Corruptness and blue screens

[Nukey]

Hey there,

I think I've been just about everywhere to get help but things are getting from bad to worse...

Ive just built a brand new pc, including the case, but I'm having serious Windows problems. Before I go into the problems Ill give the spec here...

Motherboard - DFI Lanparty NF4 Ultra-D
Processor - AMD Athlon 64 3200+ (2.01GHz)
Memory - 1x 256MB DDR266, 1x 128MB DDR266 (384MB Total)
HDD - 1x 160GB Seagate 7200RPM, 1x 80GB Maxtor 7200RPM (240GB Total)
Graphics - PCI Express, ATI Radeon X600 256MB 16x
Power Supply - X-Power 500W (+12v DC runs 20A)
CD - DVD-/+RW Philips PBDV1640P
Monitor - SyncMaster 193v by Samsung (19" TFT running at 1280x1024)
OS - Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005

Anyway, the problems that I have been having has been various. I've had to install the operating system 5 or 6 times now, and sometimes it won't even install properly.

The problems I have been having is that I have been receiving blue STOP screens all over the place, I've been having "corrupt file" notifications every time that the machine starts into Windows, Device manager won't work, it won't install any hardware drivers at all, irrelevant to whether it's off the bundled CDs, the built-in audio isn't working properly and all of the hardware I have in there is brand new, except the memory (even though I've used that for over a year now and had no problems whatsoever).

The memory is compatible with the board, as the manual says, and I couldnt see why there should be any problems. Windows Update is a no go, every time I install from then the blue screens come up and the machine won't start (stuck on black screen through loading or system restart automatically).

I have run a memory test that was downloaded form the Microsoft site, and the tests keep reading "FAIL" but I'm a bit worried incase I spend money on different memory, the problems coming back again. I havn't had any problems for a year now with the memory at all. The blue screens that are coming up are either "IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL" or "PAGE_FAULT_IN_NON_PAGED_AREA". Also downloading large files from the Internet are almost impossible, because they are always corrupted. Also, Internet Explorer is randomly crashing too, and when I use error reporting, it says that it's caused by a device driver but can not find the exact cause.

This random crashing has happened since I have successfully managed to put the PC together. Now and then I also have the power light flashing on the PC but no system start up.

The system is not overheating either, and everything is correctly placed in and set properly.

Do you have any ideas? Sorry it's a bit of a book but Ive contacted Microsoft, they were no help, the same as the store I brought the Windows CDs from.

Thanks,

-Nukey (by the way, that is my real name). :bounce:


Full system specs for my computer found here

 

[Nukey]

Anyone?

 

[howard_hopkinso]

Go HERE and follow the instructions for testing your ram.

If Memtest86+ gives you errors, then your ram is bad. If as seems likely you do have faulty ram, then replacing it should solve your problems.

Regards Howard

 

[Nukey]

Thanks, Ill try that. I was a litlte unsure becasue its only happened since installing all the new hardware...

 

[howard_hopkinso]

yeah I know. trouble shooting hardware can be a real pain.

After you`ve run the Memtest86+ programme, please let us know the results.

Regards Howard

 

[kirock]

I'll say what I say to all new PC builders and game buyers, UPDATE your mobo chipsets. Manufac are notorious for releasing Alpha chipset drivers. Before you opened the box the drivers were out of date.

Other then that the 256 and 128 combo is suspect alone, whether or not it functions with errors. Alot of mobos don't like that kind of odd ball configuration. Run MemTest as Howard suggests and then if all ok, I'd still remove the 128 stick and buy equivalent of the 256 stick. IMO.

One last thing you could try is removing the 128 stick and increasing your page file size, because now you only have 256Mb, just enough to run XP. This is to see if the odd ball thing is causing crash. But UPDATE your chipset first.

Cheers,

 

[Nukey]

I ran the memtest program I think it was memtest) and I kept getting fails all over the place. Also, for the chipset thing, its a bit difficult cos I cant download stuff on here because it always becoms corrupted for some reason. I downloaded all the new drivers just to have the little box keep coming up saying that setup had to close :[

 

[kirock]

Quoted from Howard:

If Memtest86+ gives you errors, then your ram is bad. If as seems likely you do have faulty ram, then replacing it should solve your problems

Nuf said. But try to replace it with identical pairs.

 

[Nukey]

Corruptness

I have actually found it was a memory problem.

Thank you very much for helping me out, much appreciated!

-Nukey

 

[Vigilante]

I'm only replying here cause I like the title to this thread. "corruptness". haha. Was that the code name to XP?

Try swapping your two RAM sticks, run memtest86 on the 128 by itself. Then on the 256 by itself. One of those sticks is likely to be the bad one, and the other may be just fine.

 

[Sharam]

To put closure to this thread, please do tell us which module you removed and what you did so others can learn

Just a question; initially, did you by any chance install the 2 modules in a dual channel setup, or did you have one module in one of each channel's 2 sockets?

 

[Nukey]

Well I ditched the nasty 256MB ram module and shoved 2 old DDR333 128s in there as a temporary solution, no problems found! Just to think I went all this way to get help and the answer was smacking me in the face! :giddy: :haha: oh well, it doesn't really matter now because Im getting 4x 1GB Modules soon anyway.

 

[kirock]

Nukey,

Just a word of caution: 4X 1Gb sounds great, but some ( even the best baords) mobos really go wacky when you load all 4Gb. If you do have instability probs again after installing 4Gb, try removing 1 stick. It's weird I know, but alot of people have had this problem.

 

[Nukey]

Well I see exactly what you mean, I have checked and there's a tweaking setting on my BIOS that will enable the full 4 rams to operate together more stable, but what I will be doing is I will be adding each of them over time (I don't have £400 to spend on RAM all in one go, Lol!) but I will have to take it steady anyway, because my board has a habit of not powering up properly if anything is out of place by the slightest.

I'll have to just see what I can do with that

-Nukey :stickout: