OS Won't Stay Stable... *ordered new RAM*

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Lifer
Dec 26, 2001
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This is the most irritating problem....

Last Sunday, my install of Win2k crashed... started giving random BSOD's concerning the NT kernel, system32.sys file, etc.etc.. so I reinstalled it Monday night. Again... it didn't work. Installed one last time later Monday; finally it stayed stable, until today... I've never been so frustrated in my life.

What in the world could be causing the kernel and other system files to repeatedly become corrupted? The only two things I can think of would be either my RAM or my hard drive... neither of which I would like to replace... what do y'all think?
 
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nihil

Golden Member
Feb 13, 2002
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i think you're probably right about the hard drive or mem being bad.

here's what i would do:
scan for virii
test your memory using this program link
and test your hdd using the utilities providing by the specific manufacturer of the drive

good luck

Edit: also, try a google search for the specific errors you are receiving. or try microsoft support.
 
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Yomama21

Member
May 22, 2002
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You're right with the memory going bad. I've had a few installs where some of the commonly used system files end up getting corrupt, and 9 times out of 10 its the memory.
 
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Lifer
Dec 26, 2001
27,631
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Well, now it won't even get past my IDE PCI card's BIOS loadup... I think the hdd finally went bellyup.

Thinking about seeing if I can rush-deliver a 20gig drive from Newegg.
 
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Lifer
Dec 26, 2001
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*sigh* Well, I'll give this one a shot... I'm wondering if it might be my power supply. I noticed, over a period of time, a severe degradation of my system's resources and processor capacity... I'm wondering if that might be it. Any thoughts?
 
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Lifer
Dec 26, 2001
27,631
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Originally posted by: Zakath15
*sigh* Well, I'll give this one a shot... I'm wondering if it might be my power supply. I noticed, over a period of time, a severe degradation of my system's resources and processor capacity... I'm wondering if that might be it. Any thoughts?
Click to expand...

One last time???
 
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DaiShan

Diamond Member
Jul 5, 2001
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I was thinking PSU myself at first, however it depends on how much you have in there, and is the system stable with only a hard drive, video card, cpu and RAM? If it is, and it becomes less and less stable the more things you add, I would think PSU. The corrupt files could also indicate a hard drive going bad, having trouble installing normally points to memory, I would run memtest86 for a few hours on the RAM to see if that could be the problem, then I would run manufacturer's diagnostics on the hard drive, if both of those check out, I would first replace the PSU as it would probably be the cheapest.
 
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Lifer
Dec 26, 2001
27,631
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Originally posted by: DaiShan
I was thinking PSU myself at first, however it depends on how much you have in there, and is the system stable with only a hard drive, video card, cpu and RAM? If it is, and it becomes less and less stable the more things you add, I would think PSU. The corrupt files could also indicate a hard drive going bad, having trouble installing normally points to memory, I would run memtest86 for a few hours on the RAM to see if that could be the problem, then I would run manufacturer's diagnostics on the hard drive, if both of those check out, I would first replace the PSU as it would probably be the cheapest.
Click to expand...

*sigh* Busts out the troubleshooting tools... It's been a while, but I 'spose you're right... thanks!
 
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WarCon

Diamond Member
Feb 27, 2001
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Are you running a higher than normal fsb? I ask this because hard drives are susceptible to corruption from increased fsb speed.

Did you test your memory with the provided link? (Memtest-86) This is a good thorough test for your memory.

Are you running prime95 stable (at least a few hours worth) right now? If not then you might just be overclocking too much and corrupting your install.

Finally, it might be your power supply. It can cause general instability (especially in overclocking situations).

Good luck finding your problem.

P.S. Could be temperature related if you notice the most unstable times coincide with the warmest ambient temps (daytime with the sun beating down on that room).
 
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Lifer
Dec 26, 2001
27,631
5
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First off.... I tried taking everything out 'cept the essentials (vid. card, hd, cpu, ram, etc)... still froze right as Win2K reached the big bold white splash screen.

Weird thing is... swapped it into my roommate's Dell, it doesn't cut out, but it has frozen about halfway through that load up... I've never had to do "actual" tech support type stuff Win2k, I'm wondering if it's not loading because it's on a different system altogether... any thoughts?
 
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Lifer
Dec 26, 2001
27,631
5
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*sigh* 'k... well, cleared out the dust in my comp, reinstalled my hd... it works fine. Nothing shows up wacky, at all..

Dang...
 
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Lifer
Dec 26, 2001
27,631
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Go******..... nope, it's not fixed. Gave me another system file access error. "Exception Not Handled"... this is pissing me off!
 
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Lifer
Dec 26, 2001
27,631
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Originally posted by: Willoughbyva
What is your system specs?

When your comp first started to freeze up did you recently instal new drivers or anything?

Do you have any diagnostic software?

Try memory test http://www.teresaudio.com/memtest86

and post your system specs.

Will
Click to expand...

When it first started to freeze up, I'd changed nothing about the configuration of my computer - I've done several fresh reinstalls, nothing's fixing it. The thing is, Linux didn't work right, either.

I'll see if I can get that diagnostic software...
 
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Lifer
Dec 26, 2001
27,631
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Originally posted by: WarCon
I am guessing you found the problem..........:(
Click to expand...

Good freakin'... how long does this normally take to complete? I want to go take a shower, but I don't want to miss anything else...
 
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nihil

Golden Member
Feb 13, 2002
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Originally posted by: Zakath15
Well...god****... ran memtest... I'm 50% done and I have 287212 errors... holy crap!
Click to expand...

jeebus that's a lot of errors. i figured it was the ram.
 
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WarCon

Diamond Member
Feb 27, 2001
3,920
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Originally posted by: Zakath15
Originally posted by: WarCon
I am guessing you found the problem..........:(
Click to expand...

Good freakin'... how long does this normally take to complete? I want to go take a shower, but I don't want to miss anything else...
Click to expand...

It does a single pass all the way through in under 20 minutes (never timed it so not 100% sure, but somewhere in that range). It might take longer when its having this many errors though. Not sure.
 
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Lifer
Dec 26, 2001
27,631
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*sigh* I looked at it after getting back from the Mariners' game (lost to Baltimore, 3-2 :()...

There's something around 4 million separate errors. I'm gonna buy a new stick of PC2100 from Newegg tomorrow. Hopefully that's all it was.

<--- pissed at his RAM
 
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