Possible RAM Problem

masters2 · 06-20-2009, 07:47 PM

Hello,

I was helping my neighbor fix a problem with their computer.

When I got there, they says the computer was randomly rebooting with blue screens, I couldn't recreate this, it would get stuck on the POST screen, and other times it would show nothing on the screen when it booted up. It took maybe 10 tries to even get it to boot. When it did, I ran the windows debugging tool on the dump file, in the file entry it said memory corruption, a scan of the memory found nothing. But I had him go out and buy some more ram.

Now it boots up alot more, but it seems every other reboot it would get stuck on the POST screen, but if I shut it down, it would boot up perfectly. Basically it starts up and gets stuck more predictably now. But it still happends. Although once it boots up, there aren't any problems, yet atleast.

On a site note, I'm not sure if this is related. But the USB port on her media reader doesn't work at all. The other two ports on the front won't read her USB stick, but if I plug the mouse into them it works fine. If I plug in the stick to the back ports, it works fine.

May be related, not sure, but if anyone can offer oppinions, I'd appreciate it.

Thanks

**manic** · 06-20-2009, 10:47 PM

List all hardware specs, including power supply wattage and brand.
If the pc only has xp sp1 which is doubtful, but you never know, it
will not support usb2.0, must have sp2 installed. I dont think that is
the main issue, but I could be wrong...ask if the machine has been
running hot, or in a hot enviornment...post back with specs.

masters2 · 06-21-2009, 07:04 AM

I didn't take down any of the system specs. It's a 3-4 year old HP computer. So it's gonna be anything that came off the boat from Taiwan.

The thing with the USB ports is that the stick works fine on the back ports, but not the front. The front ports do work though since I plugged in the mouse and it does work. IT's like the front ports don't recognize the stick at all.

For the original problem. Random bluescreens were happening at random, the computer was getting stuck at post, or it was just a black screen at bootup.

Once the ram was replaced, it booted up, but if I restarted it it again, it would get stuck at post, but if I restarted again, it would work fine, then it wouldn't, then it would, so it's getting stuck every other time, which is really weird.

**manic** · 06-21-2009, 08:55 AM

Any flags in device manager? In bios is there a hardware monitor, if
so check the temps, and voltages, might be a failing power supply.
Find out who made the hdd,,go to makers website, download and run
diagnostic on drive..Still could be ram, run memtest, free download
do a google, run test with one stick at a time.....
Also while in bios make sure usb 2.0 is turned on, check all options for
usb, something may not be working to its full potential...
Write down what errors the bluc screen is showing, usually at the end
of all the numbers there will be something we can understand, ie,
nv.dll stopped, ati.dll, system32halted, etc...

06-20-2009, 07:47 PM	#1 (permalink)
masters2 Registered User Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 2 OS: XP Pro	Possible RAM Problem Hello, I was helping my neighbor fix a problem with their computer. When I got there, they says the computer was randomly rebooting with blue screens, I couldn't recreate this, it would get stuck on the POST screen, and other times it would show nothing on the screen when it booted up. It took maybe 10 tries to even get it to boot. When it did, I ran the windows debugging tool on the dump file, in the file entry it said memory corruption, a scan of the memory found nothing. But I had him go out and buy some more ram. Now it boots up alot more, but it seems every other reboot it would get stuck on the POST screen, but if I shut it down, it would boot up perfectly. Basically it starts up and gets stuck more predictably now. But it still happends. Although once it boots up, there aren't any problems, yet atleast. On a site note, I'm not sure if this is related. But the USB port on her media reader doesn't work at all. The other two ports on the front won't read her USB stick, but if I plug the mouse into them it works fine. If I plug in the stick to the back ports, it works fine. May be related, not sure, but if anyone can offer oppinions, I'd appreciate it. Thanks

06-20-2009, 10:47 PM	#2 (permalink)
manic Mod Hardware Team Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Florida Posts: 5,251 OS: xp	Re: Possible RAM Problem List all hardware specs, including power supply wattage and brand. If the pc only has xp sp1 which is doubtful, but you never know, it will not support usb2.0, must have sp2 installed. I dont think that is the main issue, but I could be wrong...ask if the machine has been running hot, or in a hot enviornment...post back with specs. __________________

06-21-2009, 07:04 AM	#3 (permalink)
masters2 Registered User Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 2 OS: XP Pro	Re: Possible RAM Problem I didn't take down any of the system specs. It's a 3-4 year old HP computer. So it's gonna be anything that came off the boat from Taiwan. The thing with the USB ports is that the stick works fine on the back ports, but not the front. The front ports do work though since I plugged in the mouse and it does work. IT's like the front ports don't recognize the stick at all. For the original problem. Random bluescreens were happening at random, the computer was getting stuck at post, or it was just a black screen at bootup. Once the ram was replaced, it booted up, but if I restarted it it again, it would get stuck at post, but if I restarted again, it would work fine, then it wouldn't, then it would, so it's getting stuck every other time, which is really weird.

06-21-2009, 08:55 AM	#4 (permalink)
manic Mod Hardware Team Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Florida Posts: 5,251 OS: xp	Re: Possible RAM Problem Any flags in device manager? In bios is there a hardware monitor, if so check the temps, and voltages, might be a failing power supply. Find out who made the hdd,,go to makers website, download and run diagnostic on drive..Still could be ram, run memtest, free download do a google, run test with one stick at a time..... Also while in bios make sure usb 2.0 is turned on, check all options for usb, something may not be working to its full potential... Write down what errors the bluc screen is showing, usually at the end of all the numbers there will be something we can understand, ie, nv.dll stopped, ati.dll, system32halted, etc... __________________