RAM Causing PC to Crash

bel_ami_boy · 07-03-2005, 06:34 AM

I am experiencing a problem with my PC where it will suddenly crash and reboot itself. It only does this during memory intensive activities such as playing an RTS game or compressing/ripping DVDs.

I’ve changed the settings in XP to enable it to give me a ‘blue screen of death’ instead of simply rebooting itself without telling me what’s wrong. The error code is

*** STOP: 0x00000007F (0x00000008, 0x80042000, 0x00000000, 0x00000000)

When I’ve rebooted the PC and XP asks me if I want to send the error log to Microsoft I’ve said “yes”. Microsoft’s analysis of the error log said “Your system crashed because the random access memory containing Windows program code was corrupted. Microsoft is unable to determine if this corruption was caused by a hardware or software issue. The nature of the corruption suggests that a hardware issue is more likely.”

I downloaded and ran the Microsoft memory diagnostic program. My RAM passed all the diagnostic tests. I’ve searched the Microsoft Knowledgebase for this error code but everything I’ve found hasn’t been of any help in narrowing down what the problem might be.

I also tried Memtest86 memory diagnostic program and this identified that there WAS a problem during test 5. When I tested the 512mb and 256mb independently they passed all the tests but together they keep failing.

I’ve looked in Device Manager to check for any conflicts and there are none.

A colleague at work suggested I ran RegClean 4.1. (This is a Microsoft registry cleaner utility that 'cleans' your registry). I did this and it hasn't made any difference.

Does anybody have any idea why my PC is doing this and how I can fix it? I’d be really grateful for any help.

I'm really tempted to just buy a 1gb DIMM and forget the other two, but this would be expensive if it too doesn't work properly.

My PC spec is:
Windows XP with SP1
Pentium 4, 2.4Ghz processor
P4S8X ATX Motherboard
768mb DDR333 PC2700 RAM (consisting of 512mb RAM and 256mb RAM)
80Gb Maxtor HDD (7200RPM)
1.44Mb 3.5” Floppy Disk
Teac CD-W548E IDE CD Re-Writer
Samsung TS-H552B IDE DVD Re-Writer
128Mb Nvidia Geforce4 Ti4200 Graphics Card
Creative Sound Blaster Audigy Sound Card

dai · 07-03-2005, 12:23 PM

whenever you list your specs always include the power supply,it is one of the most important specs
http://support.microsoft.com/Default...137539&sd=RMVP

bel_ami_boy · 07-07-2005, 02:36 PM

Forgive my ignorance but what exactly do you need to know about the power supply? The label on the side says 'ATX 12v'. Is that any help?

**myquitehead** · 07-07-2005, 03:53 PM

Usually you want to know the Wattage

dai · 07-08-2005, 01:04 AM

the brand and the wattage
try running the comp with only one stick of ram

bel_ami_boy · 07-09-2005, 03:23 AM

Brand - Mesh Computers plc (these are a PC assembler in the UK)
Model - HPC-360-202
Voltage - 340w Maximum
Current - 21.1w Maximum
Frequency - 360w Total

Running the PC on one DIMM doesn't cause any ill effects at all which is what I've had to do at the moment. While this is a workaround it does prevent me from upgrading the memory.

Any advice would be appreciated.

dai · 07-09-2005, 10:47 AM

i would recommend a larger power supply,but check they do not use a propriatary supply in their builds
try a matched pair in the ram

07-03-2005, 06:34 AM	#1 (permalink)
bel_ami_boy Registered User Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 29 OS: Win XP	RAM Causing PC to Crash I am experiencing a problem with my PC where it will suddenly crash and reboot itself. It only does this during memory intensive activities such as playing an RTS game or compressing/ripping DVDs. I’ve changed the settings in XP to enable it to give me a ‘blue screen of death’ instead of simply rebooting itself without telling me what’s wrong. The error code is *** STOP: 0x00000007F (0x00000008, 0x80042000, 0x00000000, 0x00000000) When I’ve rebooted the PC and XP asks me if I want to send the error log to Microsoft I’ve said “yes”. Microsoft’s analysis of the error log said “Your system crashed because the random access memory containing Windows program code was corrupted. Microsoft is unable to determine if this corruption was caused by a hardware or software issue. The nature of the corruption suggests that a hardware issue is more likely.” I downloaded and ran the Microsoft memory diagnostic program. My RAM passed all the diagnostic tests. I’ve searched the Microsoft Knowledgebase for this error code but everything I’ve found hasn’t been of any help in narrowing down what the problem might be. I also tried Memtest86 memory diagnostic program and this identified that there WAS a problem during test 5. When I tested the 512mb and 256mb independently they passed all the tests but together they keep failing. I’ve looked in Device Manager to check for any conflicts and there are none. A colleague at work suggested I ran RegClean 4.1. (This is a Microsoft registry cleaner utility that 'cleans' your registry). I did this and it hasn't made any difference. Does anybody have any idea why my PC is doing this and how I can fix it? I’d be really grateful for any help. I'm really tempted to just buy a 1gb DIMM and forget the other two, but this would be expensive if it too doesn't work properly. My PC spec is: Windows XP with SP1 Pentium 4, 2.4Ghz processor P4S8X ATX Motherboard 768mb DDR333 PC2700 RAM (consisting of 512mb RAM and 256mb RAM) 80Gb Maxtor HDD (7200RPM) 1.44Mb 3.5” Floppy Disk Teac CD-W548E IDE CD Re-Writer Samsung TS-H552B IDE DVD Re-Writer 128Mb Nvidia Geforce4 Ti4200 Graphics Card Creative Sound Blaster Audigy Sound Card

07-03-2005, 12:23 PM	#2 (permalink)
dai Manager, Hardware Forums Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: west australia Posts: 44,840 OS: vista 32x ultimate retail	whenever you list your specs always include the power supply,it is one of the most important specs http://support.microsoft.com/Default...137539&sd=RMVP __________________

07-08-2005, 01:04 AM	#5 (permalink)
dai Manager, Hardware Forums Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: west australia Posts: 44,840 OS: vista 32x ultimate retail	the brand and the wattage try running the comp with only one stick of ram __________________

07-09-2005, 10:47 AM	#7 (permalink)
dai Manager, Hardware Forums Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: west australia Posts: 44,840 OS: vista 32x ultimate retail	i would recommend a larger power supply,but check they do not use a propriatary supply in their builds try a matched pair in the ram __________________

07-07-2005, 02:36 PM	#3 (permalink)
bel_ami_boy Registered User Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 29 OS: Win XP	Forgive my ignorance but what exactly do you need to know about the power supply? The label on the side says 'ATX 12v'. Is that any help?

07-07-2005, 03:53 PM	#4 (permalink)
myquitehead TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 570 OS: XP Pro Sp1	Usually you want to know the Wattage

07-09-2005, 03:23 AM	#6 (permalink)
bel_ami_boy Registered User Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 29 OS: Win XP	Brand - Mesh Computers plc (these are a PC assembler in the UK) Model - HPC-360-202 Voltage - 340w Maximum Current - 21.1w Maximum Frequency - 360w Total Running the PC on one DIMM doesn't cause any ill effects at all which is what I've had to do at the moment. While this is a workaround it does prevent me from upgrading the memory. Any advice would be appreciated.