"Dram timing is set too tightly, please reset timing" error

[mattarios]

Hey guys i am new to the forum, but am familiar with forums. I am working on fixing someones computer and I am failing horribly. So anyways it HAD an msi motherboard in it with a 3.0GHZ intel p4 cpu chipset 478 or whatever. Normal video card, normal psu, you know the rest is basics. The customer turned his computer off when it wasn't supposed to be shut off(improper shut down) and then he started getting a "dram timing is set to tightly,please reset timing" before post (something like that) so i looked into it and was told that it could need a reset like it says(tried it didn't work) either be memory, motherboard or psu. I used a new memory stick, same error. I tried a new psu, same error. I replaced the motherboard and the error is gone now. But now it gets to windows xp and starts loading, then it goes away and right before it launches into the os, the computer reboots. I have also tried a different cpu. Anyone else have any ideas for me? Maybe a software issue?

I'd appreciate it, thanks alot guys.

 

[joxley1990]

My god..read up before you start fixing computers man..

Sounds like the RAM you have tried, and the existing RAM exceeds the maximum supported speed, so knock it down a speed in the BIOS..

Clear the CMOS, and try it all again, with the original motherboard..

The reason the new motherboard didn't work, is because (most likely) was a different chipset, and the OS is installed with the old chipset..so it doesnt recognise the new one..

 

[mattarios]

I did knock it down a speed, i knocked it down 2 speeds

still gave me the exact same error.
Any other ideas for me?

 

[joxley1990]

Which motherboard is it? How far did you knock the RAM down?

 

[mattarios]

Old board is an msi 865pe-neo2-p and the new board is an asus p4s8000-x, it was set on 3 clocks and i sized it down to 2.5 still didnt work so i tried 2.0 and still didnt work, thats as low as the motherboard will allow. I also tried auto, no luck.

and btw, tia

 

[mattarios]

Found the culprit it was the hard drive.

 

[MikeReiner]

He said knock down the speed of the ram.. not speed it up. The 3, 2.5, and 2 numbers you are referring to are latency values.. lower means less latency.. which is obviously faster.

Anyway, windows does not like to be swapped around different hardware, you it install it on one motherboard, and odds are it will freak out if you try using it on a different one.