Member Avatar for sittas87

Hi
I have a stunned problem with my company pc and would really appreciate any other suggestions.The computer I have is networked to exchange server and two other business related servers.Recently the user has started to complain about system freezes.So upon some research in I found a "bugcheck" complain that said that I should change the RAM cause theres faulty RAM(four slots,all occupied) So I took out the RAM replaced it with other sticks witch I know is working.Its better now but still hangs so now and again(not as much as it used to though).

Is this still RAM related?if so what can I try next or does the problem reside somewhere else.

Thanks Guys

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The bugcheck that suggested replacing RAM is a clue, not a full diagnosis. Before more parts-swapping, capture and read the exact STOP code and the minidump so the fault can be triaged: a true memory corruption looks different in a dump than a driver or kernel bug. Tools like WinDbg (or a quick viewer) make the difference between guessing and fixing; see Microsofts overview on crash dumps for what to collect first. (If the system is under business support, collect the dump and its timestamp to hand to support.)

A focused, repeatable isolation plan helps track intermittent failures. Test one DIMM at a time and log results per slot to separate bad sticks from bad DIMM sockets or the memory controller. If all modules pass individually but problems return when all four are fitted, suspect BIOS/firmware or mismatched memory specs (speed, voltage, ECC vs non-ECC, or XMP/overclock settings). Put the BIOS to factory/JEDEC defaults and test again before replacing boards or CPUs.

If the dump points to a driver or the freezes occur with no BSOD, stress the driver layer in a controlled way (short Driver Verifier runs on non-critical drivers) so a reproducible crash implicates the offending driver. Update chipset, NIC and storage drivers and firmware first, then rerun tests. For hangs without crash dumps, capture additional logs or use Sysinternals tools on a test bench to avoid disrupting the user.

Prioritized short checklist:

  • Pull the exact STOP code and minidump; analyze it (see Microsoft docs).
  • Update BIOS/chipset drivers, disable memory overclocking/XMP.
  • Perform single-module vs slot mapping and record failures.
  • Use Driver Verifier briefly if dumps implicate drivers.
  • If still intermittent, swap PSU/motherboard on a bench or escalate under warranty.

Good starting guidance from ; , the dump-first approach above will save time and point whether to keep testing RAM or to replace another component.

Driver Verifier (Microsoft)

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Member Avatar for mjdodd

any computer freeze can be cused by a number of problems:
1. Is it getting too hot through dust etc on fans and coolers?... clean off!
2. overcrowded softwated. much experience tells me computers work better if doing one thing at a time and not mulittasking. try to reduce any background programs that are usng unecessary resources.
3. Virus or malaware can freeze so check all is up to date and clean
4. Some progs like windows defender and defrags run at cedtain times and then hog resources, check the machine is not doing a scan at some prearranged time and thus freezing out others
5. intermittant hardware faults (not only in memory) can cause freezing as can mini power surges or blackouts. check all cables and connections!
6. There are a number of memory hardware free downloads that can runa memory soak test (overnight is usually necessary) to test the memory!
7. worth checking (Im sure youve done it) but is the hard disk full? Windows must have plentyof paging space or it will freeze!
8. have you looked in the event logs as those can tell you a lot about why the machine freezes if it is a network or coms problem.

9. I have hd motherboard dodgy soldering etc but these only show up with special equipment or by logging the times and temperatures as they are often temperature dependant.

best of luck
M

Member Avatar for sittas87

ohk thanx my man for the reply.i did go through your list and found quite a number of things I have tried already,however I never gave the ram test softies a try.strange enough it never happened again after posting this thread.thanx again Ill drop a post later
cheers

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