ram and blue screen

maxitaxi7

Solid State Member
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10
i have recently been getting the dreaded blue screen that indicates a "memory dump". i have no idea what that means, but i've been informed it could have to do with my RAM. the other day i took out my RAM to check something, and while it was out i must have done a little dusting, potentially causing dust to land where the RAM goes. could this be causing the problem? if i clean it and i still get the blue screen, what can i do to check on what is causing the problem?
 
i ran that memtest program, as well as all the diagnostics that came with my computer, and nothing has been indicated as a problem. the blue screen started after my most recent move into a new apartment. i reformatted and reinstalled windows hoping that would help, but it hasn't.

whenever the computer reboots, the "windows xp" screen is off center, as well as the blue screen whenever that pops up. could this be my video card that is causing this problem? i have updated my video card driver, but i am still getting this problem.
 
if you reformatted, then it rules out software problems, your hardware is probably damaged.
 
how long did u run those memory tests for?
I'd suggest running them for atleast 2 hours, though usually if the ram is broken it will give u errors in few minutes.
 
The type of error and the error code numbers will give away what is causing the problem. If it's a page fault in a non paged area that would point toward a hardware issue. Ram or other devices recently installed. On the 2 times I've gotten BSOD'ed, it was the vid card cacking out.
Get the error type and numbers if it happens again and look in the M$ database for clues and fixes.

I just reread your post. If you moved and the rig got some rough treatment, then make sure all of the cards and conntections are seated good. Something may have come out a little and it causing an intermitten problem.
As for the off center pictures when it boots is because the drivers have not loaded yet. For the crash screens, basicly the same thing. It's falling back to the VGA drivers in the bios to show you the error.
It's always some thing simple. Take your time and check every thing. You'll find it, I'm sure...
 
i let the ram test run for upwards of an hour and a half, maybe not quite.

i'm pretty sure it's not a loose cable or anything, as i checked everything as well as i could in regards to that. i doubt i'd be able to figure anything out from the error message...it's all just a bunch of numbers and letters to me. plus, i don't think i can even read the whole thing now due to how off center the screen is when the blue screen pops up.
 
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