Memory causing crashing?

[Jonlandy]

I have been experiencing random crashing for several months. I have done a reformat and fresh install of Windows XP, and that did not seem to help. I have taken out apps and tested, and still experienced crashing. I recently replaced my PS, but still have crashing. As I mentioned, the crashing is completely random- it can occur during web-surfing, game-playing, cd ripping or even sometimes when I have no activity, and the crashing causes a system re-boot.(I hear the power-off click when the system crashes- its not silent like when you click on restart) Now I am thinking that I may have bad memory, or perhaps a bad mobo. I have an ASUS A7N8X deluxe, and have 768 (3x256) mb crucial ram, pc2700. Tonight when I get home I will try memtest and Sandra SiSoft, but am wondering if there is anything else I can test? I figured I would buy 1G of pc3200 ram since it is so cheap now, but want to make sure I really need new ram. Any help is greatly appreciated! Thanks!
PS- I have the latest Bios, videocard(ATI Radeon 9500) and nForce drivers installed, but I uninstalled XP SP2 when it caused half my stuff to stop working!)

 

[Rugger]

Please list complete system specs - including mfr/model of your PSU. A few questions for you:
1. What are your case/CPU temps?
2. What are your systems voltages on the 3.3V, 5V and 12V lines?
3. How did you remove the old nVidia drivers before you installed the new drivers?
4. Are you getting a BSOD? If yes, then list the error codes that you receive on system lockup. If no, then disable auto reboot and let us know the error codes next time your system locks.
5. Have you checked for <A HREF="http://www.motherboardrepair.com/index.php?sec=images" target="_new">Bad capacitors</A> on the mobo?

In addition to Sandra, make a bootable floppy with <A HREF="http://www.majorgeeks.com/download4226.html" target="_new">Memtest86+</A>. Actually, run Memtest86 first and if it runs stable, then do Sandra in Windows.

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<font color=red>You're a boil on the arse of progress - don't make me squeeze you!</font color=red>

 

[BrentUnitedMem]

From our tech support files:
-----------------------------------------
As Asus A7V8X-X is concerned, it only supports DDR 333 with CL2.5, while other DDR 400 is CL3.

This problem also happens to other MBs which support only DDR333 with CL2.5 because the bios can’t support module with CL3.

Some of the manufacturers have released a new bios to ease the problem but a few others have not.

As ASUS A7N8X-E is concerned, it is built with nforce chipset. The nforce chipset does have a compatibility problem with some modules but this problem is going to be solved soon.

It is best to use a new model of DDR400 which has no compatibility problem with the nforce chipset.
-----------------------------------------

There are other known problems with this board.
For your case, check the latency of the modules and make sure they are CL2.5.

Also check for any BIOS updates.

____________________________________________________
"Memory with lifetime warranty? So, whose lifetime is that?"
<A HREF="http://www.brentcrowley.com/" target="_new">homepage</A>

 

[Rugger]

*whistling*
*Takes one large step back out of the way*


__________________________________________________
<font color=red>You're a boil on the arse of progress - don't make me squeeze you!</font color=red>

 

[BrentUnitedMem]

3 sticks of 256MB is not a healthy memory setup in general. And since the ASUS A7N8X is particularly picky, you might want to explore some different memory setups.

I would recommend using double sided modules (most 256MB are single sided). Use one or two sticks, but not three.

____________________________________________________
"Memory with lifetime warranty? So, whose lifetime is that?"
<A HREF="http://www.brentcrowley.com/" target="_new">homepage</A>

 

[Jonlandy]

OK, I ran Memtest and got a failure in test#5 each time (I ran the tests 7 times). These failures are always at the same 2 addresses. Also, here are some more system specs as requested by Rugger:
Case/mobo temp- 71F
CPU temp- 111F

Voltages are:
3.3v - 3.21
5v - 4.86
12v - 12.41

I removed the old nvidia drivers using "Add/Remove Programs" control panel. The crashing was occuring prior to the nvidia upgrade
Every once in a while, the system will get a BSOD when rebooting after a crash. It flashes off after about 3 seconds, and reboots again (and boots into Windows successfuly), but I have read something in the BSOD about a serious error in Windows Logon module (or something close to that). How do I disable auto reboot- I don't see that option anywhere in my bios?

I have not yet checked for bad capacitors.

Does the above memtest result indicate a bad memory module? The Memtest readme indicated that Athlons (I have an XP 2400) sometimes cause errors in test 5, but good quality ram is OK. I have Crucial, and though it had a great reputation for reliability.
PS- my memory is PC2100, not PC2700 as I stated earlier.

Thanks again for the help and suggestions!

Jon

 

[Rugger]

Temps/volts look good. Next time use something like <A HREF="http://content.guru3d.com/index.php?page=detonatorrip&menu=0" target="_new">Detonator RIP</A> to remove nVidia drivers or remove the video card in the device manager, reboot and install new drivers.

To disable auto restart go to: Control panel - system - Advanced Tab. Under Startup and Recovery, click settings. Under System Failure, check the boxes that you want Windows to perform if a stop error occurs. Check "Write an event to the system log" and make sure that "Automatically Reboot" is not checked.

Possibly bad memory. Try Memtest with only one module installed at a time and see if you get the error on one or all. If no errors, then try two sticks at a time. And follow Brents advice on memory setup. Did you check the latency for your memory?

__________________________________________________
<font color=red>You're a boil on the arse of progress - don't make me squeeze you!</font color=red>

 

[BrentUnitedMem]

I just finished testing a system today that was crashing randomly. Sure enough Memtest86 showed two separate memory errors. After switching the memory with a module that showed no errors on Memtest86, the problems disappeared.

The Memtest errors do not indicate the memory is bad. Memtest86 is not a program that is used to determine memory compatibility; only a motherboard test can determine this. A memory test that tests for open/short is used to determind bad memory.

Many cheaper brands of memory are tested with fewer memory parameters to keep the costs down. These kinds of memory are ok for normal desktop use; a few errors won't hurt. Memory with higher standards in testing not only perform better but also have a wider range of compatibility. These types of modules will show fewer errors on Memtest, if any at all.

To keep a long story short, I replaced the memory with some quality Infineon original sticks (major brand). No more crashes!

In your case I have a feeling your problem is entirely memory related. Try replacing the memory with something better (i.e major brand double sided modules if possible)

I need a dollar for everytime I post this:
CONSISTENT QUALITY MEMORY CHIPS: (Micron, Samsung, Infineon, Hynix)



____________________________________________________
"Memory with lifetime warranty? So, whose lifetime is that?"
<A HREF="http://www.brentcrowley.com/" target="_new">homepage</A>

 

[Jonlandy]

I did check the latency, and it was running as prescribed ( I haven't o/c'd my memory or changed the timings at all. CAS latency is 2.5, which is what these sticks are rated) Tomorrow I'll try testing the mem modules individually, and in pairs. I think that if indeed even just one of the sticks is bad, then I'll simply purchase new memory, given that my mobo only has 3 slots, and it seems like using only 2 in dual-channel mode will be better. In that case, would 2 sticks of 512mb PC3200 be OK for my mobo? I believe it supports up to PC3200 and 400mhz for memory.
PS- I was under the impression that Micron and Crucial were the same manufacturer, and that Crucial is a well respected brand. Is that incorrect? I don't want to skimp on new memory, but I don't want to pay a huge premium if I don't have to, either. Are the "value" series by Mushkin, Corsair etc. any good?

 

[Jonlandy]

OK- here's what I found out (I think!) It seems that 1 of the 3 memory modules is the one causing the memtest errors. Interestingly, when I tested each module by itself, I had no errors, but when I ran all three together, or two in dual-channel mode, one particular stick was the culprit. ( I know this because there are two that work perfectly together, but the third(defective) one causes errors when paired with either of the others.)
So- I could take the cheap way out, which would be to buy another 256mb module of the crucial PC2100 memory (or perhaps even get them to replace it, since it has a lifetime warranty), and do a direct replacement of the bad one, or I can bite the bullet and upgrade to faster (and more) RAM. And it would just be two sticks. So this leads to a couple of questions-
1- will upgrading to PC3200 from PC2100 yield noticable performance gains, given that I have an nForce 2 chipset, and that I would be increasing ram from 768m to 1 gig, as well as going from 3 to 2 memory sticks?

2- since Corsair, Samsung and TwinMos are all on the QVL for the Asus A7N8x deluxe, and I probably won't try to o/c the memory (I mainly want stablity), is there a compelling reason for me to pay the significantly extra dough for Samsung or Corsair, rather than the TwinMos?
Thanks in advance for the advice- it all helps a lot!

<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by Jonlandy on 03/24/05 02:34 AM.</EM></FONT></P>