Bad ram or ddr

ON-LINE Training Program SERIES

Having problems with

bad RAM or DDR
Written by : Engr. Abdul Razzaque Memon

SOLLYWOOD Production, Publication Research Centre New Saidabad Page 1

Having problems figuring out if your system is plagued with bad RAM or DDR?
PC stats walk you through the steps to diagnose bad RAM. - Version 1.2.5

Does your Windows-based PC crash for no apparent reason? Well OK, mine
does too, but does yours crash often? At random times? With Nasty blue
Screens of Death? If the answer is "yes", you may very well have a memory
problem. Faulty memory, or RAM, is often the cause of the dreaded 'flaky PC'
syndrome, those hard-to-replicate errors that get you nasty looks from the
store technician because "…nothing seems to be wrong with it. Sir."
In this short but sweet guide, PC stats will discuss the common symptoms of
faulty memory as well as looking at a handful of free memory testing
software programs which can help you diagnose your troubles.

When good RAM goes bad


Seeing as it consists only of a handful of Silicon memory chips (called DRAM)
soldered to a small circuit board, computer memory is actually much more
resistant to failure than most other computer parts. Having said that, it is also
produced and distributed in more volume than any other computer part so it
sort of evens out.

Memory DRAM chips are tested by their manufacturers before they are
shipped, and this weeds out virtually all the 'defect' chips prior to sale.
However, computer memory is also vulnerable to a variety of situations that
can turn your working sticks of DDR or SDRAM memory sour.
Electrostatic shock from improper handling can damage memory. Try to avoid
stroking your cat while you install your new 1GB DDR module! Likewise,
power surges or poor power supplies can also damage your computer's
memory, sometimes gradually. The same can be said for raising memory
voltage too high if you are over clocking.
If your computer is excessively dusty, or is located in a humid environment the
contacts between the memory module and the memory slot can be interfered
with or corroded. Heat, either from other components or the RAM itself can
also cause gradual damage. Obviously, careless handling can also damage
computer memory by causing physical harm to the circuit board or contacts.
This is one of the reasons why we advocate memory heat spreaders - they
don't really do much in the way of cooling sticks of DDR, but they do offer a
nice level of protection from handling.
Another factor to take into consideration is the possibility of defects in the
memory slots of your computer's motherboard. These can be damaged by the
same means as listed above, and can cause confusion, since any memory

module plugged into a defective slot will appear to be defective even though
it really isn't
Fortunately, as modern computer memory is produced uniformly and has
relatively few points of failure as compared to other computer parts,
manufacturers are able to provide decent warranty support. Most 'brand
name' memory purchased directly form suppliers like Corsair, Crucial or
Kingston carries a lifetime warranty, while 'white box' memory purchased
from resellers typically has a longer warranty than most equivalent products,
generally three years.

Signs of bad memory:
1. Starts Smoking, 2. Becomes Moody...


The indicators of faulty memory are legion, but let's start with a few common
ones. From the top:
 Blue screens during the install procedure of Windows 2000 or XP. This is
one of the surest signs of faulty memory.
 Random crashes or blue screens during the running of 2000 or XP. Note
that heat can also be a culprit in the case of general flakiness like this, so
you should test for that possibility too.
 Crashes during memory intensive operations. 3D games, benchmarks,
compiling, Photoshop, etc.
 Distorted graphics on screen. This can also be related to the video card.
 Failure to boot. This can be accompanied by repeated long beeps, which

is the accepted BIOS beep code for a memory problem. In this
circumstance, you cannot test the memory with diagnostic software, so
your only option is testing by replacement, either at home or at your
computer dealer.

 Memory Testing Tips

 Before you run any of the testing programs below, you should first
determine how many memory modules are installed in your system. If you
already know this, skip to the next section. Otherwise, open up your
computer. Note that name brand computer makers like Dell are rather
touchy about having their systems opened by the user while still in
warranty.
 Keep this in mind, as it's lousy to find out your memory is bad and your
warranty is voided at the same time. Once you have the side panel off,

take a look inside. Memory modules on recent systems look like this when
installed. Note both the number of installed memory modules and the
amount of free slots you have.
 Once this is done, run one or more of the memory testing applications
listed below, then proceed to the troubleshooting section. Incidently, that
pair of Corsair memory works just fine, and this picture is just an example
of what DDR memory and DIMM slots look like. :-)

Bad Memory Testing:Memtest86+


 Like the Windows Memory Diagnostic below, this program is available
both as a bootable floppy and a CD. This version of the Memtest software
also identifies certain characteristics of the system it is running on, like the
chipset, CPU type and memory speed.
 Memtest86+ has basic and advanced testing modes, differing in the time
they take and the thoroughness of the testing. The basic mode should be
sufficient to indicate any major problems with your memory.
 To use Memtest86+ first download either the pre-compiled floppy disk
image or the bootable ISO CD image.
 Unzip the downloaded file and create your bootable disk by either running
the 'install' program (for the floppy disk image) or creating a CD from the
ISO image by using a program like Nero or Easy CD Creator.
 Reboot your computer with the floppy or CD in the drive to start the
Memtest86+ program. It will automatically begin the basic test. Note the
system information displayed to the left of the screen.
 The 'c' key will open a menu that allows you to choose between the
various test modes. Any errors in your memory will be listed at the bottom
of the screen.
 Docmem and Windows Mem Test
 Bad Memory Testing: Docmem
 Simmtester's Docmem program has been around for a while and is in use
at many computer stores and repair shops. It is available free of charge
from their website, though it requires a user registration before it can be
downloaded.




 The Docmem program must be installed onto a floppy disk which is then
used to boot the system. It offers both a quick memory test and a 'burn in'
mode which loops continuously until stopped.
 To use Docmem first download and extract the program to a directory,
then run the 'install' file which will load the Docmem program onto a
floppy disk. Restart your system with the newly created disk in the drive to
start Docmem. Choose the 'quick test' option to run the memory
diagnostic on your RAM. Any failures in your memory will be indicated at
the bottom of the screen.
 Bad Memory Testing: Windows memory diagnostic
 Microsoft actually offers its own free diagnostic tool in the style of the
above two programs. The program comes as a Windows installer file

which contains a CD image file for making a bootable CD, and a program
to create a bootable floppy.



 The program is a little more basic than the other two, but still runs
through the essential tests, and has an extended test available for burning
in your PC. The program can sometimes identify which memory module is
the source of problems on a system which has more than one module
installed.
 To use the Windows Memory Diagnostic first run the executable file and
choose either a CD or floppy disk install. If you chose CD, you will be
prompted for a location to save a CD image file. Remember the location
and use the file to create a CD with Nero or other CD burning programs.


 If you choose floppy, simply insert a disk and follow the prompts to create
a bootable disk.
 Now restart your system with the CD or floppy inserted. The Memory
Diagnostic will start up and begin running the basic tests. The program will
loop forever unless interrupted with 'x'. Any errors in your memory will be
listed at the bottom of the screen.
 Bad Memory Troubleshooting
 Once you have determined that your system produces errors when tested
with the diagnostic programs above, the next step is to pinpoint the
problem areas. If you do discover errors in your memory, most likely you
will need to seek warranty support or replacement, so make sure you
know which module is faulty.
 Isolating memory faults
 If you only have a single stick of memory, the first thing to do is to run one
or more of the utilities below to attempt to detect if the memory is faulty.
If you do get errors, your next step should be to move the lone memory
module to another memory slot in your motherboard, since there is a

possibility of the slot, or at least the contacts between the RAM and the
slot being problematic.
 To do this first power off the computer. Pull back the two memory
retention levers and remove your memory module. Insert the module into
another memory slot and push it down firmly. The memory retention
levers should snap into place. If they do not, you probably have the
memory the wrong way round.
 Once both levers are locked into place, power on your system and re-run
the memory test(s). If you still get errors, you likely have a faulty memory
module.
 Troubleshooting with multiple memory modules
 If you have more than one stick of memory in your system and you are
experiencing errors, the next step is to determine where the problem lies.
Any one of your memory modules could be faulty (though if you have
recently upgraded your memory and started experiencing errors, common
sense points towards the obvious culprit), as could one or more of the
memory slots on your motherboard.
 First step is to remove all but a single memory module (following the
direction above) and retest. Test each memory module by itself in the
same memory slot. If you get an error with only one of the modules, you
have found your culprit. If you get an error with all of them, the problem
likely lies with either the memory slot or the motherboard itself (possibly
even the processor).
 If you experienced no errors while testing each memory module by itself,
but you did get errors when testing them all together the first time, there
is the possibility than one of your other memory slots is defective. Try
repeating the testing with single memory modules in the other memory


slots on your board, until you find a combination that gives an error.
 Professional Grade memory testing of DIMMs

 There are companies which produce actual memory testing
units, once such example being the Innoventions Ramcheck Memory
Tester which PCStats reviewed a while back. This is a professional grade
memory tester, and it costs a few thousand dollars for the base unit, and
memory-specific adaptor from Innoventions. This is out of the range of the
consumer who is looking to diagnose bad memory in their machine, but
offers stores or service centers a quick and very reliable way to track down
bad memory to the DRAM or even solder point level.

THE END


Bad ram or ddr

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