Windows 11 struggles with 128GB of RAM.
Windows 11 struggles with 128GB of RAM.
So, here's a fun one: Windows 11 doesn't like 128gb of RAM. I have reset the BIOS, run a full memtest, it's on the QVE list for my motherboard, and removed my Raid 0 Array, just to confirm this one fact. Linux Mint installs fine, no issues, and sees everything as it should. During the Windows 11 install it says that the error is 0xC0000005 Which results online say is a memory access violation (no shit!) I have tried the other reported "fix" which is running the media creation tool as admin, to no avail, as well as trying a Rufus & iso install. No dice. So, since it's "working" I want to see if there's an actual fix for this. Happy to help get this completely nailed down.
Attempted that too. The "live" replacements, swapping the old RAM with a fresh Windows install, also failed. Windows does have the spinning wheel during startup, but it never stops. I installed it during lunch, and it kept spinning for four hours after work ended.
I thought the final image with the Linux component displaying some specifications would suffice. That wasn't the case. It's a Ryzen 5800X3D running on an Asus X570 Gaming-F (the Japanese version Amazon offered during the 2020 shortage). It's powered by two Samsung 980 Pros. For graphics, it uses an EVGA 3070ti. The RAM is Gskill DDR4-3600, and the full 128GB configuration is labeled F4-3600C-18Q-128GTZR. This appears to be the last major upgrade before moving to a more obvious next step.
I'm excited about the new BIOS version because it's running in RAID 0 via BIOS NVMe RAID. It's mostly for fun—this is what I wanted when I upgraded. The only notable items are Steam games and reliable software like Plex Media Player. (All important files are backed up online or stored on my server, which I manage more carefully).
Recently, a BSOD caused by AMD RAIDXpert2 became more frequent. Eventually, I addressed it by rebuilding the array, updating the BIOS, and reinstalling everything from scratch. After that, there were no further problems.
What makes AMD RAID different from Intel RAID at least in desktop setups is that it's BIOS-based (RAID 1 or RAID 0) rather than OS-hidden like Intel RAID. This means the operating system only sees one drive, not both. In contrast, Intel RAID often hides the array details from the OS, so you don't need to manually manage drivers. I never switched back to a non-RAID setup during this process, and I suspect the RAID configuration was the core issue.
By the way, do you have another source for the AMD RAID drivers? I received them directly from AMD, not from a hardware manufacturer. I was curious about options A, B, or C—what you think?