Hi, Last year I had to replace my 512mb RAM. It just stopped working for some reason. I purchased another stick, but this time I upgraded to 1 Gig of RAM. Last week the same thing has happened again, the old familiar long beep sound when I turn the PC on. Before I fork out another $150+ on more RAM, I need some help on what could be causing this problem ?

Just before it stopped, the fan was making a whirring sound on start up. The PC is approx. 3-4 years old, 2.6, running XP SP 2.

Thank you David King

Re: Memory

You might just have been unlucky enough to have gotten two faulty sticks of RAM. But that's unlikely because faults usually occur quite early in RAM's life, or after a very long time. It sounds more like something is killing your RAM.

What shortens RAM's life is heat. Either directly, because its overheating and isn't getting enough cooling, or indirectly because the voltage it is being run at is too high. If I had your problem the first thing I'd do is go into the BIOS and check what voltage the 3.3V rail from the power supply is running at to make sure its not too high. That's the one that would normally be supplying the power to the RAM. Then I'd check to make sure the BIOS wasn't set to overclock the RAM and/or run it at higher than normal voltage.

Re: Memory

David,

It does seem unusual that your memory has caused problems like this. Have you tested the memory in another computer? Dust can be a computer's worst enemy, particularly one as old as yours. Perhaps a good clean with a soft brush and compressed air will solve your problem. Pay particular attention to the contacts on the memory stick and on the motherboard. Hope this helps with your problem.

Cheers

Re: Memory

There is RAM and RAM. I have lost a couple in recent times, mainly because of buying cheaper generic brands. Stick to lifetime warranty brands (e.g. Kingston) and you will usually be OK. If it does fail, it will be replaced free of charge. Fans need to be in good order to keep temps down, so if you haven't replaced the noisy unit do so right away. Noise indicates faulty bearings and is certain to result in lower rotation speed and less cooling.

Chris B

Re: Memory

Try remove and reinstall the memory module. Sound like some contact problem. Try another slot if you could

Re: Memory

Thanks Gordon

I'll certainly check out the the over heating issue you have mentioned, but I still have to purchase more RAM to get the PC to operate first. I'll do that because I virtually have no option because I need to inject life back in to my hard drive. Thank you for your advice.

Re: Memory

My experiences: Case 1. Some weeks ago my old, similar aged computer, gave similar indications - sometimes boot, sometimes not, sometimes RAM ok, sometimes not, sometimes a blue screen. The purchase of a stick of warranted RAM gave same results at switch on. Case 2. Friend with similar aged computer having same problems.

The testing of voltage rail is a good test, as I thought that the power supplies may be sus. Will follow this one myself to see who else has an offereing. Thanks, C.....