How do you troubleshoot XP problems?

[GratefullySaved]

Hi all,

I think my XP is crashing because of a bad stick of RAM, but how do I troubleshoot this? I have one stick of Micron Technology 512 MB 2100 DDr Ram I just bought, and I can only think that this new stick (replaced two sticks of 256 - returned to Best Buy) is the culprit. I'm getting blue screen crashes during use, during re-install, etc with messages that always reference an "address" and much mumbo jumbo. Are these memory address issues?

All help is GREATLY appreciated, as I'm sick of being my own IT guy. I'm just not smart enough to handle the non-mac troubleshooting. (I'm a mac guy)

Thanks sincerely,

GS

 

[Tiger]

If the memory is the only thing that's changed on the machine and you start getting BSOD's it's the first place I'd look.
The way to test is replace the stick with a known good one and see what happens.
All of this assumes you haven't changed any OS settings or installed new drivers in the meantime.

 

[resinboy]

download Doc Memory HERE
Run the exe, save to a floppy, run in DOS. Takes a while.

 

[ProviaFan]

The best way to test your memory is to download the ISO of Memtest86 and boot off that. If your system passes all of the tests, your RAM is probably ok.