RAM is failing tests

[yomama07024]

I bought 2 new 2048MB modules of Crucial Ballistix RAM memory about half a year ago. I've recently been getting the bluescreen, so I decided to run a memory test. In slots 1 and 3, I have these 2048MB modules and they failed the inversion tree test, chaotic addressing test, block rotation test, and microtopology test. In slots 2 and 4, I have 512MB modules. What could be causing the RAM to fail these tests, and is it likely that it is related to the bluescreen?

 

[voyagerfan99]

Probably just defective RAM. Do you have another machine you could put it in and test? If it passes on another machine then it's the slots on your motherboard.

 

[yomama07024]

Probably just defective RAM. Do you have another machine you could put it in and test? If it passes on another machine then it's the slots on your motherboard.

No, I don't have another computer to test it on. Could I just switch the modules into different slots and then run the test again? That would tell me if it's the slots on the motherboard or not, right?

 

[Cromewell]

I'd say it's unlikely that you have 4 bad slots but it's also not that likely that you have 4 peices of bad RAM.

Rerun the tests 1 stick at a time and if it fails move it to another slot and restart. If it still fails the stick is likely bad. If the next stick you test also fails in multiple slots its where having a second system to also test the ram in would help.

 

[yomama07024]

I'd say it's unlikely that you have 4 bad slots but it's also not that likely that you have 4 peices of bad RAM.

Rerun the tests 1 stick at a time and if it fails move it to another slot and restart. If it still fails the stick is likely bad. If the next stick you test also fails in multiple slots its where having a second system to also test the ram in would help.

4 aren't showing as bad. It's just the 2 2GB sticks in slots 1 and 3 that are coming up as bad. The 512MB sticks in slots 2 and 4 pass their tests. How do you run the sticks one at a time? Do I have to physically remove sticks, or can I just choose which sticks to test with the memory diagnostic programs I use?

 

[Cromewell]

Remove all the others. If slots 2 and 4 are working try the test in one of those slots.

 

[yomama07024]

Remove all the others. If slots 2 and 4 are working try the test in one of those slots.

I put the 2GB modules in slots 2 and 4 and the 512MB modules in 1 and 3. I am running memtest and it's been almost half an hour and there have been 0 errors, but when I ran memtest with the 2GB modules in slots 1 and 3 and the 512MB modules in slots 2 and 4, there were 200,000 errors after about 2 and a half hours of testing. Why would this be?

 

[Cromewell]

It shouldn't make a difference which slots you use unless they are bad. If you switch the 2GB sticks back to 1 and 2 does it also pass the tests? If so, it's possible they just weren't seated correctly.

 

[yomama07024]

It shouldn't make a difference which slots you use unless they are bad. If you switch the 2GB sticks back to 1 and 2 does it also pass the tests? If so, it's possible they just weren't seated correctly.

That's exactly what happened. I ran the test again for about 5 hours and there was not one error. I wonder how they could have been seated incorrectly if they have been this way since February and I haven't been getting blue screen errors until now. Do you have a possible answer?

 

[Cromewell]

No good ones. It's possible they got bumped when you were installing other hardware or if you moved your system around recently. It could even be that the locks aren't holding tight enough, it's hard to say.

 

[yomama07024]

No good ones. It's possible they got bumped when you were installing other hardware or if you moved your system around recently. It could even be that the locks aren't holding tight enough, it's hard to say.

Well, thanks a lot for your help. Out of all the problems that could have caused this, it was the best of them all.