Problems Installing WindowsXP Media Center Edition

[GaryB]

I am having lots of trouble installing WindowsXP Media Center Edition. I had similar problems putting this OS on another machine, but finally got a good install and it is now running well.

The second system I am trying to put this on has an AMD 3000+ 64-bit Socket 939 processor (Venice core), on a Chaintech S1689 motherboard, with a pair of Kingston 512MB RAM 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) unbuffered dual channel memory modules for 1GB total RAM, with a Chaintech SA5500T2 Geforce FX5500 256MB DDR AGP 4X/8X video card.

I have tried several installs, and here are some of the error messages I get:

"A problem has been detected and windows has been shut down to prevent damage to your computer.
The problem seems to be caused by the following file: setupdd.sys
PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA"

Then, toward the bottom of the screen it says:

"STOP: 0x00000050 (0xF8000000, 0x00000000, 0xF77D03F7, ox00000000)
setupdd.sys – Address F77D03F7 base at F7794000, Date Stamp 41107c8f"

Also, when setup is loading files, several of them come up with:

"Setup cannot copy the file: rio8drv.sys" etc., etc.

On this last attempt to load MCE there were at least 20, maybe 30 files that came up with that message, and I had to use the ESC key to get by them (after retrying by hitting the ENTER key several times to no avail).

I have used two separate sets of original, legitimate CDs and I'm just getting lots of problems. I've got several other sets of error messages that I have copied, if they might mean anything to you.

Any help with this would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you,
GaryB

[Mayet]

PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA

I'd be trying a different stick of ram.

[NooNoo]

Yup and is this a completely clean install? Check out the ide/ata cables. test your ram with this (http://www.memtest86.com/) if you don't have a known good stick. Let it run at least 7 complete tests.

[GaryB]

RAM Considerations and Suggestions

Since I likely will have to replace this memory, could you suggest what you would think might be best, yet economical (I know, they don't often go together, but economics plays a big role here)? Would ECC, registered, or unbuffered make any significant differences? Would going to 2 Gigs (2 x 1Gig) be a big plus over 1 Gig dual channel (2 x 512)? There's not going to be a lot of digital stuff or gaming on this system. Lots of music though, and using the media center enhancements of MCE for home system components.

Thanks for your advice too.

[NooNoo]

You need to get the ram spec that is shown in the manual for the motherboard. Not all boards can handle all ram types.

You mention economics... it would have been cheaper in the long run to get crucial ram using their picking wizard - you get the right stuff then and of course it's guaranteed for life. Chaintech recommended ram from Crucial (http://www.crucial.com/uk/store/listparts.asp?model=S1689&tabid=AM)

Oh and in the UK delivery is free and next day.