• Avid Media Composer

  Increasing ram / memory stops Avid XP Pro starting

  Posted by Scott Thomas on June 24, 2007 at 7:06 pm

  Very recently I upgraded from XP Pro v4.6 to v5.7 on a Sony VAIO VGN-A297XP PC laptop with 1Gb of RAM (two sets of 500Mb). All was working OK.

  I then decided to double the RAM to 2Gb, not to help XP Pro but to speed up After Effects rendering. After Effects 7 recognised the extra RAM and worked fine.

  When I tried to open XP Pro again, the screen came on with the File Edit Help menus at the top and that was it. The programme would not start and Task Manager was showing that the process was eating up over 1.5Gb of RAM.

  I uninstalled every part of Avid and downloaded the latest version (5.7.2) and installed that. I still got the same problem. So I cleared out Avid again and put back XP Pro v4.6. Again the programme would not start-up.

  I searched for any tips on various forums but nothing I tried (using software) worked. Eventually I took out the new RAM and replaced it with the old chips – so back to 1Gb. By now I had 5.7.2 reinstalled and it booted up perfectly and the projects played fine.

  Sorry about the long story but I think it’s best to give as much info as possible. (In fact it has tied me in knots for 3 days)

  So the question is: Why did adding RAM (that works for other programmes) cause XP Pro to stop working?

  Any help would be great as I could do with the extra ram for After Effects work.

  Here is the data I have copied from the event log:
  Exception report written to D:\Avid FatalErrorReports\Exception_2007.06.23_19.41.03
  20070623201134 Dump Dump report written to
  20070624142400 Startup LoveCanal_NT_R420
  20070624142734 Exception ACCESS_VIOLATION
  20070624142734 Report Exception report written to D:\Avid FatalErrorReports\Exception_2007.06.24_14.27.34

  Scott Thomas replied 18 years, 10 months ago 2 Members · 4 Replies
• 4 Replies

• 

  Rhewitt

  June 24, 2007 at 11:20 pm

  This may or may not cure the problem, but have a check:

  Access Violations.

  Is the RAM you installed fully supported by your SONY PC? Have a check on the Kingston Configurator.

  Not all RAM is the same. There are minor and some major differences between them. The cheaper brands aren’t always as fast as the versions recommended by the PC manufacturer.
• 

  Scott Thomas

  June 27, 2007 at 10:12 am

  Thanks for the reply.

  I tried deleting the settings files and then putting back in the 2Gb of RAM, but the result was the same.

  The RAM is compatible with the system and was supplied by Crucial.com. Kingston no longer do this type of RAM.

  For the record the RAM is:

  2 of 1Gb 200-pin SO-DIMM 128MX64 DDR PC2700
  The laptop is a Sony VGN-A297XP

  Any other ideas?
• 

  Scott Thomas

  June 27, 2007 at 10:20 am
• 

  Scott Thomas

  June 27, 2007 at 6:07 pm

  I contacted the RAM suppliers and they suggest I get the latest BIOS for my Sony laptop.

  I have searched and searched the VAIO website but there seems no way to download any updated BIOS. The BIOS I have is as follows:

  American Megatrends v 2.42
  BIOS: R0080F1
  Euro BIOS: RF080F1
  Video BIOS: F1AM1114

  I went to the American Megatrends site and they are quite willing for me to buy the BIOS but I can’t tell if it is an update or not as their numbers don’t seem to match mine.

  Can anyone offer some advice.

  Thanks

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