Testing RAM

  • Thread starter Thread starter Tomasz Zaniewski
  • Start date Start date
T

Tomasz Zaniewski

Hi,

My WinXP pro (SP1a) computer tends to reboot occasionally
when reading a cd. I have been advised that one of the
possible causes could be faulty memory. When my memory is
tested in the POST, everything is fine. Does that rule out
the possibility of faulty RAM, or is there some other more
thorough way of testing the memory modules?

Could the rebooting problem be caused by the fact that I
have a SATA hard drive in my computer? (SATA Hdd is master
on the pri IDE, cd rom is master on secondary IDE)

Thanks
 
Tomasz said:
Hi,

My WinXP pro (SP1a) computer tends to reboot occasionally
when reading a cd. I have been advised that one of the
possible causes could be faulty memory. When my memory is
tested in the POST, everything is fine. Does that rule out
the possibility of faulty RAM, or is there some other more
thorough way of testing the memory modules?

Could the rebooting problem be caused by the fact that I
have a SATA hard drive in my computer? (SATA Hdd is master
on the pri IDE, cd rom is master on secondary IDE)

Thanks
Click to expand...

Google for Memtest86 and run that overnight. Bad RAM is one
possibility, but that would not be my first guess; a bad or
weak power supply is my standard first guess, and overheating
is guess two. To address overheating, clean the filters if
your PC has any, make sure all fans are turning, and clean
the heatsink on the CPU; make sure you don't have cables
blocking airflow -- IDE cables are a common problem.

Checking that your PS is good enough takes some homework: you
must find out how many amps each device draws at each voltage,
then make sure the PS has enough at each voltage. Merely
comparing the wattage ratings won't really suffice. At a
minimum, check that your power cables are all OK and are all
fully seated -- particularly those to the HD and the CD.

You have a SATA HD on your IDE? You must have a PATA-SATA
adapter, right? Just checking, since that configuration is
kinda unusual.
 
OK, thanks for your advice!

Have downloaded this software and will run it later. My PC
is quite new (4 months) so I dont think I will have dust
related problems. Just by the way, I never had this
problem when I installed Win 2000 onto the computer.

About the SATA HDD, its plugged into a SATA connector on
the motherboard using the new SATA cables and in bios, the
pri IDE is mapped to the SATA0 channel, dont know if that
makes any sense?
 
Hi,

My WinXP pro (SP1a) computer tends to reboot occasionally
when reading a cd. I have been advised that one of the
possible causes could be faulty memory. When my memory is
tested in the POST, everything is fine. Does that rule out
the possibility of faulty RAM, or is there some other more
thorough way of testing the memory modules?

Could the rebooting problem be caused by the fact that I
have a SATA hard drive in my computer? (SATA Hdd is master
on the pri IDE, cd rom is master on secondary IDE)

Thanks
Click to expand...

Just for grins, look in Event Viewr (My COmputer/mamage/event viewer).
You might see an error just prior to the crash. unlikely, but it
doesn't hurt.

It could be anything. I always suspect the power supply, especially
if the system is several years old, and/or disks have been added to
the original confir (ie more power draw.) It's an easy thing to swap,
assuming you've got a spare.

You can pull and reseat the memory module(s). Wiping the electrical
pins on the memory modules with a fine "ink erasure" (from an office
supply) then withing the resulting bits off with tissue when you do
this wouldn't hurt.

If you've got two memory modules removing one and live with the system
for a few days then put the otherone in, and do the same. If the
system crashes with one but not the other you have a clue.

You can also reseat all the connectors on all the cables you can find.
Something may have come loose.
 
Bob said:
Google for Memtest86 and run that overnight. Bad RAM is one
possibility, but that would not be my first guess; a bad or
weak power supply is my standard first guess, and overheating
is guess two. To address overheating, clean the filters if
your PC has any, make sure all fans are turning, and clean
the heatsink on the CPU; make sure you don't have cables
blocking airflow -- IDE cables are a common problem.

Checking that your PS is good enough takes some homework: you
must find out how many amps each device draws at each voltage,
then make sure the PS has enough at each voltage. Merely
comparing the wattage ratings won't really suffice. At a
minimum, check that your power cables are all OK and are all
fully seated -- particularly those to the HD and the CD.

You have a SATA HD on your IDE? You must have a PATA-SATA
adapter, right? Just checking, since that configuration is
kinda unusual.
Click to expand...

Bob,

Overheating generally doesn't cause a system to reboot, but to freeze.
Faulty PSU is more likely.
 
Hi,

as a matter of fact, there is something in the event
viewer when this happens, this is one of the entries:

Type Date Time Source Category Event
User Computer
Error 2004/06/09 08:49:36 PM System Error
(102) 1003 N/A BLUESCREEN

Error code 000000d1, parameter1 026f0018, parameter2
00000002, parameter3 00000001, parameter4 77f52557.

I have looked up info on error 102, but can not find
anything that is like my problem.

Can you deduce anything from this? I also have the
minidump file from this crash if that will help.

Thanks
 
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