"Memory Management" BSOD help needed

My system crashes (BSOD 0x0000001A) after running for some minutes/hours/days (it is very variable - but if it is left powered up it usually crashes after a day or two). Sometimes it happens while I'm actually using the computer e.g. browsing the web, but it also happens when it has been left idle. I can't be 100% certain, but I don't *think* it has happened while playing any games etc.

I've been through the steps given in the thread "Before posting your minidumps, please read this.." but I don't detect any change in behaviour. In addition, I have tried swapping out RAM modules, and have installed some brand new Crucial modules in place of the Dell originals, again with no apparent change in behaviour.

I did have problems with crashes during AVG antivirus scans, but have since completely removed AVG (Free version) from my system and installed Bulldog AV instead.

I'm really looking for some pointers here as to where to start looking for whatever is causing my problem.

The machine in question is a Dell XPS 630i, with 4GB RAM and running WIndows Vista Home Premium (32 bit). I have attached the most recent minidumps.

Any help/pointers gratefully received.

4 of 5 minidumps all point to the same cause: memory corruption.

Run Memtest on your RAM. See link: http://www.techspot.com/vb/topic62524.html

Make sure you run it for a minimum of 7 Passes.

Thanks - I'll give Memtest another go (I have tried it, but not for 7 passes). I am a bit puzzled though as the problem appears to crop up with the OE Dell memory and with the shiny new Crucial memory with which I replaced it. Are there any other faults which would be likely to result in memory curruption?

Crucial makes very good memory. Since your Vista is a 32-bit OS have you tried just running with 2 gigs? 32-bit OS will only recognize/utilize 3 to 3.25 gigs of RAM. If not, then try it and tell us if you gain stability.

Also, does the Crucial match your older Dell memory in every way, i.e., timings and voltage required?

OK - Have now left Memtest running all night and day. 30 passes with no errors reported. As far as I know, the Crucial memory matches the Dell stuff with respect to timings, voltage etc (although the original Dell setup was 4 x 1GB modules, whereas the Crucial setup is 2 x 2GB).

I'll try the PC with only 2GB.

Good diagnostic work. I am just wondering if your motherboard is setting the voltage correctly in the BIOS.

Do you know how to access your BIOS and what is the recommended voltage for both sets of RAM?

Hmm - I checked the BIOS on boot-up and saw that the memory voltage setting was "Auto" - with the actual setting being 1.85V. I have Sisoft Sandra installed, which showed that the voltage for my modules should be 1.80V. I have therefore changed this manually in the BIOS to 1.80V, but have left everything else unchanged (I work on the principle of only making one change at a time) so I'm still running the full 4GB for now.

I'm not sure how to change the memory timings, but I'll have a look at this if the system remains prone to crashing (which I won't know until it has been up for a few days at least).

Thanks very much for the help you've given me thus far - I'm not averse to getting my hands dirty but it really helps to have someone pointing me in the right direction!

You are doing the right thing by approaching it one step at a a time. Let us know if the memory settings to 1.8V does the trick.

Will do, but I'll only know if it has been successful after the system has been up and running for a few days. Now here's a thing - I've reviewed the datestamps on my minidump files, and for some reason the time between failures is often (but not always) 5 days. I wonder why that might be?

left the system up running overnight and all day/night Saturday, using it to play a few games, do a bit of web browsing and play music, all without any problem. Left it running Saturday night and Sunday morning, used it on Sunday again to play games, web browse, email etc, again with no problems. Sunday afternoon, some 5-10 minutes into a streamed Quicktime video and the thing fell over with the same BSOD error as before.

Now the more I think about it, I reckon a lot of the previous crashes have occurred while some sort of streamed video was being played. Is it possible that a problem with the graphics cards could cause this memory corruption? I have a pair of Nvidia 9800GT cards working together in SLI mode (drivers are as up to date as I can get).

For now I'll try downgrading to 2GB RAM and see if that helps.

How about trying just one video card at a time. It would be rare if faulty RAM always gave out bugcheck 1A. You would usually only get one every six crashes or so (if that).

The PC has now been running continuously for six days and no BSOD. Fingers crossed, I think this may be fixed...

Damn! Spoke too soon! Just a couple of hours after saying I thought it was fixed, the pesky PC has a hissy fit and crashes once again with a Memory Management BSOD.

Attach your minidump and have you considered what peterdiva recommends?

Minidump attached. I have considered the suggestion to remove one of the graphics cards but I'm committed to only changing one thing at a time. Removing the card is next on the list.

Error is 0x1A: Memory_Management and, believe it or not, it cited corrupted memory. This error is hardware related.

Memory Management" BSOD help needed

Hey Roymondo, this is crazy... ive been searching for help with this error for over 2 weeks now ...I also have a dell xps 630i with vista and 4 gigs of ram, and have exactly the same symptoms as you do! Dell has replaced my ram, motherboard ,and 9800gt. (also tried to raise the voltage to 2.10v on my ram).......and its still happening! The only thing that slowed down the bsod is installing vista on a different hard drive (i still get memory management errors but only 2 in the last week) Im talking to Dell now about getting my machine replaced.

That's not very encouraging at all :-(

How often was your computer crashing? Mine runs just fine for about five days then crashes with the BSOD "Memory management" error. How old is your machine?

Memory Management" BSOD help needed

Mine was crashing bad in the beginning,like once every couple hours. I was able to actually make it crash by running the vista experience index(to rate the machine).and whenever i format and first ran vista for the first time it also crashed when it was rating the computer.My machine is like 22 days old!

Ouch. I can happily run the Vista Experience Index widget (and any other benchmarking/testing program I've tried for that matter). I can also run 3D games etc, again without any problems. But every five days or so, the machine simply crashes with no warning.

See, now 3d games and the Vista Experience Index works fine when i installed vista on a new hard drive. but now its giving the bsod for no reason, and ive had only 2 or 3 in last couple days, just like your issue... heres the error .....The computer has rebooted from a bugcheck. The bugcheck was: 0x0000001a (0x00005003, 0x8c200000, 0x00007be4, 0x03abf5d2). A dump was saved in: C:\Windows\MEMORY.DMP. Report Id: 051009-16848-01. Dell wants to try 1 more thing before they replace my machine. They are sending me a vista preloaded hard drive,and want to see if im still getting the errors. I have a question for you Roymondo. Do you get other errors too, like super fetch stopped responding or readyboost shut down?

Yes, I do occasionally get the Superfetch has stopped responding error, and from time to time I get "Host Process for Windows Services has stopped working" (or similar text - definitely something about Host Process stopping working). It always seems to sort itself out after a few minutes though and as i understand it, it's typically caused by some piece of software not being quite 100% compatible with Vista. It's really Windows saying "Sorry, something has fouled up" and is apparently nothing to worry about unless it happens all the time or Windows crashes.