Memory going bad?

[Bruv119]

So I've always been quite fortunate with memory but over the last two days this one had me stumped until I yanked 2 sticks out. 

With the paranoia over win10 around here (it was coincidentally around the time of windows update having a go at some anniversary update) so I immediately associated my Blue screen issues to that because it failed after trying the update.   I have a feeling this has been plaguing my PC for awhile because after taking out 2 sticks going from 4gig down to 2gig my machine and the lovely windows 10 is flying again.   Even AH seemed much smoother.   

I always thought memory was either going to work or not boot etc so is it possible that it could have been degrading over time?

[Spikes]

It is possible the RAM is going bad...usually it isn't a very progressive process (ie you boot one day and it just doesn't work), but it is possible. I'm surprised it ran better on 2GB.

[save]

Many motherboards can do a memory test, else you download one free program from internet.

[The Fugitive]

power could cause issues too. If you have a bad connection on your ram sticks the lower power could get them to act up. A powersupply going could give you the same trouble. Removing the ram sticks is less draw and so the powersupply can keep up again.

[Bruv119]

good point on the PSU it has been going 9 years in my current rig. 

When I find time I'll have to test the RAM and see if they are FUBAR.   Otherwise it will point to something else. 

Been waiting to rebuild for ages so if I have to spend some $$$ I will. 

[Chalenge]

I have seen slots go bad while in use, so you might test the memory in a known good slot.

[Bizman]

Faulty RAM sticks have become so rare that I don't test salvaged ones any more.

As for running a memory test, a failing power supply will also cause the test to fail. Since you had to take two sticks out, a power issue sounds plausible. I'd run the test on another computer if possible, or have another power supply at hand. Start with all four on to see if the test fails. If not, run the test through several times. If it fails, this would be the time to do the same with another PSU. If you don't have one, run one round with only two sticks. If there's no issues, reseat the sticks to the empty locations and run the test again. Then, if it's still successful, do the same for the other pair. In case of success, run the test with three sticks, again changing their places to find out if it's a certain slot.

As you can see, there's several "stone plates" on a memory stick. If one of them fails, your system may boot and run just fine until that certain "stone" gets used, in layman's terms.

9 years for a PSU is quite a long time, especially if you've changed your video card in between. There's been some design changes in the 12V line during the last decade or so. How about getting a new rig in smaller portions, starting with the PSU?


 

[JimmyC]

Memory bad...your just getting old