Memory Errors, but it can't be dead ram.. can it?

[Coldkilla]

Most of our games on our PC don't work. If they do work, they crash shortly after the start, even if no actions are taken (in game) and we just sit there. (Example: Garrys Mod, Half Life 2, etc).

Some of the the errors had errors about memory couldn't be "read"..

0X0F9A0454
0X1368150F
0X1390150F
0X0FBB0454

I have 1 2GB stick of (GEIL) ram. The first stick was DOA and we've been using the second one since then. But other than just thinking that the second stick is broken, we tried 2 good sticks from our other PC (Corsair). The 2 sticks were 1x1GB.

However, when the PC has this RAM inside of it... the OS ether freezes during loading (The Windows Boot Loading screen) or remains black just before loading to desktop...With our other stick, the desktop almost always loads and we are able to log in and use the internet etc.

What could be causing this odd issue? Thanks

 

[mpilchfamily]

You probably have a multi layer problem here. Chances are teh RAM is bad. As a rusult the bad RAM may have currupted data before it was writen back to the HDD causing the software to be currupted. First thing you need to do is run Memtest to check the RAM for errors. If it finds allot of errors the RAM needs to be replaced. Next you may want to perform a repair install of windows to correct any possible issues.

 

[mechBgon]

Also ensure that you've set the memory voltage to what the RAM is built for. If you have "vanilla" RAM, use the default voltage (2.5 volts for DDR, 1.8 volts for DDR2) or maybe go 0.1V higher. If you have fancy RAM that's spec'ed for significantly more voltage than default, don't starve it... go into the BIOS and set the voltage manually.

 

[Coldkilla]

We've already reinstalled windows... and even the good ram (the ram we use on our other gaming computer), has problems with this PC (as stated in the original post).

We'll try memtest later tonight before we go to sleep, but I don't see how that will change much considering "good" ram from our other PC doesn't really prove to be much better.

 

[mpilchfamily]

Then check the system temps. The chipset may be overheating or could be going bad.

 

[scruffypup]

These type of errors often don't signify the actual memory as being bad. It could be from lots of things.

A few things,... did you format and reinstall windows or just reinstall over the top,... if you reinstalled over the top that will do little to identify anything,.... either do some actual troubleshooting. If you were able to do a full reinstall and just over the top,... hard to imagine it is ram since that often would cause issues during reintall,....

Like does this error occur doing specific things? Does it occur in safe mode? If you used msconfig and turn off everything in startup, does it happen? You can do a format and reinstall if you have nothing important,...

This could be a symptom of software or other hardware issues,... it pays to do some further investigating,...

Edit - Also if it is mainly in games,... have you uninstalled and reinstalled those games? Scanned the harddrive for errors? I could go on as there are many causes,...

 

[mechBgon]

Could also be the memory voltage, like this guy: http://forums.anandtech.com/me...=2269945&enterthread=y It's worth looking at. Dodge Viper + low-octane gas, what do you think will happen?

 

[0roo0roo]

mem test always....and perhaps run the mem test on another pc as well. eliminate the sticks

 

[Zap]

What CPU? I've seen some A64 chips with failing memory controllers.

 

[Coldkilla]

1. The system was formatted.
2. The issue also occurs in safemode.
3. Memtest passed.
4. My friend brought his motherboard over and everything worked perfectly fine. (During the 3 hours we tested it and let it run).