu.net/howto/basic/AGP_aperture_2/

Hi guys!

I have the same problem as "stephenbyrne212" has. But mine is a bit tricky!
I get the "memory dram too tight so reload timing". like maybe every 10th reboot...if it only stoped with that i could of lived with it BUT, my computer dont stop there. When am running my OS (winxppro) and for ex. running games (or even seraching in regedit) my computer goes down ...reboots!

what i have tried is this:
'checked if my memory is ok from MSI. it is!
Changed motherbord (got a brand new from my supplier)!
Tried with another graphiccard - still died
Used another memory - still died (kingston kvr400x64c25/512)
Tried my memory on another computer (works fine)
Tried to reset the bios (and all the configs you guys have giving us at the forum here)
And ive checked if the system is overheated (my cpu is normally at 50)
And i have the lates bios....

When i say my computer "dies" it goes in 3 ways:

1. it reboots (acts like nothing happend
2. The computer freezes and dont do anything untill you shut ut down
3. it freezes and make a anoying sound until you shut ut down

Am getting crazy here...am pretty sure this is a memory problem (or not since ive tied to use more than 6 different memories and all of them cant be bad!"!"!)

ps. Sorry for my bad enligsh.

MY hardware:

p2.8 fsb 800
Msi 765p
4x kingmax 512mb DD400 (mpxc22d-38kt3r)