Possible Problem with Ram

ri300684 · 27 Dec 2009 at 14:39

Hi there.

I am having some Ram problems and really looking for some advice.

I have a computer that has been running perfectly for 18 months, with 2 x 1GB OCZ DDR2 Ram modules in it, but a couple of days ago it turned itself off and when trying to turn it on, it gave 3 beeps.

I know that 3 beeps usually means a memory failure so I took the Ram from my other PC (1 x 2GB Corsair DDr2 module), stuck it in the PC and got 1 long beep followed by 3 short beeps. Put the Ram in a different slot and it worked fine. The computer then worked for a full day, then the following day it turned itself off again and then I kept getting 1 long beep and 3 short beeps again.

Now, I have run memtest on all 3 sticks of Ram (on another pc). The 2GB stick tested perfectly, but while trying to test the 2 x 1GB sticks (seperately), the computer turned itself off after about 5 mins.

Obviously, the 2 x 1GB sticks are now dead by the looks of it, but can anyone suggest why the computer may be having issues with the 2GB stick that tested fine in my other pc?

The motherboard is an Asus P5K Deluxe and the CPU is an Intel Q6600.

zovirax · 27 Dec 2009 at 15:35

That sounds like a power supply issue causing the PC to turn itself off??

ri300684 · 27 Dec 2009 at 15:40

zovirax said:
That sounds like a power supply issue causing the PC to turn itself off??

Thanks for the suggestion, however, I don't believe it is a power supply issue. The 2 x 1GB Ram Modules that I now believe to be faulty, have the exact same affect on 2 different computers with 2 different PSU's. What I don't understand is what's causing the one motherboard to work for a day, then reject the new Ram.

ri300684 · 27 Dec 2009 at 15:44

UPDATE

I decided to remove the new Ram from the computer giving me issues, and reinserted it. After reinserting it several times, the computer booted. I have just run memtest (with the new Ram) and it's currently at 175.4% with no errors (under Windows, which I accept only tests unused Ram), so I believe that the new Ram works perfectly, so that isn't the issue.

However, is there an issue that could be causing the motherboard to reject the Ram? Is it possible that the old Ram dying could have caused (or been caused by) a fault with the motherboard?

lemzip · 27 Dec 2009 at 16:51

could be however dust build up can cause these issues aswell, try giving the dimm slots a good dusting (compressed air) and see if that helps, has cured a few issues for me in the past.