Another PFN_LIST_CORRUPT BSOD problem

[goodhorsehymn]

Hello all,

I wonder if anyone can help a relative simpleton.

My computer has been chugging along fine for ages, but this last week I suffered a hard disk failure. It was 5 years old, and heavily used, so it came as no surprise.

I reinstalled Windows on a partition of my second disk, and thought everything would be fine.

However, I seem to now be getting PFN_LIST_CORRUPT errors. I read that these are normally associated with RAM problems. However before the hard disk failure, I had none of these errors, and the two 512mb RAM sticks were working fine.

I also upgraded my graphics card to a GeForce 6600 (AGP) in May, but didn't experience any problems with this.

I've read two suggestions so far. First, is that the RAM is a problem. Second, is that perhaps the PSU isn't giving enough power. I now only have one hard disk and one DVD drive installed, with on board sound card and the new GeForce 6600.

I'm not entirely sure where to start to solve this. I wouldn't know how to check the PSU, and I don't have a floppy drive installed (silly I know) so haven't been able to try the memtest thing I read about. Also, when I try to boot Windows with a non-powered USB hub plugged in, the Windows start up thing freezes. This suggests to me it could be PSU related. In this case, I'm confused as to how it worked ok previously, but now doesn't, despite one less hard disk to power.

What would be the sensible suggestion? Try whipping a RAM stick out and running it for a bit to test? Find an XP fix of some sort? I've noticed in device manager that some RAID device isn't properly installed, and I'm not sure what that would be for.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks,
Keir

Windows XP, 2x512mb RAM, notsureaboutthemotherboard, GeForce6600.

 

[N3051M]

I wouldn't know how to check the PSU, and I don't have a floppy drive installed (silly I know) so haven't been able to try the memtest thing I read about.

PSU: Use a PSU Calculator like this to deterimine your absolute minimum, then add 50W to the equation. Don't forget to press the calculate button after you changed something.
Look on your PSU Info sticker and post the info on it here. make/model, voltage/amps etc.

Memtest you can download the ISO version which you burn onto a CD and boot with that. dont forget to run it one stick at a time then together at the end if all ok..

The RAID devices are if you have multiple hdds and want to combine it or mirror it etc. Some motherboards with sata HDDs even if just 1 hdd need raid to work properly. Right click and just try updating drivers.

Look on the web for the updated motherboard drivers and install them. You can find more info about your motherboard by downloading something like SIW or everest home and using that to read the info from it.

 

[goodhorsehymn]

Thanks for your help N3051M, much appreciated.

I had trouble getting memtest to boot from CD for some reason, so haven't managed to do that. I did do my own test however. The system crashed without fail when trying to convert and burn a VCD using Nero. I tried it with one RAM stick and it failed again, but worked fine when only the second stick was in. I think this may be a cause of the problem.

I've had a look at my PSU and it says it's 300w. I had a bash at the PSU calculator (with my limited knowledge of what's inside) and it comes out at about 230w. Would it be better to upgrade the PSU or do you think that would be ok?

A replacement hard drive has just arrived and I'm worried about fitting it into a system that might not like it. Can hard drives be damaged if they don't get enough from the PSU?

Thanks again for your help, greatly appreciated.

 

[N3051M]

for the memtest CD, you have to burn it as a bootable disc using your CD burning software, and not open the ISO file with winrar then copying it over to the CD.. You may need to set the boot order to pick up the CD first..

faulty ram could be causing the problem..

google for SIW and download/run it if you still need to find out more info about your PC. If it is truly at 280W (230w + 50W headroom) then the extra HDD should be OK. Although beware of generic branded PSUs may fail more likely under pressure than good quality PSUs.

But to answer your question, yes they can be damaged from not getting enough power from the PSU.

 

[goodhorsehymn]

Thanks for all this - it turned out to be the RAM