RAM in older machine

[jbennet]

Just took my old desktop out of storage... Its from 05/06 ish... and 2gb of its RAM is faulty :( - Wont boot with it in. Any ideas why this is? The slots themselves don't seem to be faulty, just the sticks....

[Cross213]

Well if the RAM itself is faulty as you say, then why ask what's wrong? Surely that's what's wrong

[jbennet]

Im asking what made it go wrong, its just been sitting doing nothing for a few years....

[Cross213]

I'm not quite sure about the cause of this malfunction or damage but clearly it's dead. Is there any physical damage on it?

[jbennet]

Nah it just causes the machine to hang at the BIOS logo....

[Cross213]

How do you know it's the RAM though?

[jbennet]

Because I pull out eveytthing and add it in 1 by one, and the RAM makes it go BEEEPPPP and flash the lights for "memory / mainbard error"

you know, its called process of elimination, its like the main way of computer diagnostics.....

[Cross213]

How troublesome. Sounds like it is the RAM. To be 100% sure you should put in another pc. If still the same problem then you can rule it out and will perhaps have to buy new RAM

[jbennet]

But what could be *wrong* with the RAM... that tis the question sir...

[Cross213]

It could be blown, sir. Other than that, that's as far as I can help

[jbennet]

"help"

[Cross213]

I believe so yes, as far as I can see I'm the only one that has been "helping" with this thread

[caperjack]

2 gig of its ram

so it has more than one stick of ram in it ,and works OK with the other ram installed ,is this correct assumption on my part ,
did you try cleaning the contacts,[and also blow out the ram slot with compressed air]i use a lead pencil eraser,i have a white eraser just for this in my tool box,
as for why it goes bad ,that a good question [because it a piece of electronics],and im sure there are many answers,google.com will have some answers im sure

[jingda]

Have you try running a ram test? You can use this software to help you.

Can show me a picture of the ram.

[jbennet]

so it has more than one stick of ram in it ,and works OK with the other ram installed ,is this correct assumption on my part , did you try cleaning the contacts,[and also blow out the ram slot with compressed air]i use a lead pencil eraser,i have a white eraser just for this in my tool box, as for why it goes bad ,that a good question [because it a piece of electronics],and im sure there are many answers,google.com will have some answers im sure

It had 2x1gb and 2x512mb DDR2 of varying speeds and densities (each pair is matched though). There are 4 slots, in 2 pairs, on the motherboard

One (or both, i dont know as you need matching pairs to try them) of the 512mb sticks has become faulty, meaning I had to remove them in order for the machine to boot, and leaving me with only 2gb of ram.

Its not the slot as the "bad" modules dont work in the known "good" slot and if i put the "good" modules in the slots where i removed the "bad" ones from, its fine.

I will try cleaning the contacts.... Cant run memtest86 on the "bad" modules as the machine doesnt POSt with them in (hangs at the Video card boot screen, even before the manufacture BIOS screen)

[caperjack]

its been my experience that only incompatible ram will stop a computer from booting,when there is good ram in the computer ,not bad ram

[jbennet]

But the ram *used* to work.For years.

The computer has been in storage for 2/3 years.

And now those 2 sticks are faulty. Makes no sense.

[jak0b]

I suggest you read this, on how and why electronic parts degrade in time.
http://spectrum.ieee.org/semiconductors/processors/transistor-aging

One very likely possibility though, is that the faulty ram can't keep up with the speed anymore. :)

[jbennet]

if anything was going to go, thought it would have been the CPU lol, that thing runs HOTTT....