Memory problem - Need help!

neo960 · Post by **neo960** » Thu Sep 04, 2003 8:27 pm

When I try to reboot, I get the message from the initial BIOS/RAM check screen "RAM Error: Unable to R/W".

The guy who built the PC for me seems to have cheated me. The PC is still under warranty, but the store owner has sold his business and skipped town.

Can anyone give me any advice on how to shop for memory and what brand is supposed to be reliable and good and not too expensive? I have 1 Gig of RAM which needs to be replaced. Please help!

Cypher · Post by **Cypher** » Thu Sep 04, 2003 8:55 pm

Well it does'nt seem that you're OC'ing so I would recomend Crucial. It's reliable and can perform beyond spec. Your best bet is to buy it direct from them at http://www.crucial.com

Post by **YeOldeStonecat** » Fri Sep 05, 2003 6:35 am

http://www.crucial.com

Faust · Post by **Faust** » Fri Sep 05, 2003 6:41 am

i agree with the above replies.

also, if you don;t know enough about your system to be able to use their memory selector, post back and we'll help ya out.

ppanther68 · Post by **ppanther68** » Fri Sep 05, 2003 9:21 am

Have you tried restoring defaults in the bios?, Also you might want to try to take the mem out clean the pins and reseat, sometimes this works,, take care and good luck ....

Mytflyguy · Post by **Mytflyguy** » Fri Sep 05, 2003 10:06 am

Try running Memtest86

It seems like it's already pretty definite that Memory is your issue but if you are def going to replace it , then I say ...

Originally posted by YeOldeStonecat
http://www.crucial.com

I have Crucial in my daughters 1.2 Athlon ( was mine up until a few weeks ago .

neo960 · Post by **neo960** » Fri Sep 05, 2003 7:07 pm

Thanks for the feedback guys. Appreciate it.

Edited to add:
Mytflyguy: I thought you were Norm! Did not notice the different user name until after 30 minutes.

Mytflyguy · Post by **Mytflyguy** » Fri Sep 05, 2003 10:20 pm

Norm ?? Does someone else on here have my Avatar ??

OR do I have their's ??

extreme · Post by **extreme** » Fri Sep 05, 2003 10:22 pm

Norm used to have that as his ava.

Mytflyguy · Post by **Mytflyguy** » Sat Sep 06, 2003 12:58 am

Oh ... Well sheeet ... I gotta change it now ...

Too tired to find a new one tonight though ...

neo960 · Post by **neo960** » Sat Sep 06, 2003 7:39 am

Why change it? It is a nice avatar anyway.

Norm had this ava for a loo...ong time but does not use it anymore.

Mytflyguy · Post by **Mytflyguy** » Sat Sep 06, 2003 9:51 am

Originality ...

Humboldt · Post by **Humboldt** » Sat Sep 06, 2003 5:24 pm

Orgasmic baby face

neo960 · Post by **neo960** » Sun Sep 07, 2003 5:49 pm

Originally posted by Mytflyguy
Try running Memtest86

How long does memtest86 take to complete? I let it run for a couple of hours and then shutdown the PC.....

Mytflyguy · Post by **Mytflyguy** » Sun Sep 07, 2003 8:30 pm

Are you sayign you let it run for a couple hours then you shut down the PC ? or the Program did ?

Supposedly you only need to really make one good Full pass ( 7 tests I think ) ...

I would guess that after a couple hours you would get about 3-5 Passes ....

I'm not really sure as I have only run it once or twice overnight and didn't count the passes I think it was like 14 Passes ...

Mytflyguy · Post by **Mytflyguy** » Sun Sep 07, 2003 8:34 pm

This is what I found in the Readme File ....

9) Execution Time
==================
The time required for a complete pass of Memtest86 will vary greatly
depending on CPU speed, memory speed and memory size. Here are the
execution times from a Cleron-366 with 64MB of SDRAM:

Test 0: 0:05
Test 1: 0:18
Test 2: 1:02
Test 3: 1:38
Test 4: 8:05
Test 5: 1:40
Test 6: 4:24
Test 7: 6:04

Total Time for Default tests: 23:16

Test 8: 12:30
Test 9: 49:30
Test 10: 30:34
Test 11: 3:29:40

Total Time for All tests: 5:25:30

I think I ran the Default tests ... lol

neo960 · Post by **neo960** » Mon Sep 08, 2003 10:27 am

Originally posted by Mytflyguy
Are you sayign you let it run for a couple hours then you shut down the PC ? or the Program did ?

I shut down the PC thinking that it was not working. I think I will let it run overnight this time and check in the morning....

BTW, I took the PC to a repair shop to check the memory. No matter how many times I powered on/off the PC, I was not able to reproduce the BIOS screen error message there. Weird.

neo960 · Post by **neo960** » Tue Sep 09, 2003 9:18 am

I let memtest run for the whole night and it was still running at 9AM in the morning. I guess it was faster for you since you have only 64MB. I have 1 Gigabyte of RAM and it could take a few days to finish running!

Mytflyguy · Post by **Mytflyguy** » Tue Sep 09, 2003 9:48 am

Those timings are in the Read me File ... I personally am Running 1 Gig as well ...

I let mine run overnight and it did fine too ....

If y the end of the day or tomorrow morning you produce no errors , my guess is it's not the memory ...

neo960 · Post by **neo960** » Wed Sep 10, 2003 10:10 am

After letting it run overnight, it had completed 5%, but found no errors. I knew that it was still running and not hanging because the HD access light was on conctantly and the light in my optical mouse was blinking constantly and fast.

If it is not the memory or the HD, what else should I suspect?

Could it be the motherboard? I am worried that if I buy the memory from crucial and still have the problem, I would have wasted $200 for nothing.

Any ideas please?

Mytflyguy · Post by **Mytflyguy** » Wed Sep 10, 2003 10:31 am

Fist off that should NEVER have taken that long ... So you ran it for two nights and one day ?

and only 5% ???

Let me run it on my Daughters starting now and see how far it gets in the next few hours ... I was pretty certain it was much less time than that at the Default testing ... I'll get back to you on that

Something you coudl try is to purchase some Ram from Newegg ... If it doesn't fix it then you could return and and only have a 15% restocking fee ...

I would hate to do that to Newegg but It would be a cheap alternative to getting screwed with memory that doens't fix it ...

got a friend who has some memory you could use ??

Mytflyguy · Post by **Mytflyguy** » Wed Sep 10, 2003 10:36 am

Were you looking at the Pass percentageor the test Percentage ?? and are you certain it hadn't looped ??

There is a column that says pass and below it should be a number indicatig the number completed ...
Also look at what Test # you are on ... on hers 5% is test #8

After running the extendad tests on hers for 5 Minutes or so it's alredy up tp 7% on test # 8 of 256 Megs ...

I realize the size of Ram makes a difference but it sure as hell shouldn't be that much difference ...

After about 2:05 it's at 89% on the Pass ...

neo960 · Post by **neo960** » Wed Sep 10, 2003 4:12 pm

I ran it only for one night. Pass percentage was at 1% in the morning and test percent was at 5%.

So if this sounds unnaturally long, then the memory must be bad I suppose.

Mytflyguy · Post by **Mytflyguy** » Wed Sep 10, 2003 4:18 pm

Trya again one time like in the next hour ...

I'm not sure if this is the same issue but when I ran Prime95 for the first time overnight , My system went to sleep or somethign and it only ran like 3 tests ( which should only take about 5 Mins )

If it hasn't gone past 5% in 20 Min. Then somehting is def wrong ... Might try one stick at a time ??

neo960 · Post by **neo960** » Wed Sep 10, 2003 5:13 pm

I will try again tonight. The app runs from a boot floppy and hence there will be no chance of the system going to sleep.

neo960 · Post by **neo960** » Thu Sep 11, 2003 10:06 am

Since I used to get the message from the initial BIOS/RAM check screen "RAM Error: Unable to R/W" anyway I suppose it is the RAM. For some reason I dont get the error message anymore. But the PC behaves weird sometimes .

I think I will check out crucial. Instead of buying 1 Gig, I will buy a 512MB stick and see if the problems persist. If no problem, I will buy the other 512MB.

Mytflyguy · Post by **Mytflyguy** » Thu Sep 11, 2003 10:19 am

One thing before you do that ...

What type of Ram do you have now ??? Most Ram chips have some type of warranty don't they ?? I know Corsair has Lifetime as well as Crucial , Geil and a few others right ?

If you find out what type of Ram it is , you might be able to get a free replacement ...

How long have you had it ?

opmharley · Post by **opmharley** » Fri Sep 12, 2003 7:41 pm

sorry to do this not being mean or anything id help out but im not sure whats the problem. just wanted to see if it worked. but the ram might be it see if u can rma it or return it.

neo960 · Post by **neo960** » Sat Sep 13, 2003 12:18 am

Here is a chronology of events:

1. I custom built this PC at a local computer parts store for $1200 10 months ago.

2. I used to get blue screen problems once in a couple of months, and people in this forum suggested that bad memory could be the problem. But I wasn't sure.

3. The last few weeks, I started getting a nagging problem with win2K. Almost every day I used to get a blue screen saying the registry hive could not be read as the hive is corrupted. I had to reinatall Win2K from a ghost backup every time. When I posted this problem here, several people here again suggested either bad memory or a hard disk corruption may be the problem.

4. I checked my WD hard drive with a diagnostic program downloaded from the western digital website. No errors were found.

5. Suddenly last week the opening BIOS screen that does the memory check started spitting error messages "RAM R/W error". Now I am sure that memory is the problem.

I opened the box, but I couldn't figure out the manufacturer of the chips. One chip says "nynix" but a google search does not bring up any websites for the manufacturer. The other memory chip is a different brand and has no brand name whatsoever on it.

The guy who built this PC seems to have cheated me by putting substandard/junk garbage in the box. I do not know what else he has screwed me on. So I am not sure if spending money on buying new memory chips alone could solve my problem. The guy had sold me a warranty for one year for parts and labor (the PC is still under warranty), but the guy has sold his business to someone else and skipped town. The new owner of the store refuses to honor the warranty, telling me that the old owner has "Cheated" a lot of other customers like this.

The only thing I am sure is that I have been cheated of $1200 of my hard earned money.

At this point I do not know if I should trash the whole box and buy a new one from Dell, or just try to change the memory. I knew I was being adventurous by going the custom building route instead of buying from compaq or dell. I guess I will never go this route again.

So do I still deserve a seizure for my post?

Edited to add: The local store which cheated me on my PC is located near Woodbridge, NJ. It is called Computer Clinic and located behind Staples. People who may visit this store should be aware of their crooked business tactics.

Mytflyguy · Post by **Mytflyguy** » Sat Sep 13, 2003 1:03 am

Nah man dont' let one ******* Ruin the experience for good ... Next time just get a friend you TRUST or build it yourself ...

Then all warrenty issues are through you ... You will know the ins and outs and have full control and knowledge of every part you own ...

If you build it yourself you can get Top level performace parts at the same rate ( usually cheaper )) than a Prebuilt system with low quality parts ...

neo960 · Post by **neo960** » Sun Sep 14, 2003 4:47 pm

Just ordered one 512MB stick from Crucial. If this solves the problems I will order another stick to complete the 1 Gig for my system. I used their Belarc software to choose the RAM for my Intel Mobo (Machine 1 in my sig).

Keeping my finger crossed.

Module Details: CT6464Z40B

512MB

DDR PC3200 • CL=3 • Unbuffered • Non-parity • 5ns • 2.5V • 64Meg x 64

Module Size: 512MB
Package: 184-pin DIMM
Feature: DDR PC3200
Configuration: 64Meg x 64
DIMM Type: Unbuffered
Error Checking: Non-parity
Speed: 5ns
Voltage: 2.5V
SDRAM Timings:CL=3

ppanther68 · Post by **ppanther68** » Sun Sep 14, 2003 5:28 pm

Good Luck,

neo960 · Post by **neo960** » Thu Sep 18, 2003 3:49 pm

Crucial sent the package by UPS and they refuse to deliver in the evening. I cant stay home to take delivery and they refuse to drop it off without signature.

They suggested pickup, but the nearest pickup center near my town is more than an an hour away (in good traffic) and I do not know if they are open on a saturday.

Now I dont know what to do. I have to ask UPS to send it back to crucial and pay for the restocking fee.

Why can't companies use the postal service or Fedex?

ppanther68 · Post by **ppanther68** » Thu Sep 18, 2003 4:54 pm

Just have it sent to a friend or family member, during the day, they can sign for it,, later

neo960 · Post by **neo960** » Thu Sep 18, 2003 10:35 pm

Originally posted by ppanther68
Just have it sent to a friend or family member, during the day, they can sign for it,, later

I did that. But unfortunately my friend was not at home when they arrived and now UPS refuses to deliver it again after the second attempt and they want me to pick up at their location.

The problem is that UPS did not want to give any specific time window for the delivery time. They said the delivery will take place anytime between 9AM to 7PM. The first delivery attempt was made at 12:00AM and so I told my friend to expect the second attempt roughly at that time. But they arived at 6:30PM and my friend had gone out at that time after having waited for a whole day for the package to arive.

Since I do not have a car I have to ask someone to take me there or have it sent back to crucial. Sux.

I will never buy from crucial again. The only problem is that I only ordered 512 MB of RAM initially. Now I have to shop for the remaining 512 somewhere else. How do I find another 512MB DDR RAM that will match the crucial RAM? Is it possible to mix crucial with another manufacturer?

Companies like Amazon use the media mail option via the USPS. The USPS offers great service. I do not know what prompts crucial to use a low-down company like UPS for delivery. They refused to use USPS when I called them on their 800 number.

ppanther68 · Post by **ppanther68** » Fri Sep 19, 2003 12:49 am

Sorry about your problem with your order,, can be a pain, i know,, your question about your ram, from my experience personally i have used two different name brands, and the PC worked fine,, just make sure all the specs are the same, error checking etc.. i myself personally like to keep the same brands in my PC, but have used differnet brands in the past,, good luck,,, JMS

neo960 · Post by **neo960** » Fri Sep 19, 2003 8:43 pm

I finally managed to get the new memory module from Crucial.

I installed the new DIMM and restored the C: partition win2K PRO image from a ghost backup. I rebooted once and it booted OK. The second time I did a windows update and rebooted, and sure enough, I got the same Blue Screen of Death with the same message that "Registry Hive cannot be read as it is corrupted".

I wasted $100 on the crucial memory for nothing, but it is OK.

It cant be the Western Digital hard drive because I have run the western dig. diagnostics program on it and got no errors. What else can I try now? Please help!!!! I need to fix this problem so I can use the PC. Will replacing the motherboard help? Could it be just a bad ghost image?

ppanther68 · Post by **ppanther68** » Sat Sep 20, 2003 12:03 am

My suggestion is get rid of your imaging software, I could almost bet you its causing most of your problems, Question: Did you install the recovery console yet?,,

neo960 · Post by **neo960** » Sat Sep 20, 2003 12:10 am

Originally posted by ppanther68
My suggestion is get rid of your imaging software, I could almost bet you its causing most of your problems, Question: Did you install the recovery console yet?,,

I am reinstalling fresh from the Install CD now, instead of using Ghost.

Regarding the memory, I dont regret buying crucial because I am sure it is 1000 times better and more reliable than the nameless junk that I had before.

Edited to Add:

OK I finished the full install and installed the recovery console as well. So far so good. Now I have to install my apps and see if I crash again.

neo960 · Post by **neo960** » Sat Sep 20, 2003 1:03 pm

Panther,

Win2K BSOD'd again.

I booted into the recovery console and got a DOS prompt. What should I be doing here?

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