could this be a non-compatible memory problem

[paulhenney]

Hi I hope somebody can give me a bit of advice. I have been getting various BSoDs since I upgraded my cpu and mobo at xmas. I thought it was due to a faulty cpu and returned it but the new one that has come has also got the same problem.

My system specs are-

Vista 64 with SP1
Asus M3N78 mobo with latest BIOS and drivers
AMD 9950 BE
Asus ATI 512mb 4750 with latest drivers
2x 2 gig OCZ "vista upgrade" RAM
2x 160 g HDs
I havent overclocked any of them
Hiper 580W PSU

I threw the list of the old BSoD messages out because I thought the new CPU would fix it, but there have been many different all seeming to centre around memory issues.

In the problem Reports and solutions screen it says-

"You received this message because a hardware device, its driver, or related software has caused a blue screen error. This type of error means the computer has shut down abruptly to protect itself from potential data corruption or loss. In this case, we were unable to detect the specific device or driver that caused the problem."

So I am a bit confused as to whether its a hardware or software problem. The crashes normally happen when gaming although this can be 2S arcade games or latest FPS. Have tested heat on cpu and gfx card using a number of apps like speedfan, rivatuner, hardware monitor and others and they are all well within guidelines. It does occasionally happen when just browsing too so doubt it would be a gfx card problem

Whilst RMAing my processor I put my previous 6000x2 in and had only the odd crash compared with every couple of hours with my 9950. The crashes started when I first installed the mobo/cpu and was using vista 32, I have upgraded to 64 bit since then. Have tried rolling back gfx drivers.

I have a feeling it maybe the RAM is not compatible with CPU or mobo but do not have any spare sets to swap and cant really afford a new set just for a month or so. What else could I try to narrow the problem down and what RAM should I go for when I get paid.

Have thought it could be the PSU with it working with the less power hungry 6000x2 but again dont really wanna be spending money on something that isnt going to sort it.

Thanks advance

 

[Cob]

Hi and welcome

Have you tested each stick individually with Memtest86+?

ASUS boards and OCZ memory don't always go hand-in-hand, tho I've no personal experience with the newer AMD chipset boards and can't say if the problems affect them too. The simpliest thing would be to buy the cheapest 512mb stick of DDR2 you can find and run it to see if the problems still exist (the auction site is a good place to look).

But the fact that your CPU RMA was accepted ok, and the X2 6000 runs relatively fine, could suggest that either there's a dodgy batch of 9950's around, or that the motherboard has an issue with them.


But again, if Memtest86+ doesn't show any errors, then the simpliest, quickest and cheapest method of ruling the memory in or out would be the cheap 512mb stick.

 

[paulhenney]

cheers for the reply cob, I ran memtest overnight with both sticks in, should i do it with each stick individually.

would i best getting a stick that is on the qvl list for the mobo in case i end up with the same problem again.

Its really bugging me, I wouldnt mind so much if i could be sure exactly what was causing the problem

oh and would 512 be enough to run vista and play a game to properly test it.

 

[Cob]

If Memtest86+ passes with both sticks installed then I wouldn't worry about testing them on their own.

512mb would be tight going with Vista, but it should be enough to run a basic game if there is one that you know will crash Vista. If you can spare the money then 1gb would be better.

I would go for the Corsair kit if it does turn out to be the memory at fault.

 

[paulhenney]

Cool might just go for the crucial in a couple of weeks when i get paid and stick my 6000x2 in for now. Will use all my spare bits to build a second pc in the end.

i've just noticed that "hpqddsvc" hangs just before at every bsod. Googling shows its part of my HP driver/ tools but would this possibly cause the blue screen or would the blue screen cause this to hang.

I tried disabling it at start up using msconfg but on my next crash it still shows as a service hang. Any ideas

 

[paulhenney]

a mod on OCZ where i posted the problem has told me to RMA the sticks to holland as they are faulty. Im not entirely sure that it is the RAM but I suppose swapping them for new sticks wont hurt.

Anyway last night I reinstalled vista 64 (managed to do it on the wrong drive, I blame the vodka) so now im dual booting vista 64 and vista 64 but i'll get to formating one of the dirves tomorrow.

I got up this morning and was still having the crashes with no gfx card installed on the new install so can probably count out a driver problem. I have now put one stick in one channel and one in the other and havent seen a problem so far apart from BF2 crashing to desktop but nothing unusual there, no BSoDs at all.

So I'm thinking it is the memory and it cant be run in the same channel for whatever reason or its the RAM slots on the mobo. Does this make sense to anyone else.

And finally as i'm probably going to RMA the RAM I will get myself another 4 gig as an upgrade (got a new job starting next wed) and use the RMA's sticks in a new entertainment PC i want to build in the near future.

What RAM would you reccomend to go with my current spec, want to pay around £80 maximum.

Cheers
Paul

 

[Cob]

Being an AMD system it's possible that the memory controller on the CPU is causing the problem, and not the actual memory or the motherboard. Especially since the X2 6000 worked fine. Did the shop say what was wrong with your first CPU when they agreed to replace it?

But it's pretty impossible to diagnose the problem til you've tested some different memory. My recommendation of buying two dirt-cheap 512mb sticks still applys as much as ever.

If you're changing then go for these.

 

[littlepuppy]

+1