Faulty RAM "Damaged" WinXP
 

Hi,

One of my desktop PCs is a Gateway, bought new in 2001 with Win98se
and 64MB of RAM. Years later, I added a 128MB ram card for a total
of 192MB. Note: There are only 2 RAM slots.

I replaced the 10GB HD with a 20GB HD. I "split" the HD in "half". I
installed Win98 in C: and WINXP in D: (dual boot system).

Recently, I replaced the 64MB with 128MB (I received from a friend).

Win98 bootup was just fine and reported "256MB" of RAM via "Properties".
Later, when I tried to boot up WinXP in D:, it reported "a change in
hardware" (not exact words). I was presented with options to boot up in "Safe
Mode", "Boot up Normally", etc. I selected to boot up "Normally". However,
the "Normal" bootup "locked up"!!!!!! Booting up again in "Safe Mode" did
not resolve the problem.

SOLUTION:

I put back the 64MB of RAM. Then booted up into Win98. Via "Dos Prompt",
I "DELTREE" the three folders ("WINDOWS", "Program Files", and "Documents and
Settings") in D: partition. NOTE: I always turn off "System Restore".
I replaced those 3 folders with the "backups" (made via WinZip). They are
located in "SYSTEM.SAV" folder in C:

Now I can bootup WinXP again.

BTW, On an old NEC desktop PC, I replaced a 64MB with a 128MB RAM card.
I had NO problems booting up WinXP.

The next time I get a "good" 128MB RAM card, I will replace the 64MB RAM
card again.
John

Faulty RAM "Damaged" WinXP
 

Oops, I forgot to mention that after I put back the 64MB RAM
card, I could NOT boot up WinXP. I saw the exact same
messages, and a "lockup" occurred when I proceeded to
use a "Normal bootup"..

That is why I replaced those folders with the backups.

John

Faulty RAM "Damaged" WinXP
 

The next time I get a "good" 128MB RAM card, I will replace the 64MB RAM
card again.
John

Memtest86+ *first*, then you boot an OS.

Download is half-way down the page. Available as an ISO
so you can burn a bootable CD.

http://www.memtest.org

Memtest will detect stuck-at faults.

Hi Paul,

Thanks for that info regarding memory testing, etc.

That is what I had planned on looking for (RAM tester) for the next time.

You can boot a Linux LiveCD and do some sorta test,
because there's nothing to damage on a LiveCD.

I have Linux AntiX 16.2 on a CD (for Live bootup, etc.), but it's display
driver(s) is "incompatible" with the display hardware in this Gateway desktop
PC. I did NOT have that problem with the other PCs I tried it on.

Regards, John

Windows on the other hand, does not have that luxury,
as it likes to *write* the boot drive. This is why
you do everything in your power, to verify the RAM.

1) memtest86+, at least one full pass with no errors.

2) Linux LiveCD, then, go to mersenne.org downloads and
get a copy of the static Prime95 for Linux 32 bit or
Linux 64 bit. According to which kind of LiveCD you got.
I'd want at least four hours of Prime95 Torture Test
where all the threads started, remain green. No
red/dead threads which are indicating a RAM error.

Prime95 is for detecting transient faults caused
by computing load. Like, your CPU heats up a bit,
and on the modern processors with memory controller
inside the CPU, it's throwing a few errors.

HTH,
Paul

Faulty RAM "Damaged" WinXP
 

wrote:
Hi,

The next time I get a "good" 128MB RAM card, I will replace the 64MB RAM
card again.
John

Memtest86+ *first*, then you boot an OS.

Download is half-way down the page. Available as an ISO
so you can burn a bootable CD.

http://www.memtest.org

Memtest will detect stuck-at faults.

You can boot a Linux LiveCD and do some sorta test,
because there's nothing to damage on a LiveCD.

Windows on the other hand, does not have that luxury,
as it likes to *write* the boot drive. This is why
you do everything in your power, to verify the RAM.

1) memtest86+, at least one full pass with no errors.

2) Linux LiveCD, then, go to mersenne.org downloads and
get a copy of the static Prime95 for Linux 32 bit or
Linux 64 bit. According to which kind of LiveCD you got.
I'd want at least four hours of Prime95 Torture Test
where all the threads started, remain green. No
red/dead threads which are indicating a RAM error.

Prime95 is for detecting transient faults caused
by computing load. Like, your CPU heats up a bit,
and on the modern processors with memory controller
inside the CPU, it's throwing a few errors.

HTH,
Paul