Diagnosing RAM Trouble

[AnotherHiggins]

I have 8 GB of Mushkin DDR2 installed on a Vista Home Premium machine.

Memtest86+ is returning errors by the hundreds.

I've been running with 2 x 2GB sticks for several months and never had a problem - it never returned an error. When I added a second 4GB kit (also 2 x 2GB) and ran Memtest86+ I got errors.

To troubleshoot, I've tested each pair of RAM sticks in each pair of RAM sockets and I don't get a single error for any combination, even if I leave it running overnight. It only returns errors when all four sticks are installed.

Any ideas what else I can try?

Snapshot of errors:

[tt][blue]-John[/blue][/tt]
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[Freestone]

The zero in the display of CAS 0-4-5 looks wrong to me. Can this timing truly be correct? A CAS of 2 or 2.5 seems more like it.

 

[kmcferrin]

It also calls it DDR1. Makes me wonder if Memtest86+ has some issues.

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[cdogg]

Yes, it sounds like a problem with memtest. Were you having issues within the operating system that persuaded you to test the memory in the first place? If not, I wouldn't worry about the test results.

~cdogg
"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." - Einstein
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[goombawaho]

Ultimate Boot CD or download and burn to CD or a floppy >>>> Windows memory diagnostic test.

Run for several full runs (about 7 different tests for each run)

Try it all at once and see if you get any errors.

 

[BadBigBen]

MemTest86+ reads Memory informartion directly from the BIOS, and that is strictly informational, according to the Support Forum for MemTest86+ ...

Those errors, if they happen always after the 4GB barrier, may indicate a problem with the BIOS in that it is not PAE compatible/aware...

There is a subbuild available (actually a user rebuild and cleaned up the code), which is v2.11a and the code will be included in v2.12...

for more info read:

Memtest86+ v2.11a

http://forum.canardpc.com/showthread.php?t=32475

Ben
"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."
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[AnotherHiggins]

Well this is a bit embarrassing.... I didn't even notice all of the discrepancies in the 'setting's section at the top of the screen.

Were you having issues within the operating system that persuaded you to test the memory in the first place? If not, I wouldn't worry about the test results.

Things were a little glitchy, but I was mainly just running the test to make sure the RAM was good before my RMA period at Newegg expired.

After I first started getting errors in Memtest, performance in Vista got weirder.

I just got a new HSF anyway, so I pulled the mobo and reassembled everything. (much quieter than stock, btw)

After that things really got bad. I started getting BSoDs even with only two sticks (4GB) of RAM installed. Then a few reboots later it would only intermittently even boot at all.

But I finally found the culprit: my UPS battery was dying. I plugged into my wife's UPS (which is a few years newer) and all seems happy - except I still get errors in Memtest.

I'll try the subbuild you mentioned, Ben.

Thanks, all, for the advice!

Have a great weekend


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