Computer is suddenly very unstable.

THEpiGUY

Daemon Poster
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Ok, this is kinda a long story, very sorry... I'll attempt to summarize it in another paragraph so you don't have to read this whole thing. Just wanted to give some details.

Long Version
I bought 2GB of Corsair TWINX RAM (2x1GB) to go along with my TWINX 1GB (2x512) for my computer sometime around 5 months ago. Both are TWINX (2/1)GB 3200C2. I installed it, worked fine, end of part 1. A little bit later, I wanted to see how it would run without the TWINX 1GB so I could put that into my older computer. I did that, it worked fine. A little later, maybe 2 days, it wouldn't boot; I was getting weird beep codes. So I trial-and-errored both the sticks and found which one was causing the problem. So now I have 1GB single channel RAM in there, working fine. I tried to other stick once more, but had no success. So I put the TWINX 1GB RAM sticks back in, everything was going well, but I was still dissatisfied that one of the 1GB sticks didn't work. So it tried putting it back in, and the computer didn't even recognize it; it posted saying I had 2048MB of RAM. So I put this stick aside for a while, very dissatisfied and assuming that I had a dead stick.
It was only until now that I decided to try it again. I put it in and it posted 3072MB of RAM. CPU-Z also recognizes that I have 3GB. I was pretty excited that it was working. But now, finally, here's my problem. While loading maps on both Counter Strike and Battlefield 2, my computer restarts, but it's not just the maps: it restarted once while just loading CS:S and also failed to complete SuperPI 32M. Some of you may remember my old "Power supply" thread. It's not doing the same thing. Back then, it would just cut off; I have already solved that issue by upping the voltage on my processor. Now it resets without notice, then boots up, loads windows and everything. The internet has been fine, so far. I returned all of my overclocking settings to normal, only to notice it does the same thing.
I have an ASUS A8N32 mobo, and my memory is like this:
1GB,512MB;1GB,512MB.
Whereas my old setup without the other 1GB was:
1GB,(EMPTY);512MB,512MB.
I'm not sure if this the right way to do it, but it seemed right to me. I really don't know exactly how to put what I want to ask, but does anyone possibly know what's causing my problem?

CONDENSED VERSION Don't read this if you've already read ^; there's no point.
I bought 2GB of ram to go along with my older 1GB, both were Cosair TWINX. Worked fine at first, then failed after a while. I presumed one of the 1GB sticks (that makes up my TWINX 2GB) was dead, since it didn't recognize it at POST, so I took it out and let it sit for ~5 months. I just decided to put it back in and it's working now. But 1 problem: it's very unstable. CS:S & BF2 aren't able to load any maps, and SuperPi failed to complete the 32M test pretty early on. I returned all of my overclocking settings to normal. It does the same thing. I think that I installed Windows with the 3GB setup, then it died, so I can't imagine why that would be the problem. My sticks are in this pattern:
1GB,512MB;1GB,512MB.
They used to be like this:
1GB,(EMPTY);512MB,512MB.
This configuration may be wrong; that's one reason I'm posting it here.


I re-installed ASUS Ethernet drivers a little after I put the RAM in; I don't see why that would be an issue, but if it is...?

I believe I've given enough details on everything. If anyone needs more, feel free to ask, but I may not even be able to give much more...

Thanks in advance for any help that you give me, I'm relly appreciative of all the info I've gotten off of these forums.


P.S. I tried to post this earlier, and two times my connection has timed out. So I backed up and tried it again and it said it was a duplicate thread and took me to the topic list. I couldn't find it there either time, so if this is indeed a duplicate (or a triplicate :confused: ) thread, forgive me, but I couldn't find them anywhere even after searching.
(EDIT) And I did finally see this one :p .
 
A simple solution to your problem:




Contact Corsair and get an RMA for the bad stick of memory. I recently RMA'd a set of XMS Platinum that was giving me problems. The process is simple and painless. :D
 
@john123,
I haven't tried that yet, didn't even think about it :p . I'll give that a try in a few minutes. Thanks for the suggestion.

@Atomic Rooster,
It's not a bad stick of memory I don't think. It boots up completely. It's gotta be working, just doesn't want to cooperate with demanding programs, or at least I think until I give the other setup a try. It may be bad, but I really don't think it is and it's definitely not defective.
EDIT: Plus, even if it is bad, hasn't it been too long to RMA it, or is there simply not a limit. I have done overclocking to the RAM one time, so that may have just blown any hopes of RMA'ing it down the toilet. Plus, it's been almost 1/2 a year since I got it.


I can't judge anything until I take this stick out to see if it's any driver problems that I installed with my ASUS cd.
 
From what you posted about that stick of memory, it's having problems. Besides, Corsair offers a lifetime warranty on their memory. I had mine for nearly two years before I got an RMA.

If you really want to see if it's the memory, download Memtest and test that stick. Leave it in the comp by itself and run the test. :D
 
Alright, I put the memory back in its original spots and it was working flawlessly for a few minutes on CS:S, then I got bored and decided to try the 3GB setup once more.

This time, I did it like this:
1GB,1GB;512MB,512MB.

So far it's passed the CS:S test, ran flawlessly for a full 5 minutes. I'm gonna try BF2, SuperPi, and Memtest before considering it official, but it appears to be working fine now.

EDIT: Thanks for the program to test it, Atomic Rooster. I will run the test shortly. And are Corsair's refunds lifetime no matter what? Because I have overclocked the sticks and sometimes that voids warranties. Also, will I have to return both sticks of the TWINX, or just one? Sorry if this is a bit too much to ask, but thanks anyway for everything.

EDIT again: Which one do I download? There are so many different kinds. And is this compatible with Windows XP X64 edition? Sorry for the many questions.
 
given the sticks you have, I would have thought 1GB 512MB 1GB 512MB would have been the ideal configuration, though it may run at 2T (not sure with that board)

EDIT: Memtest86 won't run on your platform either, you'll need Memtest64 or alternatively have a look at the Windows Memory Diagnostic for x64 compatability.
 
Deathstar said:
given the sticks you have, I would have thought 1GB 512MB 1GB 512MB would have been the ideal configuration, though it may run at 2T (not sure with that board)

That's exactly what I thought, though the 1GB,1GB;512MB,512MB configuration just failed while loading BF2. And my mobo does run it at 2T.
 
That's because you're trying to run disparate sized sticks in dual channel
Put the same sized sticks in the same coloured slots.
 
Deathstar said:
That's because you're trying to run disparate sized sticks in dual channel
Put the same sized sticks in the same coloured slots.
I don't know if you read (or just forgot by the end of my explanation ;) ) but I have tried that already and it didn't work.

I'm going to retry the 2GB setup again, maybe playing CS:S for just a few minutes isn't enough. But I still am led to believe it's the 1GB stick, not anything else.
 
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