Cyker Posted November 13, 2015 Share Posted November 13, 2015 (edited) Summary: Bad RAM suddenly 'healed' after long memtest; Theories?!Okay, so a friend was complaining their laptop kept crashing; They'd be doing something then weird lines would appear on the screen, then crash.Classic bad RAM symptoms on systems that use integrated graphics.So to be sure, ran memtest and yup many errors.I think I had a phone call or something then as, for some reason, I went away and forgot about it.2 days later I remember to check it - It's been running for near enough 2 days at this point and despite racking up 90,000 errors and many fails, I noticed with interest that it had 7 passes. WTF?So I power-cycle the machine and run memtest again - No errors!!!Waaaaaaaat?!Has this happened to anyone before? I had already done the usual stuff of cleaning the contacts with switch cleaner, reseating the modules etc.The only thing that currently springs to mind is if there were some tin whiskers or something on the BGA that were creating a teeny tiny short which have been fried by the RAM being hammered for 2 days straight.I am now not sure whether to bother replacing the RAM or not...!I've left it off to cool down for a while now just to see if it starts failing again, but this is pretty weird; Never seen this happen before!Edit: Fixed linefeeds... Edited November 13, 2015 by Cyker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tripredacus Posted November 13, 2015 Share Posted November 13, 2015 I doubt the RAM got warm enough to pull off what you are thinking. I also don't think memtest fixed anything. I have seen it where memtest will pass/fail with various configurations. For example, memtest would pass running tests on 2 sticks individually, but fail when they are together. Can you post a CPU-Z shot of the memory and SPD tabs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyker Posted November 13, 2015 Author Share Posted November 13, 2015 Sure! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tripredacus Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 Ok I was just checking and the RAM is non-ECC. Sometimes (some versions, some situations) running memtest on ECC memory can generate errors. It doesn't seem to be the case for you here. At least there are 2 pieces in there, if one goes bad you only have to replace the one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
submix8c Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 *Slightly* OT - Bad (dirty) contacts will cause errant errors. I'd suggest cleaning/reseating them. Just a slight jar will cause that. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaclaz Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 *Slightly* OT - Bad (dirty) contacts will cause errant errors. I'd suggest cleaning/reseating them. Just a slight jar will cause that. .... I had already done the usual stuff of cleaning the contacts with switch cleaner, reseating the modules etc..... jaclaz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyker Posted November 17, 2015 Author Share Posted November 17, 2015 Yeah, that was the first thing I did; Didn't make any difference at all - Same errors in the same place, which was why I figured the RAM was bad.Also why I found it so utterly bizarre that it went away Anyway, we replaced both modules (RAM is so cheap these days!) just to be sure, but that's gotta be one for the books!Had a few possible theories; Most plausible one so far is that some moisture somewhere was causing the intermittent fault, and the 2 days of hammering evaporated it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
submix8c Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 So "hammering" it -kind of- cleaned it. For the record, the Slot Contacts could get gommed and I use *very fine* sandpaper (as in 1000-grit or above, folded) in them (carefully so as not to screw up the position of each one) and blow the heck out of them. As for the RAM, I use autobody repair scuff pads. You can get them at any autobody supply shop - use the grey ones (red/purple may be to too rough). Again, been there, done that. Using "cleaners" don't necessarily (always) "clean" the contacts (formula has been "modified" because of pollution concerns). That's why I *literally* clean the residue off using this method. Thx, jaclaz, for noticing I didn't notice. But as you can see from above rambling paragraph... re: The "formula" -Try cleaning anything with enamel reducer vs. lacquer thinner - BIG difference in cleaning power *and* evaporation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaclaz Posted November 18, 2015 Share Posted November 18, 2015 Well, to be fair OP didn't mention having cleaned the contacts properly. jaclaz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyker Posted November 18, 2015 Author Share Posted November 18, 2015 Well, I confess I didn't go as far as taking a dremel to the contacts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaclaz Posted November 19, 2015 Share Posted November 19, 2015 Well, I confess I didn't go as far as taking a dremel to the contacts Yep , just in case:http://www.msfn.org/board/topic/128807-the-solution-for-seagate-720011-hdds/?p=916757 jaclaz 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyker Posted November 22, 2015 Author Share Posted November 22, 2015 (edited) Slight tangent: My brother has also been having RAM issues, but we have discovered that it seems to be due to the Zalman heatsink! Have you heard of this before?! I stumbled over a single forum post while googling that mentioned loosening the heatsink screws by half a turn can fix RAM errors when using Zalman coolers with custom brackets on CPUs with integrated memory controllers... and it seems to have worked! Edited November 22, 2015 by Cyker 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaclaz Posted November 22, 2015 Share Posted November 22, 2015 I don't think that it is a Zalman only issue, it seems to me like falling in the general issue of too tightened screws on PCB's, it is entirely possible that the specific Zalman brackets force the PCB deforming it and that this *somehow* causes issues, but never heard specifically of RAM issues, good to know jaclaz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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