Help! Prime 95 error! :(

[govtcheez75]

Help! Prime 95 Error!

I just got done building my first computer (except for the dual channel ram coming tomorrow):
Here are the vitals:
Barton 2500+
Geil pc3200 256mb
Biostar M7NCD Pro
CoolerMaster Aero 7+

...I don't have anything overclocked. I just wanted to get some testing done do check load temperature after just having installed my new HSF.
Everytime I have run Prime 95 so far (4 or 5 times), I get this error:

"FATAL ERROR: Rounding was 0.49999xxxxxx, expected less than 0.4
Harware failure detected, consult stress.txt file.
Execution Halted.
Choose Test/Continue to restart."



....does this mean that there is something wrong with my Processor? It's not running hot at all. The temperatures are 36.5* idle 52* load so far.

....am I not supposed to do anything while the test is running? I was surfing the web, and ran Sandra a few times before the prime 95 error.

...do I need more ram than 256mb to run this test well?

....please help! I want to know what the problem is. If there is something wrong with the processor, can I return it to Newegg, or AMD? It is pretty new, and a AQXEA stepping.

 

[Corporate Thug]

how long does it go before it errors out? i suspect the ram. run memtest

 

[govtcheez75]

Originally posted by: shady06
how long does it go before it errors out? i suspect the ram. run memtest

it goes for about 5 minutes before the errors in the regular test, and about 20 seconds in the torture test.

...oh yeah. I don't think I can run memtest86. I don't have a floppy, and according to the directions, I need a floppy?!?

 

[RamIt]

Originally posted by: govtcheez75

Originally posted by: shady06
how long does it go before it errors out? i suspect the ram. run memtest

it goes for about 5 minutes before the errors in the regular test, and about 20 seconds in the torture test.

...oh yeah. I don't think I can run memtest86. I don't have a floppy, and according to the directions, I need a floppy?!?

If you have a burner they have a bootable iso.

 

[Maskirovka]

i'm currently messing with overclocking my p4 2.4c....

when i go to 3.0ghz i get this error as well...regardless of ram timings...everything runs fine at 2.89ghz with agressive ram timings.

i have no idea why this happens either...but maybe this info will help someone else tell why

 

[govtcheez75]

Originally posted by: RamIt

Originally posted by: govtcheez75

Originally posted by: shady06
how long does it go before it errors out? i suspect the ram. run memtest

it goes for about 5 minutes before the errors in the regular test, and about 20 seconds in the torture test.

...oh yeah. I don't think I can run memtest86. I don't have a floppy, and according to the directions, I need a floppy?!?

If you have a burner they have a bootable iso.

Can you just burn that file onto a CDR? I'm not too familiar with iso files.

 

[pelikan]

I bet its the Geil.
You can use nero to make a memtest86 cd. There's a version of memtest86 with the iso file included.

 

[MikEHunT2]

Unfortunately it does mean there is a problem with something in your hardware, and i would too say it is cpu/memory.
Prime95's torture test actually tests your pc against already known results, so any error returned by your pc does mean that you have pushed things too far with your overclocking.
I could not run Prime95 with my cpu over the 3.0 Ghz mark either, even though it was Windows stable, i still wanted it stable proper.
If you are getting errors with no overclocking at all, then you need to imho try default bios settings as it could be memory timings too aggressive.
If you set bios to shall we say normal safe settings, and you still get errors, then is it possible for you to try different memory? Or perhaps try only one stick of ram?

 

[govtcheez75]

well...I got some new Buffalo memory from Marmaduke this morning and installed them. I ran the "torture test" and it ran fine for about 20 minutes before I had to leave the house to come to school. I kept it running (it's running now). It looks like it WAS the ram (so far). It's still running kinda warm which is bothering me. It's nice a cool in my house, and the CPU temp on Sandra read 52 degrees when I left home.

 

[Maskirovka]

hrm...maybe it's my ram too...unfortunately i don't have any other ram to test...

 

[seismik]

Search the net and you will find memtestx86 images you can use to make bootable CDs. Better than a floppy anyway.

If you're running DDR RAM, try testing each stick seperately assuming you have two (which you will if you're running DDR properly). Even quality brand name RAM can be bad, I spent a bunch on Corsair PC3500 and found one of my sticks to be bad. A prompt RMA and almost all was fixed. It turned out my memory timings were a little too aggressive as well, so I had to turn those down.

After getting a better stick of RAM and playing with my timings I was able to get rid of that Prime95 error you guys are getting.

 

[Maskirovka]

Originally posted by: seismik
Search the net and you will find memtestx86 images you can use to make bootable CDs. Better than a floppy anyway.

If you're running DDR RAM, try testing each stick seperately assuming you have two (which you will if you're running DDR properly). Even quality brand name RAM can be bad, I spent a bunch on Corsair PC3500 and found one of my sticks to be bad. A prompt RMA and almost all was fixed. It turned out my memory timings were a little too aggressive as well, so I had to turn those down.

After getting a better stick of RAM and playing with my timings I was able to get rid of that Prime95 error you guys are getting.

ha...i had a bad stick of corsair pc3500 as well. RMA soon i took out the bad stick and the error is gone...and my overclocks are more stable