Failing After POST

[ChevyChe 23]

Hey guys, so my friend sold me an HP Pavilion Elite for $40 because it kept hitting the BSOD on boot and just got a new computer. I took it home, booted it up and hit the BSOD right after it says "Windows loading." I decided to run an Ubuntu Live CD and that froze. All of this made me think it was an issue with the memory since it booted fine.

I put in Memtest86 and at the 1min 26sec mark, it states failure. The RAM is 2 512MB sticks and 2 1GB sticks. I then tested each stick individually. Each 512MB stick, in different slots, only lasted 5 seconds after two attempts each. Same thing with the 1GB sticks, but they last 46 seconds each test.

I'm also using my HDTV as a monitor via HDMI as I planned on using this PC as a HTPC and don't have a computer monitor. I mention this because I get some weird colorization going on. The white text at POST will turn pink, or there will be horizontal bars. It seems to change when I move around the cable, even though I have used multiple cables.

I have no clue what to do now as I don't have other RAM sticks to test with or a different motherboard to test the sticks I have now. Any help will be appreciated. Thanks.

Edit: In Memtest86, on test 3 it goes to 26577 back to 0 and counts back up to 26577 constantly. I also forgot to mention when I get the BSOD the computer automatically reboots back to POST.

 

[house70]

It could be a memory problem, or a mobo problem. You could start by testing the memory sticks on a different machine, if you have one available. If same errors with Memtest, then it's the memory's fault. If not, it's the mobo.

 

[rolli59]

Most likely the motherboard since all ram failed and video issues presuming it has IGP, could be as well the PSU not sending correct voltages.