Multiple Blue Screen Errors

[Riz]

Hello everyone. First post on these forums so hope this is in the right place and that you can help me out.

Bought a new PC last year but last month I had a problem with it where I had a blue screen error and then it would not connect to the internet anymore, even though the modem and ISP were both fine (tested on my old PC). A techy friend of mine had a look at it but there was nothing he could do so I reformatted the hard drive and reinstalled everything. Since then it's been working okay most of the time but I do keep getting blue screen errors resulting in me having to restart the PC. This is annoying when I'm in the middle of something and I'm also worried that it is a symptom of something being seriously wrong. I've checked for viruses and spyware etc but can't seem to find anything.

Unfortunately I had the "auto restart after crash" option on so I didn't get a chance to even read the blue screens to find out what was wrong. From looking at other topics on this forum it seems like the minidump files might hold some answers but I'm totally clueless as to how to even open them, let alone see what they mean.

I'm attaching the files to this post and maybe someone could take a look and see what the problem is.

It's a Compaq PC, can't recall exact make and model I'm afraid. I'm running Vista 32 bit and have 2.5GB of RAM with an Nvidia GeForce 7300 graphics card.

 

[Rollin' Rog]

Most of the minidumps are indicating "memory corruption" or other errors often associated with ram faults.

Has the ram been tested?

Since these errors continued after a clean install you have to suspect hardware.

Vista has a built in memory checker you can try (run mdsched.exe, read the additional info and run the extended tests.

You may also want to try the more thorough memtest86 >>

Beginners Guides: Diagnosing Bad Memory


Memtest86 - A Stand-alone Memory Diagnostic

2.5 gig of ram?

That suggests something has been installed other than what came with it. Perhaps it is not fully compatible.

Has anything been added hardware wise?

 

[Riz]

Not tested the RAM and yes, it was added after purchase of the PC. The PC came with only 1GB RAM so I took out out one of the sticks and put in a 2GB stick instead.

Will test the RAM when I get home from work and put the results up here. Thanks for your help.

 

[ShadowProwler420]

Are each of the sticks the same make (DDR or DDR2, PC2700 or PC3200, etc.)? If they differ from each other in this sense, that could be your problem.

 

[Riz]

Ran the vista memory check and it all came up fine. I have been browsing the web though and it seems the maximum memory that my machine can take is 2GB. I currently have a 2GB and a 512MB stick in there. Is it possible that going over the limit for the machine may have caused the problems or would it just fail to register the excess RAM? Could the differing size of the sticks in the machine be the problem?

If I just remove the 512 stick, as I still have the maximum RAM the machine can take, it shouldn't have any impact on performance should it?

Edit- also just noticed that the HP site says 2x1GB sticks. Would having a single 2GB stick be causing problems?

 

[ShadowProwler420]

You could be dealing with a dual-channel memory issue.

Here is an excerpt taken from a Wiki article on the subject:

Dual-channel architecture - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Modules rated at different speeds can be run in dual-channel mode, although the motherboard will then run all memory modules at the speed of the slowest module. Some motherboards, however, have compatibility issues with certain brands or models of memory when attempting to use them in dual-channel mode. For this reason, it is generally advised to use identical pairs of memory modules, which is why most memory manufacturers now sell "kits" of matched-pair DIMMs. Several motherboard manufacturers only support configurations where a "matched pair" of modules are used. A matching pair needs to match in:

* Capacity (e.g. 1024 MB). Certain Intel chipsets support different capacity chips in what they call Flex Mode: the capacity that can be matched is run in dual-channel, while the remainder runs in single-channel.
* Speed (e.g. PC5300). If speed is not the same, the lower speed of the two modules will be used. Likewise, the higher latency of the two modules will be used.
* Number of chips and sides (e.g. 2 sides with 4 chips on each side).

Click to expand...

 

[Riz]

Thanks. I've replaced the existing sticks with a matched pair of 1GB sticks. Hopefully that will stop the errors.