Recurring Memory_Managment BSOD

[amisspelledword]

I keep getting the Memory_Management blue screen of death (BSOD). How can I fix it?

My computer:

Windows 7, Service Pack 1, 64-bit
8 GB RAM
500 GB harddrive w/ 178 GB remaining free

Event log:

Not sure what is pertinent to copy/paste here. There are a ton of "Critical" errors in the log. all of them are for "The system has rebooted without cleanly shutting down first. This error could be caused if the system stopped responding, crashed, or lost power unexpectedly." -- I think those are symptoms of the BSOD rather than the BSOD itself, though. Im not sure how to identify which of these event logs is the recurring BSOD error.

Other info:

- I had exact same hardware configuration for over a year without issues. The BSODs started months ago and now happen daily or more
- the built-in Windows Memory Test diagnostic tool found no errors with my memory
- disk defragmenter says my hard drive is 0% fragmented
- I suspect the problem lies with my hard drive just because it is by far the oldest piece of hardware

 

[Dee Kay]

Windows memory tester misses too many problems. Check your ram for errors by running memtest86 for at least 6 passes to see if heat may be causing issues. If you see errors then check one stick at a time to see which stick(s) may be bad.

 

[amisspelledword]

I will give memtest86 a shot and report back.

This may or may not be related, but my web browsers (both Firefox and Chrome) crash constantly.

 

[johnbl]

you can put your memory .dmp files on a server and post a link.
the files are generally in c:\windows\minidump and have a file extension of .dmp

 

[amisspelledword]

Reporting back:

I ran Memtest, but did not complete a single pass as it was taking so long. During the initial test, the scan (though incomplete) found 78,111 Errors. I figured that was enough to confirm a memory problem.

Next, I opened up my box and removed 1 of the 2 sticks of RAM and ran the test again, to try to identify which stick of RAM contains the errors. After running memtest a 2nd time with just 1 stick of RAM, it found 76,595 Errors (I only allowed Memtest to get 83% complete before ending the test).

Lastly, I removed the "bad" stick of RAM and replaced it (using the same slot on my motherboard) with the 2nd stick of RAM. I ran Memtest a third time with my 2nd stick of RAM. After 91% complete of 1 pass, it had found zero errors.

I understand you ordinarily use multiple "passes" to confirm test results, but 78,000 errors vs. zero errors? Surely the margin of error cannot be so great?

New questions:

1) Have I done enough to confirm this stick of RAM is indeed, no good?

2) Is there any risk in running my PC with just the one working RAM until I can buy additional, new RAM to supplement? (I'll probably be back asking about mix/matching RAM... ugh).

3) This RAM is only about 3 years old. Is it normal to go bad so quickly? I've had other, older PCs that had RAM for much much longer without going bad. My RAM is G.Skill 4Gx2 DDR3-1333.

Thank you for your very considerate, informed help and quick responses.

 

[Dee Kay]

When you start start seeing lot of errors then you didn't need to continue. I should have told you that but at least now you know what the problem is. The memtest runs many tests and that stick was throwing an error for most every test so the number of errors is understandable. If you bought the ram online then you will need to check with the store for an RMA. If you bought it locally then take it back to the store and exchange it. You can try to return both sticks if it was a matched pair but some places may only allow you to return the bad stick. Replacing that stick should fix all of your problems ram wise. Good luck.