Please Help.

Walker

My computer's been crashing randomly for the past few days. It started after I opened up the computer and dusted things off, and had a quick look at one of my RAM sticks to see what sort it is. After that. the computer would boot normally until the XP "Welcome" screen, at which point the monitor would go completely black. I used the boot menu to restore my computer to the last settings that worked, and that sort of fixed it. The only problem is that now it crashes periodically with no apparent rhyme or reason. Windows says it's a device problem, so I've tried updating all my drivers and checking the HD for errors, but none of it has worked. Everything inside the computer is connected perfectly, and I really can't find anything wrong other then the constant crashing.

So, you're smart, tech-savvy people (unlike myself). Any suggestions as to what I should try next?

Apreche

So the computer always boots properly, but it just crashes randomly? What exactly is the crash like? Is it a freeze, a blue screen, or something else? Does it only crash in Windows, or also outside of Windows? If you use a Linux Live CD does it crash? You need to do more evidence gathering.

Walker

It just restarts. According to Windows Error Reporting it's a blue screen error, and the computer is restarting to avoid data corruption. I've never actually used anything outside of Windows before, so I'm not sure if I tried Linux.

Ilmarinen

Have you tried taking out the RAM stick you messed with?

Walker

Have you tried taking out the RAM stick you messed with?

For some reason I didn't think of this. Maybe I'll give it a try.

Norvu

Seems like a problem with windows or maybe even the hard drive (obviously). At first I thought you might have had some abundance of static electricity on you when going in your PC, but... no idea, really.

Walker

Well, I removed the offending RAM stick, and sure it enough, it hasn't crashed yet. Why I didn't try this immediately I don't know, but there you go. Thanks Anyar.

Apreche

Well, I removed the offending RAM stick, and sure it enough, it hasn't crashed yet. Why I didn't try this immediately I don't know, but there you go. Thanks Anyar.

You either destroyed the RAM stick with static electricity, or you didn't put it back into the computer properly.

djfooboo

Whenever someone tells me about their computer randomly crashing, I usually pinpoint it to heat or memory failing.

Dkong

It just restarts. According to Windows Error Reporting it's a blue screen error, and the computer is restarting to avoid data corruption. I've never actually used anything outside of Windows before, so I'm not sure if I tried Linux.

You're using XP...hmmm. I've been having that exact problem on my Vista laptop ever since I got it. Like...once a week or less it would just blue screen then restart. Since it's so infrequent, I usually just deal with the few minutes I lose when it restarts and then opening everything back up and then go on with my day.

My guess is that it's a heat issue or a software incompatibility issue.

Victor Frost

A heat issue would cause a reset by the BIOS. There wouldn't be a Blue Screen if that were the case.

Lusankya

It's probably a parity issue, caused by either a poorly seated RAM chip that's losing contact with vibrations, or the chip itself is toasted. Try swapping for a known good chip, or pick up a bootdisk with a RAM tester and run it through a few times.

Apreche

A heat issue would cause a reset by the BIOS. There wouldn't be a Blue Screen if that were the case.

But the BIOS will usually set off an audible alarm before it shuts down, depending on the settings.