Additional RAM makes P5N32-E unstable, help

I have a P5N32-E ASUS motherboard I'd like to add some additional RAM to. I'm running a Corsair XMS2 2GB DDR2 800 pair. I ordered the exact same RAM from newegg as I have in my primary slot, but the machine either blue screens and locks up when it gets to windows or locks up at the bios splash screen during boot when it's in. If I switch the ram in the primary and secondary slots, same issue. If I take the RAM back out of the secondary slot everything works. Both pairs work when running just in the primary slot. I'm running Vista Business edition 32bit with all the latest updates.

I tried updating to the latest BIOS, but the same problem occurs. I reset all bios settings to default in case there was some option I'm missing, same problem.

I'm about to return the RAM, as it looks like there is a problem with my motherboard and I don't want to RMA it off for 2 months just so I can run additional RAM.

Is there anything else I can try before I RMA this RAM off and eat a restocking fee?

Current config:

1 Thermaltake Armor Series VA8000BWS Black Aluminum / Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Retail
Item #: N82E16811133154

1 SAMSUNG Black 1.44MB 3.5" Internal Floppy Drive Windows 98SE/ ME/ 2000/ XP - OEM
Item #: N82E16821103203

1 Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer 7.1 Channels PCI Interface Sound Card - Retail
Item #: N82E16829102006

1 SAMSUNG 18X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model SH-S183L - OEM
Item #: N82E16827151141

3 Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS (Perpendicular Recording Technology) 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
Item #: N82E16822148140

1 CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X2048-6400C4DHX - Retail
Item #: N82E16820145177

1 EVGA 640-P2-N821-AR GeForce 8800 GTS 640MB 320-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
Item #: N82E16814130071

1 ASUS P5N32-E SLI LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Item #: N82E16813131073

1 Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Conroe 2.4GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80557E6600 - Retail
Item #: N82E16819115003

1 Antec True Power Trio TP3-650 650W ATX12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready Active PFC Power Supply with Three 12V Rails - Retail
Item #: N82E16817371001

Have you tried with only the "new" sticks? I couldn't tell from your post.

Yes. The new pair, and the old pair both work fine when working alone. The problem follows the secondary RAM pair slots.

have you fully updated windows - just so we can get the 4gb limit problems out of the way...

EDIT: If you read the case your memory comes in, it says it doesnt cover any warranty if you have 4GB RAM on a 32bit OS. - Basically what that means is 32bit OS's wont recognise 4GB, and any problems you get because of that are OS related, not RAM.

jayfella said:

have you fully updated windows - just so we can get the 4gb limit problems out of the way...

EDIT: If you read the case your memory comes in, it says it doesnt cover any warranty if you have 4GB RAM on a 32bit OS. - Basically what that means is 32bit OS's wont recognise 4GB, and any problems you get because of that are OS related, not RAM.

Click to expand...

As I wrote in the initial post, I'm running Windows Vista Business edition with all the updates.

The case the RAM came in says nothing about it not supporting 4GB of RAM on a 32 bit OS, nor does it say anything about that on the newegg page here http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145177 or the corsair product page here http://corsair.com/products/xms2.aspx

This looks like my fix: http://www.houseofhelp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=64091

So it looks like I would be better off to just run 2 2GB sticks with this motherboard. What's the fastest RAM I could get away with with this setup?

Hmm, looks like it only supports DDR 800 as seen here under specifications http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131073

So I should get http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145184

If I'm incorrect please let me know.