Memory bad already?

DJ_EvergreenDJ_Evergreen MB, Canada Member
edited August 2009 in Hardware
Hey all,

Fixing a computer for a friend. They have been getting random BSOD messages for the past 2 months and now windows won't load at all. I've ran memtest86+ and determined the problem to be bad memory.

Went down to the local computer store and got new memory and installed it. Windows still wouldn't load with the same BSOD (BAD_POOL_CALLER) so I ran the memtest again on the new memory. The test shows over 5 million failed. Before I take the memory back and replace it is there anything else I can try? How accurate is this memory test reading? Could something else be the culprit?

Comments

  • ardichokeardichoke Icrontian
    edited August 2009
    Could be a bad motherboard... a bad mobo can cause problems to appear to be happening with basically every component connected to the system.
  • AlexDeGruvenAlexDeGruven Wut? Meechigan Icrontian
    edited August 2009
    If you have another system available that uses the same RAM, you could swap in the known good RAM and see if you still have an issue. If the issue goes away, then you just bumped up against hardware infant mortality (generally, if a piece of computer hardware is going to fail, it will be within the first 30 days), and you can take the new RAM back with relative confidence.

    If swapping in known good RAM shows the same errors, then it's much more likely to be a MoBo problem which, as ardichoke stated, can cause problems just about anywhere.
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited August 2009
    Both these gentlemen are totally right. The new memory should be memtested in a system that is known to work just fine; if the new DRAM checks out okay, your friend's motherboard is kaput. If the new ram turns up bum, then of course you'd return the bum sticks for a new set. :)
  • DJ_EvergreenDJ_Evergreen MB, Canada Member
    edited August 2009
    Thanks everyone. I'll test out the memory in another system and see what results I get!
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