Windows isn't booting up anymore & CD won't work

rumpty said:

Success!

For those of you who are interested, here is a bit more information and a solution to my problem.


Originally, two identical (same make, same specification) 1Gb modules were installed and were operating in dual channel mode.

The computer had been operating perfectly for many months, then gradually random crashes appeared which became more frequent. Eventually, trying to install Windows 7 from DVD caused the computer to crash every time at the same point in the installation.

Suspecting a memory problem I ran memory checker programs, including the excellent Memtest86, but none of them showed any problems. I removed one memory module and everything was ok. It did not matter which memory module was installed or in which slot, as long as only one was present. I then discovered that it is possible to turn off dual channel mode in the BIOS. So, in went both modules and off went dual channel mode. Solved!

Windows 7 has been installed three times since from DVD to prove that it was not a one-off quirk.

So the moral of this tale is if you suspect a memory problem and are using dual channel mode try turning it off.

During the course of the investigation my hard drive went from giving the odd problem to packing up completely. It really should be made illegal to have two simultaneous problems on the same computer as it makes fault finding much more difficult.

So what does turning off dual channel mode actually do?

I've got 4 memory slots that I have 4, 2g memory cards in (8g total)

Will shutting of dual channel mode affect the way my system runs all 8g?

I'm hopefully going to start running the memtest86 tonight.

Dual channel for RAM is like RAID for hard drives or SLI for video cards. It allows more than one memory module to be accessed at the same time increasing bandwidth. If you are, or suspect you are, having memory problems its recommended to turn it off for a more stable system. It doesn't always work as advertised. It won't reduce your usable amount of RAM.

alphanumeric said:

Dual channel for RAM is like RAID for hard drives or SLI for video cards. It allows more than one memory module to be accessed at the same time increasing bandwidth. If you are, or suspect you are, having memory problems its recommended to turn it off for a more stable system. It doesn't always work as advertised. It won't reduce your usable amount of RAM.

Hmm this does sound like it would be quite useful though.

So I have the Memtest86 files on my USB & getting ready to run the memry test for the night.

Should I install all 4 memory sticks in their slots & then run the test over night?

or run 1 at a time?

I added all the ram back in & it wouldnt boot, then I took 1 of the sticks out & it booted for a bit & then went BSOD & I then pulled all but 1 stick & got this message when I started windows again:


Problem signature:
Problem Event Name: BlueScreen
OS Version: 6.1.7600.2.0.0.256.48
Locale ID: 1033

Additional information about the problem:
BCCode: 50
BCP1: FFFFF6AABD800050
BCP2: 0000000000000000
BCP3: FFFFF80002AE42E2
BCP4: 0000000000000005
OS Version: 6_1_7600
Service Pack: 0_0
Product: 256_1

Files that help describe the problem:
C:\Windows\Minidump\021511-22635-01.dmp
C:\Users\JohnnyScience\AppData\Local\Temp\WER-62930-0.sysdata.xml

Read our privacy statement online:
Windows 7 Privacy Statement - Microsoft Windows

If the online privacy statement is not available, please read our privacy statement offline:
C:\Windows\system32\en-US\erofflps.txt

Does it help anyone figure out why my computer is crashing?

Also, I tried to restart computer & set boot device in bios to USB while it was plugged in, but it didnt show up & wouldnt run the USB file? Any ideas what else to do?

Upload the dumps.

   Information

If you wish to have others assist you with your computer's BSOD symptoms, upload the contents of your "\Windows\Minidump" folder. The procedure:

* Copy the contents of \Windows\Minidump to another (temporary) location somewhere on your machine.
* Zip up the copy.
* Attach the ZIP archive to your post using the "paperclip" (file attachments) button.
* Briefly describe the problem history and circumstances in the same post. Somebody will attend to your query as soon as possible.

You can copy out the windows/minidump file using the Repair CD or Installation DVD "Load Drivers" mini-explorer: Copy & Paste - in Windows Recovery Console