My Computer is broken

Macha

Macha

King
Joined
Dec 8, 2006
Messages
859
Location
Ireland
My computer is seriously broken. I don't know is what is broken. In the last week or two (before and after a clean windows install) I have been recieving these blue screens when the computer has been on for a long time or is very busy or sometimes just at random.

Code: 
Driver IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL

STOP 0x000 00001 (0x9C9425FF, 0x000 0000 2, 0x000 000 00, 0x9C9425FF)
------------------------
IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL

STOP 0x000 0000A (0xF9BC60BC, 0x000 00001, 0x000 000 00, 0x804E70D5)
-------------------------
An attempt was made to write to read only memory

STOP 0x000 000BE (0xE6D78067, 0x3DB15174, 0xAEFADF70, 0x000 0000F)
--------------------------
MEMORY_MANAGEMENT

STOP 0x000 0001A (0x000 41284, 0x77D53001, 0x000 0019D, 0x10503 000)
--------------------------
PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA

STOP 0x000 00050 (0xF651F0BC, 0x000 000 00, 0x805E70D5, 0x000 000 02)

Every diagnostics utility I could fiind (Window's, Utility Partition, chkdsk etc., PCLinuxOS's etc.) reports that nothing is broken. All my drivers are fully updated.

The computer has always had infrequent blue screens when the DVD-ROM drive was in use (abotu 1 a month when running with a disk in and about every 5th time it was opened) but now they are coming up the whole time.

Anyone have ny ideas what is broken?
 
I would say that one of your memory modules has developed a fault. if you have more than one, you could pull them one at a time and see if the problem reoccurs. Or there are memory testing programs that can be run from a floppy, but I don't have one at the moment.
 
That's a good guess because the memory errors tend to get the most erratic BSODs (Blue Screen of Death)s.
 
Its pretty obvious that its an issue related to memory. Most often, the PAGE_FAULT errors happen with faulty memory and IRQL_NOT_EQUAL can also be related.

Run memtest86 as warpus suggested ( full diagnostic) and see what it tells you.
 
Dell's diagnostic utilitys reported the RAM was not damaged at all.
 
Have you physically checked to see if the memory modules are properly seated in their mounts?
 
What are the chances of two entirely seperate pairs of RAM failing in the computer as this issue has been going on for about a year and a half (but not as seriously until 2 weeks ago) but all the RAM in the computer was replaced about 5 months ago (4 x 256mb replaced with 4 x 512mb). Could something in the computer be damaging the ram?
 
As warpus was mentioning, if the incorrect voltage for the memory type is being used (which is configurable in many motherboard BIOS) you might get a similar error or damage the RAM.

Find the specs for your RAM. Check your BIOS for the voltage that's being used.

Now we are saying this sounds like a RAM fault, and it does. But unless you have run the program others recommended and gotten a conformation, it's not a guaranteed RAM fault. That's just the first and most obvious thing to check.

It does happen from time to time that the motherboard itself has a fault, and it's reading as something else. There are many chips and components soldered onto the board. There is also the possibility that your power supply is giving out the wrong currents.

But run the program on your RAM first, and if that fails to identify your problem, let us know.
 
Only one ram module (and one chip on that module) out of the 4 needs to be faulty to cause issue. Even if testing is inconclusive, if you still have access to the old chips, a quick test of taking all the ram out, and putting in 2-4 of the 256MB ones to see if the same errors arise.

The other issue, which is almost always overlooked, is a bad PowerSupply, When the voltage regulation starts to vary too much - that will generally show up in odd CPU and/or Memory errors before anything else. A faulty PSU can damage everything in the box, anything older than 3-4 years is worth replacing (especially when system failures start, sometimes that is too late). A decent 400-550Watt psu can be had for $50-75 and is a worthwhile investment.
 
Cutlass said:
As warpus was mentioning, if the incorrect voltage for the memory type is being used (which is configurable in many motherboard BIOS) you might get a similar error or damage the RAM.

Find the specs for your RAM. Check your BIOS for the voltage that's being used.

Now we are saying this sounds like a RAM fault, and it does. But unless you have run the program others recommended and gotten a conformation, it's not a guaranteed RAM fault. That's just the first and most obvious thing to check.

It does happen from time to time that the motherboard itself has a fault, and it's reading as something else. There are many chips and components soldered onto the board. There is also the possibility that your power supply is giving out the wrong currents.

But run the program on your RAM first, and if that fails to identify your problem, let us know.
Click to expand...
The problem is the computer blue screens before the scan finishes copying to disc.
 
Then your only option is to try installing different RAM modules and see if the problem persists.
 
tonyf12 said:
The problem is the computer blue screens before the scan finishes copying to disc.
Click to expand...

hmm? You should be creating a boot disk (or floppy) with memtest, then booting from that to test your RAM.
 
Just an update:

I ran the scan and it didn't report any issues. I then turned the computer back on and it bluescreened. When I turned it back on after that however, it has only crashed once (that a was a week ago).
 
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