Upgrade pc boot error

[g-relk]

i recently bought a q6600 for the rig in my sig, as well as a 4gb 800mhz ram kit. i fired it up for the first time today, and wen it POSTed it said: "CPU ucode loading error" then "press f1 to continue", you hit f1 and it boots up and works fine. Also, i put the 2 x 2gb RAM sticks in, enabled memory re-map, and windows XP pro 32bit says it only recognizes 2gb, so can someone tell me wtf is going on
BTW its overclocked to 3.00ghz using a 333mhz fsb and multi of 9, plus the ram is in dual channel mode at dddr2 667 speeds at cas 4 latencies.
any and all help appreciated with this weird problem.
thanks

[Elysium]

Windows XP (or any Windows operating system for that matter) is very closely tied to the hardware you installed it with. You might have to reinstall Windows after a major hardware change.

But that's probably not your problem. I think the issue is that you have a 32-bit OS. 32-bit OS's CANNOT run 4GB of RAM. Only 64-bit OS's can do that. So if you want to use all 4GB of that RAM, you'll have to upgrade to a 64-bit OS.

[Tyreal]

Neither of those issues would cause a CPU ucode error but they are true. Try resetting your BIOS to its defaults. If the problems persists try flashing the BIOS.

[Stormcrow]

XP Pro 32-bit allows up to 3GB of memory to be used by applications and such. By default, it limits you to 2GB but by adding the (in)famous /3GB switch into the boot loader you can increase the virtual address space to include an extra GB.

Here's a link that goes about adding it in and explains it better then I would (having only done it once): Amira and the /3GB switch

[g-relk]

ooohhhh, yeah i knew about the whole 32 bit os thing, i just thought doing the memory remap thing would allow you to use most of it. about 5 mins after i posted this thread i got a brain wave whilst reading the manual for troubleshooting tips, flashed to the latest bios, and no more ucode error!!! BTW can you still buy XPpro 64 bit??? or am i gonna have to look through e-bay???

[Elysium]

I pretty sure they still sell XP Pro 64-bit.

[Reloadron]

The Egg is your friend:

Newegg.com - Microsoft Windows XP Professional 64Bit SP2C - OEM

Ron