Physical memory dump?

[legenderycity]

Hi, I have this problem a few times before, where the computer turns on, all fans running, 4 lights on the mobo is on, dvd drive light beeps, psu fans running, no hard drive activity, but my monitor screen is blank. No post and cannot boot. But the problem goes away after 1 or 2 days.

But today, while I tried to launch Dragon Age 2(I played this frequently with no problems before), after the program launches before it reaches the loading screen(when the program starts to maximize), BSOD! I don't remember what the error was, but at the bottom it says something physical memory dump. A bar loads until 100% and the computer just shuts down.

I restarted and just to get the problems I had before: the computer turns on, all fans running, 4 lights on the mobo is on, dvd drive light beeps, psu fans running, no hard drive activity but my monitor screen is blank. No post and cannot boot.

Any idea on what is causing this problem? RAM, hard drive or psu faulty?

My specs:
Intel Core 2 Duo E7500@2.93GHz
1 DIMM 2GB Corsair XMSII
320GB Western Digital hard drive
460W Cooler Master Real Power Pro
nVidia GTS 250 1GB

I played many hardcore games such as GTAIV, Mafia II and Dragon Age II with settings to maximum(of course the game did not run smoothly especially on GTAIV) knowing that the RAM is insufficient. I'm suspecting RAM broke down because of that. Any ideas?

 

[Mark56]

Take your RAM out and see if it reaches post.

If it does reach post without the ram fitted, use a known good stick of RAM just to be sure it will boot up ok and then get some new RAM.

 

[Tmagic650]

With all the RAM taken out, the motherboard might beep constantly but no post will be reached. The CPU needs some RAM to post at all

 

[Mark56]

Thanks Tmagic you are quite correct and I lost the plot, should not write posts when I am tired and being distracted.

Please ignore my last post.

Remove the Ram and see what happens, you should, As Tmagic has confirmed, get some beeps. Then see if you can borrow a known good stick of Ram to test if it will start correctly.

Also see if it will boot up from a windows disc.

 

[Tmagic650]

No problem Mark56
Try clearing the CMOS. If no beeps are heard with the memory out, the motherboard might have died. The CPU should always be suspected last

 

[legenderycity]

With all the RAM taken out, the motherboard might beep constantly but no post will be reached. The CPU needs some RAM to post at all

I don't know if it beeps constantly but my computer did not post after removing the RAM. All it does was kept powering up and shutting down in intervals. But, after I reseat my RAM, everything just seems to work fine, I tried playing Dragon Age 2 for a few minutes and there's no problem. What's the problem here? Faulty motherboard RAM slot or faulty RAM?

 

[legenderycity]

Then see if you can borrow a known good stick of Ram to test if it will start correctly.

Known good stick of RAM? I thought Corsair's RAM are 'known good stick of RAM'? If not can you tell me which brand of RAM should I buy? Going to upgrade to 4GB soon.

 

[Mark56]

Known good stick of RAM? I thought Corsair's RAM are 'known good stick of RAM'? If not can you tell me which brand of RAM should I buy? Going to upgrade to 4GB soon.

What I meant by a "known good stick of RAM" was simply to use a stick of RAM that is known to be fully functional from a working PC.

As the PC has now come good after reseating the RAM that would suggest you had a bad contact in the RAM slot. This is not uncommon as the small contacts on the RAM stick and in the slot can oxidise creating a bad connection. Reseating the RAM has cured the bad contact.

Any of the brand names of RAM are worthy of consideration when you buy your new sticks.

 

[legenderycity]

What I meant by a "known good stick of RAM" was simply to use a stick of RAM that is known to be fully functional from a working PC.

As the PC has now come good after reseating the RAM that would suggest you had a bad contact in the RAM slot. This is not uncommon as the small contacts on the RAM stick and in the slot can oxidise creating a bad connection. Reseating the RAM has cured the bad contact.

Any of the brand names of RAM are worthy of consideration when you buy your new sticks.

Sorry for the misunderstood. Again, how to prevent the oxidation in the RAM slot from happening?

 

[Mark56]

Sorry for the misunderstood. Again, how to prevent the oxidation in the RAM slot from happening?

Other than keeping it in a vacumm, lol, you can't. You can clean the contacts on the stick with a pencil eraser but the contacts in the slot are not accesible. The only cure when the problem occurs is pulling the sticks in and out a few times which effectively cuts through the oxidisation.

 

[legenderycity]

Other than keeping it in a vacumm, lol, you can't. You can clean the contacts on the stick with a pencil eraser but the contacts in the slot are not accesible. The only cure when the problem occurs is pulling the sticks in and out a few times which effectively cuts through the oxidisation.

That's weird. Do this happen to you too? I've never heard of people facing this problem before. Is it only me?

 

[Tmagic650]

I wouldn't worry too much about contact oxidation... Just by carefully removing the memory module and reinstalling it in the same slot, you will "clean" the contacts that way. If you are too rough with the memory installations, you can damage the memory slot

 

[Mark56]

That's weird. Do this happen to you too? I've never heard of people facing this problem before. Is it only me?

It isn't weird, it is a natural reaction between the material the contacts are made of, oxygen and moisture in the atmosphere. Possibly more common in more humid climates but it certainly isn't just you. This problem crops up from time to time and is by no means a rarity.

 

[Tmagic650]

Some motherboards are more prone to oxidation than others. Oxidation was more common a few years ago, when China had a bunch of bad capacitors and poor metal used in motherboard manufacturing. HP had a few laptop models produced in China where the internal wireless adapter connections oxidized causing loss of wireless connectivity

 

[legenderycity]

Ok I get it. Thanks for the help so far!