i think my ram is causing problems

[vertigo]

alright i got two new sticks of 512 ram....with the shared ram from my vid card i have 960 MB of ram

the nonlagness is great however, my comp crashes now ALOT since i installed the ram

i was playin warcraft 3 online and it crashed every map i played

after exiting a game on DC the computer restarted itself for no reason at all

also after exiting a game on DC the game would crash and my desktop would be in a different resolution

i bought the ram for my computer and was told that my comp can handle it....hp pavilion a320n

anyone have any idea? im doin a virus scan atm just to be safe

anyways thanks

pyle

[ignus]

definetly contact the place you bought the RAM from for some troubleshooting help, and HP if you still have a warranty or what not

my guess is that either your power supply is insufficient to handle the added RAM (which doesnt use a lot of power so thats a distant guess), or its the wrong speed for your system. you might need to change some BIOS settings

[Crazy Hobbit]

Certainly sounds like a bad case of RAM that I had awhile back. Computer would just do weird things with a stick I bought off eBay. Replaced it with some Crucial brand and it went away :)

[NVmySTYLE]

more than likely the culprit is aggressive memory timings. go into your BIOS and manually configure the memory timings. set CAS LATENCY to 3 and bump all other up 1 number and see if that improves everything.

[Iggy]

What OS are you running? If it is 2K or XP, you can go to the log viewer and see if an error was logged that could help you find the cause of the problem. It could be a memory issue but it could also be a driver or the BIOS (amongst other things).

[Dawg]

Not that I'd be able to answer the question with more info but maybe you should note what kind of memory it is and where you bought it. I don't know if they kind of problem could be caused by using slower/faster memory than you mobo is intended for. If you got the RAM from the manufacturer, they should know what to send you.. but you never know.

There are some utilities for testing RAM... might be worth a shot to check if one or both of the chips has faults.

EDIT: some RAM testing utilities that were recommended to me for a problem I was having in ET (http://www.splashdamage.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=4657) (that was unrelated to bad memory, but the suggestions just kept coming!) : memtest86 (http://www.memtest86.com/), Windows Memory Checker (http://oca.microsoft.com/en/mtinst.exe). I have not used either and cannot vouch for them being applicable or successful. FWIW, the second one was recommended as picking up errors that the first missed.

Dawg

[vertigo]

how would i get into the BIOS?

i run on XP iggy

the ram sticks are Centon PC2700 DDR 333 512MB

on the newest one i just got (i think the problem causer) it says Module is backwards compatible with PC2100 (DDR256) and PC1600 (DDR200) systems.......this probably doesnt mean anything but thats the only difference on the packaging of the two sticks. also the newer stick is a tad larger than the other one (hieght wise)

[ignus]

when u start your pc, right away first thing it should say something like "Press F10 to enter setup" or press delete or something like that. do that to enter your BIOS setup.

[Naz]

when u start your pc, right away first thing it should say something like "Press F10 to enter setup" or press delete or something like that. do that to enter your BIOS setup.

Like Ignus said F2, F10 and Delete are usually the keys that will get you in to your BIOS. If you have a PC from one of the major company's you may need to check there web site to see how you can get in to the BIOS, they like to hide it from the general user.

-Naz

[Iggy]

i run on XP iggy

Try looking at the logs. Go to Start->Control Panel->Administrative Tools->Event Viewer and looking at the Application and System logs. If you see any errors, figure out if they are related to the reboots based on date/time. Ususally if your system reboots due to a driver fault or application error, it will show something here. You might also receive a message after the system boots back up stating that XP has recovered from a serious error, etc. You might also want to take a look at Device Manager to see if anything is flagged as having a problem.

[Dawg]

(snip)
the ram sticks are Centon PC2700 DDR 333 512MB

on the newest one i just got (i think the problem causer) it says Module is backwards compatible with PC2100 (DDR256) and PC1600 (DDR200) systems.......this probably doesnt mean anything but thats the only difference on the packaging of the two sticks. also the newer stick is a tad larger than the other one (hieght wise)
Your post implies that you have two of these Centon sticks but bought them at different times. Since the chips are visibly different (the newer one is taller) there is clearly some sort of physical difference between them. I've heard that you shouldn't mix memory sticks (manufacturer, size or speed). The difference in speed and addressing between the chips can cause response conflicts between them. Or something like that...

Perhaps you could attempt running the system with only one stick for a few days, then switch to just the other. If there are no system faults using either stick individually, then it would seem to be a conflict of some sort between them.

I'm not familiar with Centon as a RAM manufacturer - but then again, I do not consider myself particularly knowledgable about RAM and hardware in general. I bought Corsair for my system because they have a strong reputation.

I went back to your first post and noticed that the desktop resolution reset and that you were using shared memory from your videocard. Perhaps there is a conflict with the RAM and your vidcard memory. Excuse my ignorance, but how are you sharing the vidcard RAM with the system and why are you doing it?

Dawg

[Chalybos]

Here's a thought. HP & Compaq have been known to have issues with non-HP and non-Compaq hardware, as far as them working properly. Now HP & Compaq have merged, so I wouldn't be suprised if that problem still exists. Easy wasy to find out if it's the RAM is to try to run it with one stick in at a time. Then try changing the slots they're in. See how it works with just the old stick, then how it works with just the new stick. Then swap them in the slots and see again. Then put them both in. Then swap the slots. See if you find a pattern. Sounds like a lot of work, but it should only take about 8-10 minutes.

[vertigo]

wohoo problem solved, it was a faulty chip

/sigh of relief

[stickboy]

wohoo problem solved, it was a faulty chip

/sigh of relief :banana:

[Crazy Hobbit]

Centon is a brand I've seen in Circuit City or Best Buy before I think.

[Stockboy99]

Centon is one of the lesser manufacturers out there. They sell inexpensive chips. Personally I stick to the major brands like Micron, Hitachi, Samsung or Toshiba

[Iron Sauron]

alright i got two new sticks of 512 ram....with the shared ram from my vid card i have 960 MB of ram

the nonlagness is great however, my comp crashes now ALOT since i installed the ram

i was playin warcraft 3 online and it crashed every map i played

after exiting a game on DC the computer restarted itself for no reason at all

also after exiting a game on DC the game would crash and my desktop would be in a different resolution

i bought the ram for my computer and was told that my comp can handle it....hp pavilion a320n
anyone have any idea? im doin a virus scan atm just to be safe

anyways thanks

pyle


woah...i am not alone.