Figuring out which RAM stick is faulty
Figuring out which RAM stick is faulty
So I've been getting the occasional BSOD and it recently started getting a bit more frequent, so I decided to run a memtest86 over night to check if it's maybe the RAM causing it.
I got 1 error, so then I tested each stick, 1 by 1 (every new stick I would test I also put in a different slot) but I only tested first 3 sticks, thinking that the last one is faulty, since they all passed the test, but yesterday I decided to test the last one as well and that one passed as well. So now I'm confused, not sure what to do...
I was running on 3 sticks for 2 days and I didn't get BSOD, but that still means nothing because it was rare occurrence anyways.
Should I test all of the sticks again? Is there a better test I should be using instead?
(RAM is not OC'd btw)
Are you running a ram test or waiting for failure?
A boot disk with memtest86+ is great for putting RAM through its paces.
Sorry, I'm not sure what you are asking... If I'm running a regular test or an endless test until I get an error?
I was just running the default MemTest86 test from an USB stick.I'll try the 86+, thank you.
Sorry, I missed that in your original post. I think memtest86+ is slightly better, but I may not bother switching.
If you are no longer getting failures, it is possible one of the sticks was loose or had corrosion. The swapping may have "fixed" it.
I would test all sticks together once. If they pass, you are good.
Test all 4, note which failed. Remove one stick and retest. Return then remove a different stick. Keep doing this until you know which stick and slot is bad.
If it never errors on 3 sticks, move them around and see if the issue follows a stick or stays on one slot.
If it’s a newer intel cpu it could also be related to that bug they announced.
See if your mobo vendor has their own hardware test to see if it can find issues beyond memory.
I have not been following PC hardware for a while, but there was a time when RAM slots and the sticks themselves were designed to be used as a pair. Could be something like that?
Also since it's occasional, could also be corrupted OS file, harddrive/SSD read issue or even a driver issue. Have you looked what errors are in the event log with the BSODs? Is it same or similar each time or completely random?
I have not been following PC hardware for a while, but there was a time when RAM slots and the sticks themselves were designed to be used as a pair. Could be something like that?
Hmm, never heard of that. I'll research it a bit.
Also since it’s occasional, could also be corrupted OS file, harddrive/SSD read issue or even a driver issue. Have you looked what errors are in the event log with the BSODs? Is it same or similar each time or completely random?
It is always the same thing. And it is entirely possible that OS is causing it, since the installation is old af, but now my bigger concern is that initial RAM test fail.
Are you sure it's the RAM? It could be a myriad of things, like software problems, too.
I'd try a fresh install of your OS as well, just to see if that will smoothen things out.
Well googling suggested that the problem could be a graphics card driver. So I used DDU to clean the drivers and then I installed fresh ones but it didn't help.
But as I said, the RAM test failed when I did it with all 4 sticks...Just one error in a full trst run with all 4 sticks? Maybe RAM voltage settings need some tweaking? I don't know how common this is these days, but more RAM generally needed higher voltage to be stable. Usually any kind of RAM issues are pretty frequent though and too low voltage tends to fail at boot.
I know I had a similar issue way back, ram issues are like chasing a mirage. It's possible the memory controller can't handle 4 sticks of ram anymore.
Oh, I haven't even considered that possibility. As I mentioned before, the PC is old, so anything is possible at this point. I will be testing them again, all at once, but with a different test and see how that goes, if it fails again it could be the controller I guess.