New
#1
PC crashing.
Somewhat vague title, i'm sorry.
So I needed a PC to host a custom Minecraft server, since my own PC isn't powerful enough to both host it and
play it at the same time. My dad had built a PC for my mom some time ago, and she wasn't using it anymore so
I decided to use it. It had more malware and problems than was worth dealing with, and was running XP because the software she was using wouldn't run on 7. I cleared everything off of it and installed Win7.
At first glance, everything seems to be running fine. I can lauch my game just fine and it works for a little while.
But after anywhere between 10 minutes and an hour or so, it freezes. The screen turns to multicolored vertical lines with varied widths, and the PC is unresponsive to anything short of Holding the power button down until it shuts off, and rebooting. This is where I'm at now, but its slightly(?) more complicated.
My dad figured it would need more ram than it had to run Win7. It had 4gb (2x2gb) As far as I can see, it seems to run ok with 4gb aside from the crashing...
He ordered two more sticks of ram (2gb ea) that was supposed to be the exact same thing that was already in the PC.
When they got here, we put them in and the pc booted to the desktop, but then crashed. My dad says they are the same thing, but the ram chips are slightly different in size etc. I tried switching their positions, I tried running the PC with only the new sticks, and with only the old sticks. It crashes before the desktop, or shortly after anytime the new RAM sticks are involved. Right now I've got the old sticks in there in slots 2 and 4.
Also, at some point someone thought removing the cmos battery for a few minutes was a good idea. No clue if that messed anything up.
I'm certainly no ace at PC hardware, so there is a high chance I've screwed something up somewhere.
Old Ram: Kingston KVR1333D3N9/2G 2GB PC3-10600 CL9 240-Pin DIMM
New Ram: Kingston 2GB PC3-10600 DDR3-1333MHz non-ECC Unbuffered CL9 240-Pin DIMM Dual Rank Memory Module Mfr P/N KVR1333D3N9/2G
The old ram plastic case has a kingston label on it, and the chips say Kingston, with various numbers on them. The new ram came in plastic cases that had no label. The ram sticks are nearly twice as wide as the old ones are, and the chips say ELPIDA on them. The above information for the old ram is taken from the label, the information from the new ram is from the order slip that came with them.
So I suppose I have two problems?
I'll gladly provide any addition information you need as best I can, and very much appreciate any help you can offer. :)