[SOLVED] Repeated crashes + BSOD on Windows Vista

I think it is a good idea - go after that which you believe to be the problem first.

I asked about the single stick test as I'm told that memtest86+ could report inaccurate results if more than 1 stick is tested at a time. My systems here are OEM laptops and only have 2 slots & TBH -- I have never had the pleasure (??) of running memtest86+ even though my "newest" laptop is from 2008 and came with Vista SP1. I have been very fortunate thus far.

How old is your system? (Just curious)

I see Vista OS install date is 2009:
Code: 
Original Install Date:     6/7/2009, 5:11:59 AM

^^^ That was about a month or two before Windows 7 RTM went public.
 
Oh thanks for the info about Memtest, I didn't know that.

I'm not sure when the exact date of purchase was, but summer of 2009 sounds about right. If I had to guess, I would say the date of original install was probably the day of purchase. We were in a bit of a bind to get a computer as quick as possible since our previous computer died horribly (CMOS battery leaked battery acid all over the place).
 
Yes - date of install is very often the 1st boot-up of a new system.

Just curious (again!) - why did you not upgrade to Windows 7?
 
I have absolutely no good reason for not upgrading to Windows 7. Just sort of never got around to it. I always meant to but just never did.

On a side note, the two RAM sticks testing together went fine for about 3 passes and then at some point I think maybe memtest itself crashed. It was just sort of a blank blue screen and monitor kept saying "Adjusting." Not sure what was up with that. Anyway, I have been running Windows for about an hour and 15 minutes with no crashes and she seems pretty responsive. Going to test the sticks again over night to see what happens.
 
For the record, I have never had Memtest report a false negative. That is, when it reports a fault, the RAM was bad. But no software based RAM tester is perfect. On several occasions, I have had RAM test good after multiple passes, but still fail in use, or when paired with other sticks. Running with one at a time and working through a process of elimination is often the only way to conclusively test RAM - unless you have a hardware based memory tester - which tend to be consistently accurate.
 
Using the older version of Memtest86+ I still encountered a hang. It was exactly like the hang I encountered using v5.02 where the screen went completely blank and blue with no text or signs of activity. Anyone know how I should interpret that? Is that a problem with utility itself or something related to the RAM?

EDIT: I should probably say that this was during a test of just one stick of RAM in one of the slots I'm hoping isn't defective.
 
jcgriff2 said:
Does that same stick of RAM result in the same when tested in the other 3 slots?
Click to expand...

I haven't really had a chance to test for that. That type of crash has only happened twice total, once with one stick, once with another and in different slots. I guess I was just trying to figure out if I should count that as a failed test in my tally I'm keeping, or chock it up to just the utility crashing.
 
Do you happen to have 4 sticks of RAM lying around (all matched of course!) to swap out? :)

If any of the sticks have failed, I would suggest running the system without those stick(s) and see if the system is stable, i.e., no BSODs.
 
Sadly I don't. I really wish I did because this whole process would be so much easier. I have DDR3 memory lying around but no DDR2 and I'm debating if I should buy a kit just for testing purposes.

However, my sticks have been testing well in consistently in two memory slots and failing consistently in the other two. I'm going to let this last stick go for a few more passes and then I'm going to see how Windows runs on just those two good slots.
 
Some stores like BestBuy have liberal return policies. Check local Hawaiian retailers return policy.

DDR2 here too -- interesting how much more expensive DDR2 is than DDR3. That's the main reason I haven't increased my 2x2 GB RAM to 2x4 GB RAM -- cost to do so = ~$175.
 
Yeah that was the other reason I was hoping it wouldn't come to replacing the RAM. I might look into Best Buy though. I didn't even know they carried RAM. I'll do that as a last resort though should the computer keep crashing on just two sticks of RAM.
 
The computer has been running for a few days now without any crashes. I did test the graphics card that was originally stopping the system from booting in a separate system and it actually shot sparks out when I turned the system on. Luckily it didn't damage that other system but I think maybe it did damage the PC this thread was about. After loads and loads of memtesting it seems to me like two of the RAM slots on the motherboard had failed, so the computer is not using those slots anymore. So far it has been running well without the graphics card and with half of its previous amount of RAM. Hopefully it stays that way for some time to come.

Thanks for all the help everybody!
 
Hi. . .

That's quite an outcome for the video card!

Sorry to learn about the 2 bad slots.

Your persistence with hardware testing seems to have paid off.

Thank you for posting back with the outcome - much appreciated.

It has been a pleasure & I wish you the best of luck.

Regards. . .

John
 
Sparks inside a PC (other than inside the PSU itself) is pretty rare because it takes a large "difference in potential" (high voltage) to cause voltage to arc (jump or spark) from one conductor to another and there is only 12V inside a PC (again, excluding the PSU itself). It typically happens when a card, connector or other device is not fully or properly inserted in its socket or slot, exposing one contact point to another.

It may be the two memory slots, but I suspect it is the memory controller for those slots that was damaged.

Since this is a 4 year old computer, I think if me, I would start budgeting for a new computer in the near future - perhaps with tax refund - if any. For sure, I would perform regular backups of your data, starting today.
 

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