Memtest86+ reports 2 errors...

kris214

kris214

kris214

Associate
Joined
7 Sep 2011
Posts
36
Hello.

Hello all.

I have just built a new computer and am having issues.

New build spec:

Case: Corsair 600t
Motherboard: Asus P8Z68-PRO
CPU: Intel i5 2500k
Cooler: Coolermaster V8
RAM: Corsair Vengeance 2 x 4GB 1600MHz 8GB total
Hard drives: Corsair DDR3 SSD 120GB for programs and Western Digital 500GB HDD for files
OS: Windows 7 Professional 64bit
PSU: Artic 600W which I carried over from my last build.

I'm having problems with random freezes/lock ups and am slowly working my way through trying to sort this out.

Firstly I was running an overclock of 4.5GHz which was completely stable running Prime95 however I just done a motherboard BIOS update and its all been reset to standard.

After a lot of digging around I found there seems to be an ongoing issue with Corsair Force 3 SSD's, which is what I have, causing freezes/lock ups which is exactly what I'm suffering from. However I read elsewhere I should test my RAM just to rule it out before looking more into the SSD so I've ran Memtest86+ and within 30 minutes it found an error but I lot it run on and when I checked back several hours later it was showing 2 errors...picture can be seen below...

imag0084ez.jpg


I don't really know if this could be causing my problem or not but I guess that any kind of RAM error is not good so should I be looking to return it? It's 2 x 4GB Corsair Vengeance DDR3 1600MHz which my motherboard has defaulted to 1333MHz

Any help greatly appreciated.
 
Well I changed it to 1600MHz and left voltage at the normal 1.5V and I still got 2 errors but I've noticed the numbers under GOOD and BAD have changed:

imag0086cy.jpg


Not too sure what this means but I'd hazard a guess that one of the RAM sticks is faulty and as it came in a set I'd have to send both back for replacement or change to another brand.

I will remove and test one stick at a time in the morning.
 
OK I'm back with an update. I ran memtest86+ again only this time with one RAM stick at a time and I ran it for 2 hours with each stick and I got no errors at all. What does this mean now? Faulty motherboard or something else?
 
I've spent a good part of this morning looking at a screen similar to yours ...

Test RAM in dual channel, single channel then each of the RAM slots... It's slow and laborious but I'm sure you'll get there... It helps if you've got spare RAM handy so you can establish which memory slot(s) on your board is stable for testing
 
At least I'm not on my own but its very frustrating.

How do I test the RAM in dual channel and then single channel?

I've no spare RAM compatible with this motherboard.
 
Well I've both RAM sticks running in single channels and its been running for an hour now and its given me one error so far. So what exactly does this mean?

To recap each RAM stick gives no error when I've just got one installed but gives me 2 errors when I fit both in dual mode and 1 error (so far) when running both in single mode.

Thanks.
 
Whilst you're here and messing about, depending on when you bought your Force 3 Drive I'd recommend upgrading to the latest 1.3 Firmware. It's quite clear that you do have a few issues with your RAM, but at least by upping to the latest SSD firmware you may be able to minimise the chances of it being that...

kd
 
King Damager said:
Whilst you're here and messing about, depending on when you bought your Force 3 Drive I'd recommend upgrading to the latest 1.3 Firmware. It's quite clear that you do have a few issues with your RAM, but at least by upping to the latest SSD firmware you may be able to minimise the chances of it being that...

kd
Click to expand...

The SSD was bought less than 3 weeks ago and should have the 1.3 version of firmware already on it but in a thread I found on the corsair forum it seems lots of people are having the same problem with these drives even after doing the update...something to do with the sandforce controller.

Back to memtest86+ and its now got 2 errors and 2 passes. The error seems similar to the picture screens above except the GOOD and BAD numbers are different once again. Should I now be looking to return this RAM or is it caused by something else? Like I say the tests work fine with just one stick installed but 2 errors when i have both installed on single channel and dual channel.

I would love to return this entire order except the case and CPU and get an MSI board, an SSD that doesn't have sandforce and RAM that doesn't have Corsair written on it :)
 
I'm now starting to think everything is defective...I just got a BSOD while running Prime95 and several other programs:

BSOD with Kernal_data_inpage_error

Followed by black screen with Reboot And Select Proper Boot Device Or Insert Boot Media In Selected Boot Device And Press A Key

Only way to get past this is to reset and I entered the BIOS and my Corsair SSD is not detected and been replaced with "Boot Device 1 - Disabled in BBS Order"

Powered off the whole system and switched back on again and entered BIOS and the SSD is back. Load windows and everything seems to be normal now but I didn't get any message saying "this system has recovered from a serious error" so its as if it never even happened.

So what is the problem now? Up until now the system has only froze/locked up while pretty much idling such as watching a movie or browsing the internet but now its BSOD and the SSD is going AWOL in the BIOS.

Really need help on this one as I'm seriously tempted to return everything.
 
kris214 said:
Well I've both RAM sticks running in single channels and its been running for an hour now and its given me one error so far. So what exactly does this mean?

To recap each RAM stick gives no error when I've just got one installed but gives me 2 errors when I fit both in dual mode and 1 error (so far) when running both in single mode.
Click to expand...

From reading all your posts it still sounds like a memory problem - especially as you're getting errors at 1333MHz with a 1600GHz kit. But you're not running memtest long enough with single sticks to establish the exact cause (whether it's the memory, DIMM slot or other - odds are that it is memory.)

**You may or may not have a separate SSD problem - but you wont know for sure until you've resolved your memory issue. While your testing the memory you could unplug all other devices.

I would set the memory up manually to run at its 1600MHz settings as this should root out the error out faster. I'm presuming you have the CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9 set - but adjust timings if you have the more expensive kit.

  • Timings - 9, 9, 9, 24
  • Command Rate - 2T
  • Frequency - 1600MHz
  • Voltage - 1.5V

I would run the single stick tests again and in alternating slots but run the tests for a minimum of 6hrs or until a stick gives up an error.

I realise this sounds an outrageous amount of time but unfortunately memory problems can be very hard to detect and single stick/DIMM slot errors can take time to show up.
 
Last edited:
Hi and thanks for the reply.

With the 2 sticks running in single channel I lot it continue and after 4 hours it got a total of 4 errors and 2 passes.

I'm now doing single stick tests for a minimum of 6 hours...this is gonna take ages lol.

Once that's been done I'm going to clone the SSD to a spare HDD I have and run for a while just to see if my BSOD continue but I'm guessing they won't but I'm still expecting system to freeze/lockup due to the memory.

I've already got a new build in mind, shame all my money has been pumped into this thing :(
 
You should be testing the memory and finding a fault with that first... WTH have you brought another variable into the equation (SSD) ?

If your memory has an issue then everything potentially has an issue - even doing backups. DIsconnect everything and just test the memory - Prove the memory is bad before trying anything else
 
I'm just stating what the comp has done which was BSOD followed by a disappearing SSD!

I'm testing the memory now one stick at a time, no errors yet but I've a long way to go!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom