Removed faulty RAM, still BSODing after fresh install

DanBSOD · 05 Sep 2011

Hey guys,

About a month ago, I started getting BSODs that eventually resulted in Windows refusing to boot around a week ago. A MemTest86+ and reinstall on a new HD later, a pair of my RAM sticks (2x 1GB) were removed as one seemed faulty, leaving the other identical pair inside until replacements can be found.

Everything was running smoothly for a few days until yesterday, I've had 3 BSODs since then. After seemingly fixing my RAM issues, I'm unsure what can now be wrong with it.

I've tried to attach as much useful information as I can. I'll run MemTest86+ overnight and post the results as soon as possible.

Thanks greatly for any help.

Is Windows 7 . . .
- x86 (32-bit) or x64? x64
- the original installed OS on the system? Yes.
- an OEM or full retail version? Full retail version.
- What is the age of system (hardware)? Several years.
- What is the age of OS installation (have you re-installed the OS?) A week.

zigzag3143 · 05 Sep 2011

DanBSOD said:

Hey guys,

About a month ago, I started getting BSODs that eventually resulted in Windows refusing to boot around a week ago. A MemTest86+ and reinstall on a new HD later, a pair of my RAM sticks (2x 1GB) were removed as one seemed faulty, leaving the other identical pair inside until replacements can be found.

Everything was running smoothly for a few days until yesterday, I've had 3 BSODs since then. After seemingly fixing my RAM issues, I'm unsure what can now be wrong with it.

I've tried to attach as much useful information as I can. I'll run MemTest86+ overnight and post the results as soon as possible.

Thanks greatly for any help.

Is Windows 7 . . .
- x86 (32-bit) or x64? x64
- the original installed OS on the system? Yes.
- an OEM or full retail version? Full retail version.
- What is the age of system (hardware)? Several years.
- What is the age of OS installation (have you re-installed the OS?) A week.

Simple. Your AVG is blamed. I would remove and replace with Microsoft Security Essentials

Download tools and utilities | AVG Worldwide

Virus, Spyware & Malware Protection | Microsoft Security Essentials

DanBSOD · 05 Sep 2011

zigzag3143 said:

Simple. Your AVG is blamed. I would remove and replace with Microsoft Security Essentials

Wow, that was fast! While I certainly don't doubt you in any way, may I ask how you came to such a solid conclusion so quickly? I've seen AVG blamed elsewhere through Google, along with a lot of other things, so I'll definitely take your advice. I guess I needn't run MemTest86+ anymore, huh.

Thanks a lot for your timely reply and to anyone else taking their time to read this.

zigzag3143 · 05 Sep 2011

DanBSOD said:

zigzag3143 said:

Simple. Your AVG is blamed. I would remove and replace with Microsoft Security Essentials

Wow, that was fast! While I certainly don't doubt you in any way, may I ask how you came to such a solid conclusion so quickly? I've seen AVG blamed elsewhere through Google, along with a lot of other things, so I'll definitely take your advice. I guess I needn't run MemTest86+ anymore, huh.

Thanks a lot for your timely reply and to anyone else taking their time to read this.

The reading of the DMP files called debugging takes very little time. Sometimes it is more art than science, sometimes a definative answer is reached. I only report the definitive answers. If not I say "probably caused by" just in case.

I would remove it first, then if you continue to BSOD, then run memtest.

DanBSOD · 06 Sep 2011

Unfortunately, today I've had two more BSOD after having followed your advice yesterday.

The first occured sometime after I installed the software for a new mouse (Razer Lachesis 5600). I hadn't yet restarted like it suggested, so I was hoping it was just a glitch - clearly it was false hope as my second BSOD happened shortly afterwards.

Personally, I have a feeling my problem is at least somewhat graphics related. The two BSOD today both occured while running StarCraft II, and I think some of the last ones occured while playing SCII and Counter-Strike: Condition Zero. Although, I'm obviously no technical wizard, so my theory likely isn't worth a lot. While I'm aware the BSOD tells me to remove recently installed hardware, I have to wonder if it is infact my new mouse as the crashing was happening anyway.

So, should I try revert to my old mouse anyway? I'll run MemTest86+ tonight unless told otherwise.

Attached: dmp files, perfmon report, crash reports, a folder full of info.

DanBSOD · 07 Sep 2011

I ran Memtest86+ for about 3 and a half hours last night, in which time it reported 107 errors.

Now, I have to wonder, these results suggest that at least one of my RAM sticks (2x 1GB) is faulty - but I achieved a similar result with my other identical pair not 2 weeks ago. How can I have multiple RAM sticks die within 2 weeks of eachother? I'm hoping I'm just incredibly unfortunate, but could there be an underlying cause? I really hope my motherboard isn't dead. Hopefully I can test this RAM in another computer soon to verify it's actually at fault.

Again, thanks for any help and for taking the time to read this. Any and all comments are welcomed and appreciated.

maxseven · 07 Sep 2011

DanBSOD said:

I ran Memtest86+ for about 3 and a half hours last night, in which time it reported 107 errors... How can I have multiple RAM sticks die within 2 weeks of eachother? I'm hoping I'm just incredibly unfortunate, but could there be an underlying cause?

Well you could have a dying motherboard, but usually the first component to act-up is the power supply, which could cause erratic behavior of many kinds.

Do you ever tinker with BIOS settings? Overclock perhaps? I'd clear the BIOS and check the PSU voltages (there's usually a screen in BIOS or a utility in Windows that will read your voltages) and make sure they're up to snuff.

DanBSOD · 07 Sep 2011

maxseven said:

Well you could have a dying motherboard, but usually the first component to act-up is the power supply, which could cause erratic behavior of many kinds.

Do you ever tinker with BIOS settings? Overclock perhaps? I'd clear the BIOS and check the PSU voltages (there's usually a screen in BIOS or a utility in Windows that will read your voltages) and make sure they're up to snuff.

Failing PSU causing Memtest86+ to report errors in my RAM because its power supply is erratic, rather than my RAM actually being faulty? Fun stuff.

Definitely no overclocking nor messing with the BIOS other than boot orders. I reset to Fail-Safe detaults anyway, although I did it a few weeks ago when my first round of RAM 'died' anyhow.

The pair of RAM I determined to be faulty with Memtest86+ is actually with the manufacturer right now, it's covered by a lifetime warranty so hopefully they'll come back soon and tell me what they think of it.

This is all I really found on voltages, hope it's helpful. If not, I can try do whatever you say to try and help.

Code:

H/W Monitor

----- PC Health Status -----
CPU Temperature    : 33*C/91*F
System Temperature : 40*C/104*F
CPU FAN Speed      : 1072RPM
SYS FAN1 Speed     : 0RPM
SYS FAN4 Speed     : 1120RPM
CPU Vcore          : 1.288V
3.3V               : 3.280V
5V                 : 5.003V
12V                : 12.320V
5V SB              : 4.989V

Edit:
If anyone is wondering about my RAM slots being faulty, I can hopefully rule that out by specifying what I tested and for how long in the same pair of slots each time. This was done about 2 weeks ago.

Code:

Pair 1            - 12 hours      - No errors
Pair 2            - A few minutes - Errors within 30 seconds
Stick 1 of pair 2 - A few hours   - No errors
Stick 2 of pair 2 - A few hours   - Thousands of errors

Surely if my PSU was spiking and making the RAM fail, it would've been more evenly distributed across my RAM over so much time. I guess I could've been unlucky and had my PSU fail some time after my RAM did, but I don't know.

On a hopefully unrelated and amusing note: a few days after reinstalling windows and removing my 'faulty' RAM from the tests, I picked up the plug leading into my PSU to put it into the socket and got a nice electrical shock for my troubles. I don't suppose that shock going through my finger damaged my PSU...

maxseven · 07 Sep 2011

DanBSOD said:

Surely if my PSU was spiking and making the RAM fail, it would've been more evenly distributed across my RAM over so much time.

Note sure what you mean by this, but a flaky PSU can cause all sorts of "illogical" problems. Still, your voltages seem OK so I dunno that is any kinda problem.

On a hopefully unrelated and amusing note: a few days after reinstalling windows and removing my 'faulty' RAM from the tests, I picked up the plug leading into my PSU to put it into the socket and got a nice electrical shock for my troubles.

You are talking about the AC cord, yes? That shouldn't be a factor.

I don't know what else to say, except I'm unclear about your "pairs" of memory sticks. Are your two pairs the exact same manufacturer/model/specification? Have you kept track of which-was-paired-with-which? If each set is a matched pair, and you got them mis-matched, well that might be an issue too (if a bit of a stretch, but mfrs always want you to use matched sets and if you get a failure they want the whole set back not just the one).

DanBSOD · 07 Sep 2011

I've had a lot of crashing in Firefox over the last few days, including 3 seconds before I was about to submit the first draft of this message.

If my problem is PSU related, could the extra power draw when playing games be when it becomes unstable? If there's a way I can log voltages while I go play some games and try cause a BSOD, I'd be happy to try.

maxseven said:

DanBSOD said:

Surely if my PSU was spiking and making the RAM fail, it would've been more evenly distributed across my RAM over so much time.

Note sure what you mean by this, but a flaky PSU can cause all sorts of "illogical" problems. Still, your voltages seem OK so I dunno that is any kinda problem.

Sorry for being unclear. If the PSU is causing problems, wouldn't you expect Memtest to find errors more evenly distributed across my RAM when I tested it? When I ran the tests 2 weeks ago, it only ever found errors when I had 1 stick of RAM inserted in particular.

maxseven said:

On a hopefully unrelated and amusing note: a few days after reinstalling windows and removing my 'faulty' RAM from the tests, I picked up the plug leading into my PSU to put it into the socket and got a nice electrical shock for my troubles.

You are talking about the AC cord, yes? That shouldn't be a factor.

My finger is happy it didn't cause any trouble.

maxseven said:

I don't know what else to say, except I'm unclear about your "pairs" of memory sticks. Are your two pairs the exact same manufacturer/model/specification? Have you kept track of which-was-paired-with-which? If each set is a matched pair, and you got them mis-matched, well that might be an issue too (if a bit of a stretch, but mfrs always want you to use matched sets and if you get a failure they want the whole set back not just the one).

I have 4 sticks of 1GB Crucial Ballistix DDR2. When I was testing my RAM, I just picked up 2 sticks and called that a pair. While they do have official pairs based on serial keys, I didn't realise/think about that until I was done. It turns out I actually tested sticks from different official pairs together. After I found which stick was giving errors in Memtest, I sent it and its official partner back to the manufacturer so they can see if it's covered under the warranty. Hopefully they'll tell me if it was actually faulty or not soon. Right now, I have the remaining offical pair installed.