Windows failed to start after RAM upgrade

Hello

So I installed another 4 gigs of RAM in my PC yesterday and also dusted the inside of the cabinet thoroughly. I started the PC and it worked fine.

Today when starting up, windows failed to load and went into Start Up Repair, it couldn't find anything to repair for a long time and hence I just reset my PC and this time it started fine.

I am just worried if this was because of a hardware failure, as in like the RAM I installed yesterday caused it or whether I rattled some parts while dusting it.

How can I find out what caused the start up failure and troubleshoot it?

Many thanks

The bad part of a single failed startup is it may not be reproducible. Did you run a memory test on the new modules? Memtest86+ - Advanced Memory Diagnostic Tool
Did you pull the power cord out of the computer then press the power switch or wait a few minutes to let residual power drain off? Not doing so can cause damage when plugging new things onto the motherboard.

Thanks for your response Burton. I ran memtest as per your advice and after running it for nearly 2.5 hrs, I got the message

**Pass complete, no errors**

So I guess my RAMs are okay. Could this be the hard disk instead?

I am thinking of getting an SSD to replace my 6 yr old HDD anyways

Thanks

Golden said:

You MUST run MemTest86+ for a minimum of 8 passes - no less - for a thorough test of RAM

I see..so I think the best would be to let it run overnite

Will do this tonite and get back with the results


Thanks a lot

Just for clarification, the memtest86+ can run and detect RAM issues on a 64bit computer as well, right?

Also before I run the extensive RAM test tonite, I'd like to tell you that when I tried to start my PC about 40 mins back, it went into startup repair again and couldn't find anything to repair. I then rebooted the PC and just after the Windows Logo, it rebooted again and installed a bunch of updates.

After then I went to see the logs in Event Viewer and following are the errors that showed up under "system" since the time I started my PC this evening (listed in descending order)

The computer has rebooted from a bugcheck. The bugcheck was: 0x00000124 (0x0000000000000000, 0xfffffa80079f38f8, 0x0000000000000000, 0x0000000000000000). A dump was saved in: C:\Windows\Minidump\101514-94739-01.dmp. Report Id: 101514-94739-01.

The system has rebooted without cleanly shutting down first. This error could be caused if the system stopped responding, crashed, or lost power unexpectedly.

A timeout was reached (30000 milliseconds) while waiting for the Mobile Partner. OUC service to connect.

The Mobile Partner. OUC service failed to start due to the following error:
The service did not respond to the start or control request in a timely fashion.

A fatal hardware error has occurred.

Component: AMD Northbridge
Error Source: Machine Check Exception
Error Type: HyperTransport Watchdog Timeout Error
Processor ID: 0

The details view of this entry contains further information.

A timeout was reached (30000 milliseconds) while waiting for the Mobile Partner. OUC service to connect.

The Mobile Partner. OUC service failed to start due to the following error:
The service did not respond to the start or control request in a timely fashion.

Service 'WMPNetworkSvc' did not start correctly because CoCreateInstance(CLSID_UPnPDeviceFinder) encountered error '0x80070422'. Verify that the UPnPHost service is running and that the UPnPHost component of Windows is installed properly.

Installation Failure: Windows failed to install the following update with error 0x80242016: Update for Windows 7 for x64-based Systems (KB2952664).

There are also a bunch of errors and warning under Application, one of the errors read:-

Event filter with query "SELECT * FROM __InstanceModificationEvent WITHIN 60 WHERE TargetInstance ISA "Win32_Processor" AND TargetInstance.LoadPercentage > 99" could not be reactivated in namespace "//./root/CIMV2" because of error 0x80041003. Events cannot be delivered through this filter until the problem is corrected.

Does all this indicate a problem with a hardware or Windows? Since I see the mention of AMD and Processor, should I be worried that it's my processor that's taking the hit?

Please advise


Many Thanks

Ya it's already running at 3 passes currently. I am running it on the new RAM I purchased.

Fingers crossed