Memory issues

[acidd22]

I have a Gigabyte EP43-DS3L running a 64-bit Intel P4 processor.  I have install 4 sticks of 1GB crucial memory.  A few months ago i ran into some BSOD errors in Windows XP x86 edition (only had 2GB at the time) and ran MemoryTest86 to find some bad memory.  Crucial replaced the memory and everything was fine.  I upgraded to a total of 4GB of memory after installing Windows 7 64-bit edition, ran MemoryTest86 and everything was fine.  now i'm running into the same problem with BSOD errors, and when i run MemoryTest86 after a BSOD, i get bad memory.  I removed 1 pair and rain the memory test and got no errors, but after a day or two on the pair of good memory, i get BSOD and run memory test after the errors and find that the second pair is bad.  I've tried to change the slots that the memory is in.  Its always the same, it starts out great, not errors, then i get BSOD errors after a day then i run MemoryTest86 to find errors in the memory.

could this be a problem with the motherboard?  is it possible that all 3 pairs of memory have gone bad in a few months?  is it possible that the motherboard is just reading the memory incorrectly?  thanks for any suggestions you might have!

[Pottypete]

Hi,
I had a matched set of geil memory 2x2g that failed within 2 days of each other,
Yours could also have been from one batch,
Have you checked memory is running at manufacturers specs?
Cheers

[acidd22]

thanks for the advice.  I bought these at different times and the batch information on the sides are not the same. 

Does it make sense that a memtest would reveal errors at one time then after shutting down for a few hours, reveal no errors?  Would testing the RAM on another motherboard be worthwhile?

[Pottypete]

Hi,
Yes I would check on another mobo if available,
Memtest could be giving you the wrong info, but is unlikly,
But the manufacterer changed the last lot for you so there must have been errors on it,
Have you checked memory is running at manufacturers specs?
not overvolted, not overheating,
cheers

[acidd22]

i ran speedfan and take a look at my voltages... The +12 and the negative voltages look out of whack....

[Pottypete]

Hi
Can you try with another PSU, the 12v and -5 rails are more than the reccommended +- 5%
This could be the problems,
Cheers

[acidd22]

i will give that a try.

I noticed in the BIOS menu that the +12v was listed as 11.98V, but the other problematic voltages were not listed from the BIOS.  Speedfan shows a different value from the BIOS menu...

[Pottypete]

Hi,
Speedfan can give wildly inaccurate voltages it reads them from the bios, but sensors are not all, to the same standard,
the only way to test the voltages accuratly is with a muti meter under load from the 12v molex when under load,
What psu have you got , how old is it, some lesser models start going mameries virtical after a few years,
worth a shot if you have a spare one,
cheers

[acidd22]

Things are getting worse.  I can't even get the computer to boot into windows.

I swapped out the power supply, no luck... I swapped out the RAM and its working again.  That could be the problem, but swapping the memory has helped in the past, but he problem persists shortly after...

Also, software still puts the +12v at 0v and the -12v at -16v.  I hooked a multimeter up to a drive plug and it reads 12.15v and 5.05.  Is this the same 12v that's being read on the motherboard, or do i have to try to check it on the motherboard power jack?

[fadsarmy]

i ran speedfan and take a look at my voltages... The +12 and the negative voltages look out of whack....

Don't worry about that. SpeedFan is not correctly reporting motherboard sensors. Use EasyTune or Everest.

[acidd22]

Thanks, EasyTune6 reads better numbers!