Blue Screen of Death After Adding Memory

Attache

Distinguished
Mar 6, 2010
4
0
18,510
I recently added 4GB of memory for a total of 8GB to a system I had built about 6-8 weeks ago. I've gotten the BSOD about five times since the upgrade. A couple times was while running the MMO City of Heroes but three times were just doing other ordinary things - opening Firefox, clicking on the Documents folder, etc. The BSOD isn't up long enough for me to write down any details before the system reboots but I did copy three of the error messages I get when I log back on:

Problem signature:
Problem Event Name: BlueScreen
OS Version: 6.1.7600.2.0.0.256.48
Locale ID: 1033

Additional information about the problem:
BCCode: 3b
BCP1: 00000000C0000005
BCP2: FFFFF80002ACA170
BCP3: FFFFF8800A29E920
BCP4: 0000000000000000
OS Version: 6_1_7600
Service Pack: 0_0
Product: 256_1


Problem signature:
Problem Event Name: BlueScreen
OS Version: 6.1.7600.2.0.0.256.48
Locale ID: 1033

Additional information about the problem:
BCCode: 4e
BCP1: 0000000000000099
BCP2: 0000000000106FD1
BCP3: 0000000000000002
BCP4: 00000000000CFB63
OS Version: 6_1_7600
Service Pack: 0_0
Product: 256_1



Problem signature:
Problem Event Name: BlueScreen
OS Version: 6.1.7600.2.0.0.256.48
Locale ID: 1033

Additional information about the problem:
BCCode: 109
BCP1: A3A039D8988544FA
BCP2: B3B7465EEB021738
BCP3: FFFFF80002AF7730
BCP4: 0000000000000001
OS Version: 6_1_7600
Service Pack: 0_0
Product: 256_1

I tried the solutions recommended by Windows 7. I ran their memory test which indicated that the memory was good and did some driver updates but I still got another BSOD today running City of Heroes.

The memory I added was the exact same memory I had put into the system during the build: Corsair TWIN2X4096-6400C5C 4GB XMS2 PC2-6400 800Mhz 240-pin Dual Channel DDR2. As stated, I'm running Windows 7 on an Intel Core2 Quad CPU. The motherboard is a Gigabyte EP43-UD3L and it has run like a dream until this issue. The memory was mail ordered so I'd hate to have to return it because that is always a pain and the Win 7 memory test didn't indicate a problem. Any help that anyone could offer would be much appreciated.

As you can probably tell, I really only know enough about computers to get myself into trouble. Laughably, people at my office are always coming to me with their computer glitches because I know a little bit the various Office Suite programs and I think that sometimes convinces me that I'm cooler than I actually am. I wasn't really sure what information was needed...so if any of you need something else to help advise me, let me know. Thanks in advance.

A.

EDIT: Just an updated question. I thought I might need to update my BIOS so when I started to check on Gigabyte's site, they needed a lot of information about the motherboard that basically seems to require that the motherboard actually not be installed...which seems insane. I'm not sure how I'm supposed to find these various version numbers etc. on a motherboard that is blocked by a number of other components and the documentation seems to be just a generic pamphlet that must put in with all the motherboards of a certain model. Does anyone know a way to find out information about a motherboard that doesn't involve having it actually in your hands and being able to examine it with a magnifying glass?
 
Solution
When you add two more sticks additional voltage might be needed for the ram slots.
In the bios, up the voltage from 1.8 to 1.9 and see how you do. You possibly might need 2.0 which is OK for those sticks.

CPU-Z will tell you your motherboard revision level which you will need to get the proper bios update. It will also be on the label of the box the motherboard came in. It is also on the motherboard PCB, but it may be obscured by parts. Do not update your bios unless it will fix a problem you have. A failed bios update can brick your motherboard.

Do try memtest86+ . It is a bootable floppy or iso image which you burn to a cd. You should be able to run at least a full pass with NO errors.

Ultimate_Destructo

Distinguished
Jan 22, 2010
108
0
18,690
The only way to test all your memory is before boot. Use memtest (http://www.memtest.org/). Also check in the bios to see if dual-channel is on. Ideally you want it on, but if the memory modules aren't identically, it can cause problems. If the problem goes away with dual-channel off then I recommend buying a pair or two of ram.
 

Attache

Distinguished
Mar 6, 2010
4
0
18,510


Thanks for the reply. I had checked out memtest but found the site not so newbie friendly (I wasn't really sure what do download, then do, etc.) but I'll give it another look and take my time to figure it out. My four memory slots are full and all four chips are identical as stated in the original post. I did pop into BIOS and couldn't even find the place to enable/disable dual-channel for the RAM and I think I went through everything. However, I'll check it again.

I did notice that the voltage assigned to DRAM was 1.800V and that this subject has come up in other posts with similar problems. Would 1.800V be enough for 4 chips of DDR2? I didn't alter it because I thought that should be enough as per things I've read but let me know if this is misguided. I really want to try to solve this problem so if I need to put up some more information, let me knew. Thanks.

A.
 

lothdk

Distinguished
Jan 20, 2010
881
0
19,160

Download CPU-Z and look at the Mainboard pane.
 
When you add two more sticks additional voltage might be needed for the ram slots.
In the bios, up the voltage from 1.8 to 1.9 and see how you do. You possibly might need 2.0 which is OK for those sticks.

CPU-Z will tell you your motherboard revision level which you will need to get the proper bios update. It will also be on the label of the box the motherboard came in. It is also on the motherboard PCB, but it may be obscured by parts. Do not update your bios unless it will fix a problem you have. A failed bios update can brick your motherboard.

Do try memtest86+ . It is a bootable floppy or iso image which you burn to a cd. You should be able to run at least a full pass with NO errors.
 
Solution

Attache

Distinguished
Mar 6, 2010
4
0
18,510
At the risk of jinxing myself, I think it was indeed a voltage issue. I upped it to 2.0 as daship and you suggested and haven't had a reoccurance yet. Knock on wood.

However, I will still run memtest86+ to double-check. Thank you all for the help. Hopefully, the problem is solved.

A.

EDIT: And thanks to lothdk for the suggestion of CPU-Z. I think that will come in handy.