NEED RMA, before i give up on computers forever

[siVTECwhat]

hey everyone, I cant believe I have been fighting with this computer for months now and the problem all along has probably been my RAM. I have the Corsair CMX512-2700LLPT (1 stick) and for the longest time i get random errors typically flash.ocx and iexplorer errors and my computer randomly turns off when i open certain programs. The problem always seems better when i would clean out the case, i.e. pull out the memory and relocate it and reseat all the hardware devices. The computer is fine for days at a time then all of a sudden all hell breaks loose and i cant do anything until i perform the procedure i just mentioned. So i just did the memtest and not 10 seconds into it i got an error and proceeded to get errors every few seconds until my computer shut itself down again.

The computer system:

Albatron KX400+PRO VIA KT333/8235 motherboard

onboard AC97 audio

NVIDIA GeForce4 ti4200 graphics

Corsair CMX512-2700LLPT (1 stick)

Maxtor 40 gig 6E040L0 HDD

Windows XP PRO (reformatted several times)

 

PLEASE HELP, NEED RMA so i can get my computer back to normal without fear of random shutdowns and restarts and programs closing on me ALL THE TIME.

[Wired]

Have you tried the module in more than one slot, or better yet in another system? Have you tried only reseating the memory and does that solve it?

[RAM GUY]

And what CPU speed and its FSB do you currently have on your system? In addition, please tell me the bios settings you have set for both CPU and memory and any performance settings that you may have set?

[siVTECwhat]

Have you tried the module in more than one slot, or better yet in another system? Have you tried only reseating the memory and does that solve it?

Well i only have one computer that supports this ram and i have tried it in all three slots with nothing changing between them and memtest comes up with errors almost immediately in all slots.

[siVTECwhat]

And what CPU speed and its FSB do you currently have on your system? In addition, please tell me the bios settings you have set for both CPU and memory and any performance settings that you may have set?

well i think this might be what youre looking for, i used pc wizard 2004 to get the specs on the computer:

 

Processor>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

AMD ATHLON XP2400+ thoroughbred

General Information :

Real Frequency : 1999.6 MHz

Performance Rating : 2500 PR

Multiplier : 15x

 

Front Side Bus Information :

Front Side Bus Speed : 133.3 MHz

Bus Speed : 266.6 MHz (DDR)

 

Initial Frequencies :

Frequency : 2000 MHz

Front Side Bus Speed : 133 MHz

 

Thermal Information :

Core Power : 61.2 W (approx.)

 

Processor Performance Information :

Throttle Mode AC : None

Throttle Mode DC : None

Current Configuration : None

Throttle : 1999 MHz

 

Processor Power Management Information :

Processor Throttling : Yes

Throttle Range : 50% - 100%

 

 

Chipset>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

General Information :

NorthBridge : VIA KT266/333

SouthBridge : VT8235 PCI to ISA Bridge

 

NorthBridge Information :

Architecture : Northbridge

Manufacturer : VIA (Albatron Corp)

Revision : 0

Front Side Bus Speed : 133.3 MHz

Bus Speed : 266.6 MHz (DDR)

Memory Bus Speed : 166.6 MHz

 

APIC Information :

Version : 0.03

Maximum Interrupts : 24

IRQ Handler enabled : Yes

 

Device Capabilities :

Latency Timer : 8 clocks

I/O Access : No

Memory Access : Yes

Bus Master Capable : Yes

Special Cycle Recognition : No

Memory Write & Invalidate : No

VGA Palette Snoop : No

Parity Error Response : No

Cycle Wait : No

System Error Line : No

Fast Back-to-Back : No

Detects Parity Errors : No

User Defined Format : No

PCI 66Mhz Bus Support : Yes

New Capability List : Yes

PCI Support : AGP

PCI Support : Power Management Interface

 

 

Physical Memory>>>>>>>>>>>>

General Information :

A0 : Empty

A1 : Empty

A2 (RAS 4, RAS 5) : 512 (Double Bank) - SDRAM

 

Memory Controller Information :

Memory Controller : Standard, EDO

Number of connectors : 3

Max. Module Size : 1000 MB

Max. Memory Size : 3000 MB

Supported Speed : 70ns, 60ns

Supported Voltages : 5v

Error Detection Method : 8-bit Parity

Error Correction Capability : Unspecified

Current/Supported Interleave : 4-way/4-way

 

Chipset Information :

Type : SDRAM PC166

Frequency : 167 MHz

FSB/DRAM Multiplier : FSB + 33 MHz

ECC Diagnostic : No

Interleave : 4-way

CAS Latency (tCL) : 2 clocks

RAS to CAS (tRCD) : 2 clocks

RAS Precharge (tRP) : 2 clocks

Cycle Time (tRAS) : 5 clocks

 

Information EEPROM (A2) :

Manufacturer : Unspecified

Part Number : CMX512-2700LL

Serial Number :

Type : DDR-SDRAM PC2700 (166 MHz)

Size : 512 MB (2 rows, 4 banks)

Module Buffered : No

Module Registered : No

Width : 64-bit

Error Correction Capability : No

Max. Burst Length : 8

Refresh : Reduced (.5x)7.8 µs, Self Refresh

Voltage : SSTL 2.5v

Supported Frequencies : 166 MHz

CAS Latency (tCL) : 2 clocks @166 MHz

RAS to CAS (tRCD) : 2 clocks @166 MHz

RAS Precharge (tRP) : 2 clocks @166 MHz

Cycle Time (tRAS) : 5 clocks @166 MHz

[RAM GUY]

Please make sure you have the latest BIOS installed for your MB and load optimized defaults settings, and try the following BIOS settings;

CPU Freq: 133 MHz (266 FSB)

System Performance: User Define

Memory Frequency: 125%

Resulting Frequency: 166 MHz (333 FSB)

Memory Timing: Optimal: Disabled

SDRAM CAS Latency: 2T

SDRAM RAS to CAS Delay (tRCD): 3T

SDRAM Row Precharge (tRP): 2T

SDRAM Active to Precharge Delay (tRAS): 6T

DDR Reference Voltage: 2.7 Volts

AGP Voltage: Default *unless you have ATI (9200 or 9600) or NVIDIA (5200 or 5700) then 1.6 Volts suggested!*

All other settings are motherboards defaults

Then please test them one at a time with http://www.memtest.org and let’s make sure it's not some other issue! I would run the test for at least 2-3 passes to be sure!

[siVTECwhat]

Thanks for the help, i think this may have fixed my problem however i have had days where i get no errors and everything seems fine before. I changed the RAM voltage from 2.5 to 2.7 and i set the SDRAM settings from "speed controlled" to "manual" and i entered all the settings you reccommended. I ran memtest all night long 6000 some cycles with not one error! So i shall Defrag and restart and a few times and see how things go and hopefully you have saved me TONS of headaches, Thanks!

[RAM GUY]

N.P. Glad to see that it fixed/solved your problem, please let us know if you still have any other question or concerns, we will be more than happy to help you.