THE BORE

General => The Superdeep Borehole => Topic started by: Beezy on June 28, 2007, 10:27:50 PM

Title: What the hell is wrong with my computer?! :(
Post by: Beezy on June 28, 2007, 10:27:50 PM
It's been failing on me for like the past 3 days. Half the time when I try to watch a vid/listen to a song on a site like youtube/imeem, it restarts. Even when I'm not connected to the internet, it just randomly restarts for no apparent reason. :(

Sometimes when it restarts, the ram doesn't go all the way up to 256MB like it's supposed to. It stops anywhere in between 120-160MB. Other times nothing happens at all. The computer is running, but the screen just stays black (it's doing that now).

So what the hell is going on? Is my computer dying? Do I have a virus? Can I fix this? Am I making no sense at all? :'(

Edit: I'm on the laptop that my school gave me right now. I might have to return it on Monday so I need to have a working computer.
Title: Re: What the hell is wrong with my computer?! :(
Post by: Van Cruncheon on June 28, 2007, 10:29:51 PM
ram is corrupt, time to replace

download memcheck or one of the ram checking tools to confirm
Title: Re: What the hell is wrong with my computer?! :(
Post by: Beezy on June 28, 2007, 10:33:18 PM
I'll download it the next time my computer decides ot actually start up... :maf

I don't know how to replace it though! I don't even know how it looks!
Title: Re: What the hell is wrong with my computer?! :(
Post by: Van Cruncheon on June 28, 2007, 10:34:40 PM
it's very VERY easy to do. VERY easy. Buy the right type and I will coach you through it.
Title: Re: What the hell is wrong with my computer?! :(
Post by: Beezy on June 28, 2007, 10:36:40 PM
Alright, but how do I find out what type to buy and how much will it run me?

And how did it get corrupted in the first place? Old age?
Title: Re: What the hell is wrong with my computer?! :(
Post by: Van Cruncheon on June 28, 2007, 10:37:26 PM
do you have yer pc specs handy?
Title: Re: What the hell is wrong with my computer?! :(
Post by: Beezy on June 28, 2007, 10:40:56 PM
Yeah, it says 256MB PC2100 DDR Memory. Do you need anything else besides that?
Title: Re: What the hell is wrong with my computer?! :(
Post by: Van Cruncheon on June 28, 2007, 10:47:15 PM
nope.

http://shop2.outpost.com/%7BPsmZCcB2U8kIk1Vz-t-B5Q**.node3%7D/product/3630205;jsessionid=PsmZCcB2U8kIk1Vz-t-B5Q**.node3?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG

$59.99 for 512MB. I doubt anyone sells 256 MB sticks any more, and PC2100 (266 mHz) DDR is becoming hard to find these days.

Edit: originally posted a So-DIMM (laptop ff). Fuckin' off-angle screenshots.
Title: Re: What the hell is wrong with my computer?! :(
Post by: demi on June 28, 2007, 11:01:07 PM
I bought some Corsair ValueRAM (2x512MB) and it made my torrents corrupt and my PC randomly restarted at times, so it is your RAM like he said.
Title: Re: What the hell is wrong with my computer?! :(
Post by: Beezy on June 28, 2007, 11:21:45 PM
Okay, I found where it is in my computer after seeing the pic in the link you posted. It actually has two 128MB cards. Do I have to buy two new cards, or is one enough?

I bought some Corsair ValueRAM (2x512MB) and it made my torrents corrupt and my PC randomly restarted at times, so it is your RAM like he said.
Is that a crappy brand or something?
Title: Re: What the hell is wrong with my computer?! :(
Post by: Van Cruncheon on June 28, 2007, 11:23:08 PM
one should be okay.
Title: Re: What the hell is wrong with my computer?! :(
Post by: Beezy on June 28, 2007, 11:26:25 PM
Thanks Drinky. :)

Snap, they are really simple to take out.
Title: Re: What the hell is wrong with my computer?! :(
Post by: Vizzys on June 28, 2007, 11:26:31 PM
get mushkin ramzdude
Title: Re: What the hell is wrong with my computer?! :(
Post by: Ecrofirt on June 28, 2007, 11:27:09 PM
Before you go buying anything, you need to figure out how many sticks are bad.

You can get either memtest86+: http://www.memtest.org/
or the Windows Memory Diagnostic: http://oca.microsoft.com/en/windiag.asp

To figure out which stick is bad might take you a little while. The general way I approach it is to take one of the sticks out so you can test each stick separately.  Basically, test one stick in both of you memory slots, and then test the other stick in both slots. That way you can figure out if it's your memory that's bad or if something is going screwy on your mainboard.

If that doesn't make sense, this should:
You have two sticks (1 and 2)
and 2 slots (A and B)

Take out stick 2, and test stck 1 in A and then B and see if it fails in either slot.
Then take out stick 1 and put in stick 2. Test that in A and then B and see if if fails in either slot.

That'll let you know which stick is bad (if a stick fails in both slots), or if it's a slot that's bad (both sticks failing in one slot).
Title: Re: What the hell is wrong with my computer?! :(
Post by: Beezy on June 28, 2007, 11:29:33 PM
get mushkin ramzdude
???

Before you go buying anything, you need to figure out how many sticks are bad.

You can get either memtest86+: http://www.memtest.org/
or the Windows Memory Diagnostic: http://oca.microsoft.com/en/windiag.asp

To figure out which stick is bad might take you a little while. The general way I approach it is to take one of the sticks out so you can test each stick separately.  Basically, test one stick in both of you memory slots, and then test the other stick in both slots. That way you can figure out if it's your memory that's bad or if something is going screwy on your mainboard.
I hope that's not the case. :(

Thanks, I'll try this out.
Title: Re: What the hell is wrong with my computer?! :(
Post by: Ecrofirt on June 28, 2007, 11:31:30 PM
I updated my post to make it a little clearer.

Also worth noting is that those memory testing programs will run indefinitely, but you should know within the first few passes through if you've got any errors.
Title: Re: What the hell is wrong with my computer?! :(
Post by: Vizzys on June 28, 2007, 11:33:14 PM
get mushkin ramzdude
???


http://www.newegg.com/Store/Brand.aspx?Brand=1504&name=Mushkin
Title: Re: What the hell is wrong with my computer?! :(
Post by: CajoleJuice on June 28, 2007, 11:35:14 PM
My laptop works again wooooo
Title: Re: What the hell is wrong with my computer?! :(
Post by: Beezy on June 28, 2007, 11:36:32 PM
I updated my post to make it a little clearer.

Also worth noting is that those memory testing programs will run indefinitely, but you should know within the first few passes through if you've got any errors.
Yeah, I understood what you meant.

get mushkin ramzdude
???


http://www.newegg.com/Store/Brand.aspx?Brand=1504&name=Mushkin
Get the fuck outta here. My computer is almost 6 years old. It doesn't need all of that.
Title: Re: What the hell is wrong with my computer?! :(
Post by: Ecrofirt on June 28, 2007, 11:39:10 PM
I've never had a problem putting Kingston ValueRAM in people's computers. Dunno if they make a notebook version of that though.
Title: Re: What the hell is wrong with my computer?! :(
Post by: Vizzys on June 28, 2007, 11:43:03 PM
I updated my post to make it a little clearer.

Also worth noting is that those memory testing programs will run indefinitely, but you should know within the first few passes through if you've got any errors.
Yeah, I understood what you meant.

get mushkin ramzdude
???


http://www.newegg.com/Store/Brand.aspx?Brand=1504&name=Mushkin
Get the fuck outta here. My computer is almost 6 years old. It doesn't need all of that.

its awesome tho
Title: Re: What the hell is wrong with my computer?! :(
Post by: Beezy on June 28, 2007, 11:51:04 PM
So the only type of ram that can work in my PC is PC2100? What does that mean? And what else should I know?

its awesome tho
I'm a noob, I wouldn't know that.
Title: Re: What the hell is wrong with my computer?! :(
Post by: brawndolicious on June 28, 2007, 11:54:13 PM
crucial is supposed to be reliable.
http://www.amazon.com/Crucial-Technology-184-Pin-PC2100-266Mhz/dp/B00006BT1M

$30.00.  it's used but that type of ram is hard to find under 1 GB.

pc2100 means the ram is 266 Mhz.
Title: Re: What the hell is wrong with my computer?! :(
Post by: Beezy on June 28, 2007, 11:58:59 PM
I think I found the bad one. The computer actually started up after I took it out. Now I gotta test both slots like Ecro said to make sure they don't have any problems.
Title: Re: What the hell is wrong with my computer?! :(
Post by: Beezy on June 29, 2007, 12:28:26 AM
Dead card confirmed. I guess I'll have to stick with only 128MB of ram until I get a new one.

Everything on the site that Drinky linked is out of stock. Is this one okay?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820144001
Title: Re: What the hell is wrong with my computer?! :(
Post by: Ecrofirt on June 29, 2007, 12:31:13 AM
That's desktop memory. You'll need notebook memory, won't you?
Title: Re: What the hell is wrong with my computer?! :(
Post by: Beezy on June 29, 2007, 12:35:40 AM
No, it's my desktop that has been having these problems. My laptop is fine. It's what I'm using right now.
Title: Re: What the hell is wrong with my computer?! :(
Post by: Ecrofirt on June 29, 2007, 12:37:39 AM
No, it's my desktop that has been having these problems. My laptop is fine. It's what I'm using right now.
Oh whoops. I misread your first post.
Title: Re: What the hell is wrong with my computer?! :(
Post by: Beezy on June 29, 2007, 12:38:25 AM
No, it's my desktop that has been having these problems. My laptop is fine. It's what I'm using right now.
Oh whoops. I misread your first post.
I just realized how fucked up my first post was. I'm not sure how that happened. :lol

It's fixed now.
Title: Re: What the hell is wrong with my computer?! :(
Post by: Ecrofirt on June 29, 2007, 12:39:20 AM
About your RAM speed:
If you can find your motherboard model, you can look up the max RAM speed that it'll take. You might be able to find 2 cheap sticks or something to replace your RAM with that run at a higher speed.
Title: Re: What the hell is wrong with my computer?! :(
Post by: Beezy on June 29, 2007, 12:50:52 AM
About your RAM speed:
If you can find your motherboard model, you can look up the max RAM speed that it'll take. You might be able to find 2 cheap sticks or something to replace your RAM with that run at a higher speed.

I don't know how to look up the motherboard model, but I did find this on the Bestbuy website:

http://bestbuy.upgradebase.com/result.asp?mn=Presario+7110US&modelid=22744

Maximum memory is 1GB. They don't have anything that will work with my computer though.
Title: Re: What the hell is wrong with my computer?! :(
Post by: Beezy on June 29, 2007, 01:35:23 AM
So this will work in my computer, right? Just making sure before I order it.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820144001
Title: Re: What the hell is wrong with my computer?! :(
Post by: Ecrofirt on June 29, 2007, 01:43:27 AM
Looks like it should.