I built this system back in July 2006 with 100% parts from newegg, including Windows XP Pro. It has an Abit KN9 SLI socket AM2 board with an Athlon 64 X2 4200+ (windsor) and Crucial Ballistix 1GB (2x 512MB) DDR2-800 RAM. I had to manually put the RAM voltage from 1.8v to 2.2v in the BIOS, and I've also flashed the BIOS with the latest version (up to v1.8 at this time). Otherwise, the RAM settings are their defaults, which aren't pushing the RAM as fast as it can really go. I really just wanted stability when I ordered all this. I put a Gigabyte GeForce 7600GS in which is fanless, and an Antec TruePower-II 480W which has a 120mm fan. The case has two other 120mm fans, just to be quieter than using an 80mm anywhere. Other than considerations for less noise, there isn't much unsual about this system.
So here is where the fun starts.
Back in October, the system started randomly crashing. Programs would just terminate for no reason, and eventually the system wouldn't even boot sometimes. I suspected the RAM from the start, and even booted to memtest86 with a Knoppix CD, which showed the RAM as failing usually. Leaving the system off for a few minutes and turning it back on, and it would stop failing memtest86 for a while, and I could boot into Windows and use the system again. Eventually though, the computer would just give the no-RAM beeps on startup, and I could tell from swapping the sticks out that one was bad, and the other was not. From there, I could use the system with just 512MB of RAM for a while. To send the RAM back to newegg would mean sending them both back, since it was a pair, so I ordered another 1GB kit (of 2x 512MB sticks). When I received those, I sent back the original two. When I got the replacement for the bad RAM, I just added i back in to have a total of 2GB (4x 512MB).
Eventually though, the system started having problems again. Starting in January I started keeping a log of when things crash and trying other things, such as using just one of the two pairs of RAM. I kept track of the serial numbers of the RAM sticks using CPU-Z. The most annoying thing really is that the crashes are so spaced out. The system can go days without any issues at times.
The first two sticks, which I no longer have, where 87085B8A and 83021F4B.
The second pair of sticks I ordered directly are 83024346 and 8901861E.
The replacement pair from RMAing the first pair are 8901E13C and 8708D7FE.
Here is my log:
trying with just slot 1 & 2 in (83024346 / 8901861E)
starting Jan 17 4pm
Jan 23 9am, reboot for no reason
Jan 24 3pm, flash plugin randomly crashing
Jan 26 1am, firefox randomly crashed 3 times, thunderbird crashed, random reboot
Jan 26 1:30am, flash plugin crashing again, copy+paste doesn't work
Jan 26 3pm, quicktime randomly crashed, firefox crashed, wmp crashes repeatedly
Jan 29 2pm, media player crashed, reboot for no reason
Jan 30 2pm, media player classic crashed, windows crashed when trying to shutdown
swapped ram on Jan 30 2pm
trying with just slot 1 & 2 in (8901E13C / 8708D7FE)
Jan 30 2pm, on startup, auto updates crashed
Jan 31 3pm, reboot for no reason?
Feb 12 6pm, Protection Error 68 in movie folder
Feb 13 1am, Protection Error 80 in random data folder on *.dat file
Feb 13 10pm, MSWMP plugin just not showing up in Firefox
Feb 17 1pm, winlogin.exe crashed, freeze on each reboot for a while
Feb 17 10pm, freeze/black screen, failed to reboot at first
Feb 18 11am, firefox/thunderbird both crashed, memory could not be read, freeze trying to unlock computer
Feb 18 4pm, Firefox crashed, Thunderbird crashed, Firefox crashed
Feb 18 8pm, Explorer wouldn't change to thumbnail view, Sent To did nothing
tried 2.1v instead of 2.2v for DDR2 at Feb 18 8pm
Feb 18 8pm, After reboot, ipoint32.exe crashed on startup, then Generic Host Process for Win32 Services crashed
tried 2.3v for DDR2 and disabled power management at Feb 18 8pm
Feb 18 11pm, Firefox crashed, Thunderbird crashed
tried cleaning dust, air filter, upping fan speed a bit at Feb 19 midnight
adding back other two sticks into slot 3 & 4
trying with all slots filled (8901E13C / 8708D7FE / 83024346 / 8901861E)
Feb 19 5pm, Firefox crashed
Updated bios on KN9 SLI from 1.6 to 1.8 at Feb 19 9pm
Feb 21 11am, Thunderbird crashed
Feb 21 7pm, dwwin.exe - Application Error, svchost.exe - Application Error twice, dwwin.exe - Application Error, XP theme gone
Upped memory clock settings 1 cycle each, upped voltage 1 setting at Feb 19 7pm
Feb 23 4pm, Acrobat plugin crashed, Paint Shop Pro crashed, Firefox crashed
Disabled AMD Cool'n'Quiet in BIOS at Feb 23 5pm
Feb 24 1pm, Spontaneous reboot
Mar 7 12am, Thunderbird keeps crashing
Mar 8 11am, No-RAM beeps on startup after computer froze
trying with just slot 1 & 2 in (8901E13C / 8708D7FE)
Mar 8 8pm, Spontaneous reboot
Mar 8 8pm, Firefox crashed
Mar 9 10am, Spontaneous reboot
Mar 9 11am, Firefox crashed, reboot, Firefox crashed
So now the big question. I'm really unsure of what is the problem.
It could be any of these at least:
(1) Bad RAM again, with at least one stick from each of the pairs of RAM I have. Perhaps Crucial had a bad run and I got unlucky.
(2) The RAM just doesn't work with this Abit board, no matter what, and I have to buy a different brand of RAM. Weird, but maybe.
(3) The motherboard or CPU is going bad, and no RAM was ever bad to begin with. It just looks like RAM errors even in memtest86.
So here is where the fun starts.
Back in October, the system started randomly crashing. Programs would just terminate for no reason, and eventually the system wouldn't even boot sometimes. I suspected the RAM from the start, and even booted to memtest86 with a Knoppix CD, which showed the RAM as failing usually. Leaving the system off for a few minutes and turning it back on, and it would stop failing memtest86 for a while, and I could boot into Windows and use the system again. Eventually though, the computer would just give the no-RAM beeps on startup, and I could tell from swapping the sticks out that one was bad, and the other was not. From there, I could use the system with just 512MB of RAM for a while. To send the RAM back to newegg would mean sending them both back, since it was a pair, so I ordered another 1GB kit (of 2x 512MB sticks). When I received those, I sent back the original two. When I got the replacement for the bad RAM, I just added i back in to have a total of 2GB (4x 512MB).
Eventually though, the system started having problems again. Starting in January I started keeping a log of when things crash and trying other things, such as using just one of the two pairs of RAM. I kept track of the serial numbers of the RAM sticks using CPU-Z. The most annoying thing really is that the crashes are so spaced out. The system can go days without any issues at times.
The first two sticks, which I no longer have, where 87085B8A and 83021F4B.
The second pair of sticks I ordered directly are 83024346 and 8901861E.
The replacement pair from RMAing the first pair are 8901E13C and 8708D7FE.
Here is my log:
trying with just slot 1 & 2 in (83024346 / 8901861E)
starting Jan 17 4pm
Jan 23 9am, reboot for no reason
Jan 24 3pm, flash plugin randomly crashing
Jan 26 1am, firefox randomly crashed 3 times, thunderbird crashed, random reboot
Jan 26 1:30am, flash plugin crashing again, copy+paste doesn't work
Jan 26 3pm, quicktime randomly crashed, firefox crashed, wmp crashes repeatedly
Jan 29 2pm, media player crashed, reboot for no reason
Jan 30 2pm, media player classic crashed, windows crashed when trying to shutdown
swapped ram on Jan 30 2pm
trying with just slot 1 & 2 in (8901E13C / 8708D7FE)
Jan 30 2pm, on startup, auto updates crashed
Jan 31 3pm, reboot for no reason?
Feb 12 6pm, Protection Error 68 in movie folder
Feb 13 1am, Protection Error 80 in random data folder on *.dat file
Feb 13 10pm, MSWMP plugin just not showing up in Firefox
Feb 17 1pm, winlogin.exe crashed, freeze on each reboot for a while
Feb 17 10pm, freeze/black screen, failed to reboot at first
Feb 18 11am, firefox/thunderbird both crashed, memory could not be read, freeze trying to unlock computer
Feb 18 4pm, Firefox crashed, Thunderbird crashed, Firefox crashed
Feb 18 8pm, Explorer wouldn't change to thumbnail view, Sent To did nothing
tried 2.1v instead of 2.2v for DDR2 at Feb 18 8pm
Feb 18 8pm, After reboot, ipoint32.exe crashed on startup, then Generic Host Process for Win32 Services crashed
tried 2.3v for DDR2 and disabled power management at Feb 18 8pm
Feb 18 11pm, Firefox crashed, Thunderbird crashed
tried cleaning dust, air filter, upping fan speed a bit at Feb 19 midnight
adding back other two sticks into slot 3 & 4
trying with all slots filled (8901E13C / 8708D7FE / 83024346 / 8901861E)
Feb 19 5pm, Firefox crashed
Updated bios on KN9 SLI from 1.6 to 1.8 at Feb 19 9pm
Feb 21 11am, Thunderbird crashed
Feb 21 7pm, dwwin.exe - Application Error, svchost.exe - Application Error twice, dwwin.exe - Application Error, XP theme gone
Upped memory clock settings 1 cycle each, upped voltage 1 setting at Feb 19 7pm
Feb 23 4pm, Acrobat plugin crashed, Paint Shop Pro crashed, Firefox crashed
Disabled AMD Cool'n'Quiet in BIOS at Feb 23 5pm
Feb 24 1pm, Spontaneous reboot
Mar 7 12am, Thunderbird keeps crashing
Mar 8 11am, No-RAM beeps on startup after computer froze
trying with just slot 1 & 2 in (8901E13C / 8708D7FE)
Mar 8 8pm, Spontaneous reboot
Mar 8 8pm, Firefox crashed
Mar 9 10am, Spontaneous reboot
Mar 9 11am, Firefox crashed, reboot, Firefox crashed
So now the big question. I'm really unsure of what is the problem.
It could be any of these at least:
(1) Bad RAM again, with at least one stick from each of the pairs of RAM I have. Perhaps Crucial had a bad run and I got unlucky.
(2) The RAM just doesn't work with this Abit board, no matter what, and I have to buy a different brand of RAM. Weird, but maybe.
(3) The motherboard or CPU is going bad, and no RAM was ever bad to begin with. It just looks like RAM errors even in memtest86.
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