RAM? Mobo? CPU? HD?

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ironhell

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Mar 14, 2002
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My computer is acting weird. A while ago, it just completely pooped on me and I thought it was my RAM that was bad (because I ran the memtest and it said my RAM was bad). After putting in new RAM, a week later, my HARDDRIVE died on me, (I ran a WD diagnostic tool on it and it said it was bad). (I had a WD harddrive... and OCZTech RAM). I got a new harddrive and now I have TWO harddrives. Anyway, with this new RAM, within TWO weeks, my computer is acting up again. I did another memtest and found that now THIS ram has errors. Sometimes when I leave my computer idle overnight, it can't "wake up", I would have to cold reboot. Sometimes my computer would freeze and when I reboot, it can't detect either of my harddrives! Any idea what's causing this?

Bad mobo? Bad CPU? Any fixes? Please help!

Thanks,
IronHell
 
With this many failures I'd think it was bad POWER, make sure you use at least a good power supply with a surge supressor. If you have really bad power in your area, a UPS would be a good investment.

<font color=blue>There are no stupid questions, only stupid people doling out faulty information based upon rumors, myths, and poor logic!</font color=blue>
 
So if it is bad power... how do I go about fixing it? Is the damage already done? Do I need a new mobo? Or should I just replace my power supply? Would getting a UPS "fix" the problem? Anyway I can verify that it is indeed bad power?

As a side note, I have what's called winbond Hardware doctor and it reads off the sensors on the mobo. As far as I/it can tell, the voltages on the mobo seem fine...

Thanks for helping me out, I appreciate it.

Sincerely,
IronHell
 
I have 450 Watts. But as I mentioned before, I have what's called winbond Hardware doctor and it reads off the sensors on the mobo. As far as I/it can tell, the voltages on the mobo seem fine... So would there still be the possibility that my power supply is broken? Would it be worth it for me to invest in the "power supply tester" at: http://www.frozencpu.com/cgi-bin/frozencpu/psu-06.html

Thanks.
 
Well, if the problem is on the power grid, it would take a hell of a power supply to cushion the blow, which is why I'd recommend a UPS. While I can't be certain that spikes are the cause of your problems, it is the most likely cause. Simple bum luck is a less likely cause.

<font color=blue>There are no stupid questions, only stupid people doling out faulty information based upon rumors, myths, and poor logic!</font color=blue>
 
Hi,

First of all, thank you for responding to my posts. But I just want to clarify... so you are suggesting that a UPS might fix the problem IF it's power spikes. A few questions regarding the POSSIBILITY that it is bad power that's causing all the problems.

1. Why would that cause my RAM test to show up with bad RAM? Does this mean my RAM is "fried" as a result of bad power?
2. Why does my winbond Hardware Doctor show every voltage to be normal?
3. If it were bad power, did it permanently damage any peripherals?
4. Should I invest in that power supply tester?

Thanks again, this is very frustrating to me since as a college kid, I NEED my computer to operate =]

Sincerely,
IronHell
 
Oh by the way, I have a surge protector (and it says its working)... Also, I have two suitemates who have computers on the same power grid as I, so if there were power spikes, their computers would be affected like mine also correct? But their computers are fine. Thanks.

IronHell
 
1. It is possible to damage RAM from spikes
2. Spikes can occur very infrequently, usually when you're not looking
3. I've seen most of a computer die part by part up to 2 weeks after a bad spike
4. I doubt the power supply is damaged

But the thing that points away from this notion is that your suitmates computers don't have this problem. It is possible that you have had bad luck. BTW, OCZ is gaining a very bad reputation.

<font color=blue>There are no stupid questions, only stupid people doling out faulty information based upon rumors, myths, and poor logic!</font color=blue>
 
What ram test are you running? A standalone unit? Or Memtest? I have heard that if you run memtest with an athlon, it will show memory errors. I had a few sticks show up with such errors, yet never had a problem with them.

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I have heard that if you run memtest with an athlon, it will show memory errors.
Click to expand...
I have an Athlon XP and my bro has a T-Bird and both have run memtest for hours and hours with not one error. He has one Infineon 256 stick and one we can't figure out 128 stick in his machine (both DDR266) and no prob. I have 2 Samsung 256 sticks (which one is not actually samsung but both have samsung chips) and it also works fine.

<A HREF="http://forums.btvillarin.com/index.php?act=ST&f=41&t=421&s=205efc501496823a64ba7fbd37152ff2" target="_new">Psyko's Rig</A>
 
I remember using memtest to try to diagnose problems on my last system, and using RAM i knew was good, I ran memtest and got errors. I reffered to a message board and was told what I said here.

Since then I have not had a use for memtest, so it might have been an older version. Or I got some bad news. Thats why I said "I have heard", and not "I know" .

<A HREF="http://tekkoshocon.com/" target="_new">http://tekkoshocon.com/</A> Southeast Pennsylvania gets an Anime Convention!
 
RAM 'errors' can also be shadowed parts of your BIOS. Like shadowing BIOSes of NICs, or video BIOS, etc.

I have used Memtest86 on several PCs with Athlons and they never showed errors unless I OC'ed to high.

My dual-PSU PC is so powerfull that the neighbourhood dimms when I turn it on 😱
 
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