BSOD and help with windows memory diagnostics

[rezelute]

Hi,
I have recently been having random blue screens of death and i downloaded the Windows memory diagnostic tool, ran the diagnostics tool (http://oca.microsoft.com/en/windiag.aspbhttp://oca.microsoft.com/en/windiag.asp) and a few things happened:
1- It threw up a message before the scan saying then memory map could not work with 4gb or something like that (i only have 4gb installed on my system) however it gave me the option to continue with the scan anyways.
First question, is this normal?
2- I continued with the scan and left it overnight for 8 hours, the first half hour i watched what was going on and it kept flagging FAILED messages on every single pass, there wasnt a single SUCCEEDED message which seemed extremely bizarre. I woke up in the morning and the scan was still going on past 64 passes.
Second question: Surely if my pc works most of the time then something would have passed and not just flagged everything as FAILED?!
Third question: How many passes does windows go through, i left the pc on over 8 hours and from what i read the memory scan should only take a few hours...

Thanks for help

 

[pbcopter]

I personally prefer Memtest86+ for RAM tests

You should also test each stick of memory separately (preferably overnight if not errors) and NO errors are permitted.
Memtest86+ - Advanced Memory Diagnostic Tool

 

[rezelute]

Thanks pbcopter, i will download the application and test tonight with full memory sticks in first to see if i get any errors at all, if i do i will remove sticks and test each one individually then post back if necessary.

 

[essenbe]

I use the same test. It can be pretty long testing process. Basically you have to test the ram sticks and the dimm slots. The ram can show errors and the problem is the dimm slot and not the ram. here is a tutorial on memtest86. hope it helps

 

[rezelute]

Thank you i will follow those steps

 

[rezelute]

Hi i have attached 2 screenshots of the memory scan while it is still in pass 0, can i assume from the screenshots immediately that something is very wrong with 1311 (and counting lol) errors and that i need to test each one individually now?

 

[essenbe]

You can do it that way until you find out which stick is creating the errors. Make sure you remember which stick was in which slot. When you find the stick that causes errors, run a known good stick in the slot where the bad stick was. Then run the bad stick in a slot where a good stick was. If the bad stick shows errors no matter which slot it is in, you know the ram is bad. If a known good stick shows errors in the slot that the bad stick was in, it suggests the dimm slot is bad. When you think you have determined the answer run the test with good sticks in for at least 7-8 passes, to make sure they are good. If they all pass, either replace the bad stick with the exact kind or you can replace all sticks. What you are doing is testing the ram and the slo

 

[rezelute]

Cheers for reconfirming what i read in the post, i will get busy now and get back . I feel sorry for anyone who has to test memory for a living lol, such a pain.

 

[essenbe]

You are lucky it found the errors in the first pass. I had problems and had to run it for 8 passes doing 12 tests. Times vary on the computer and how much ram is installed. With my computer it was about 8-10 hours each test. And, until you have run what you think is good ram at least 8 passes without errors, you don't know for sure that those are good sticks. Many run it for 24 hours.

1 bad stick of ram can cause a multitude of problems.

 

[rezelute]

lol thats some demotivation right there, i find it ironic with all the technology we have now, something as simple as memory in PCs is still such a pain to debug and hasnt really changed much over the years.

 

[essenbe]

lol thats some demotivation right there, i find it ironic with all the technology we have now, something as simple as memory in PCs is still such a pain to debug and hasnt really changed much over the years.

I agree with that. Seems like somebody would. I suspect that people who do this for a living have some very sophisticated equipment that is much faster and easier. It takes a lot of patience for us to do it right, but in the end, it's the only way I know of to be certain that whatever problems you have are not ram related.

 

[rezelute]

Ok here is what i did: Based on the fact that the memory was failing immediately (within a minute) with 4 sticks of memory (1gb each stick) i theorised that whatever stick (if stick) was causing the problem would fail within the minute so i wouldnt have to perform 8 hour checks on each stick. So i tested each stick individually for 1 minute and when it seemed ok i would replace with another. Took 3 tries and finally the faulty stick showed up within minutes.
I will be replacing this stick but i have a couple of questions about memory:
Question 1:
If i got a 2GB stick to replace the 1GB faulty one (so i have 2gb,1gb,1gb,1gb), would windows/applications/games/etc benefit much from the upgrade? Also im aware that matching pairs of memory are best, may 2GB,1GB cause problems/slowness/etc?

Question 2:
I cant remember if my other sticks are 333,800 MHZ etc. If i got a stick which was 800mhz does 800mhz actually get used or do all the sticks get set to a default of 333?

 

[essenbe]

You can run stcks of different frequecy, but, It can cause stability issues and the memory will only run at the frequency of the lowest stick. And while many will tell you that you can and they have done it, and I'm sure they have, you are better off running matched sticks. When I was having trouble, Tech support at G Skill told me that it is difficult to stabalize ram of different sizes (I wanted to run 2X4GB and 2X2GB). I think this is a good time to increase the ram you have installed if you want to.

 

[rezelute]

Thanks, i called ebuyer to ask them about different types of memory types to get but your opinion would be good too.
Assuming that all match frequencies, I could either buy all new 2x2GB sticks and replace all so they are matching (downside alittle expensive considering im building a new pc december time). Otherwise i could get 2GBx1GBx1GBx1GB. Ebuyer rep said that its probably not worth spending the extra money to buy all new sticks and run in Dual mode but just stick to 2GBx1GBx1GBx1GB even if it ran in single mode it wouldnt make that much of a difference. What do you think is best?

 

[essenbe]

If you are building a new computer soon, I would not spend any more money than necessary. Whatever you buy now, will probably not be compatibke with the new system. Most new systems use DDR3 ram. If it were me, I would try running with 3x1gb sticks in single chanel mode and see how that works. If you are satisfied, I would save the money for the new system. If you are not happy with it, make a decision then.

 

[rezelute]

Bril that gives me everything im looking for. I appreciate all your help and detailed answers, rep ++