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Ram Problem Update

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bobparham:
On March 31, I posted the following.

I have a problem that is driving me crazy. Hopefully, someone can give me some idea what the cause is and what action I should take.   

I have a desktop computer with MSI motherboard and Intel Celeron 3.06 Gig CPU. I realized several months ago that the 512 mb of RAM was inadequate and slowing down my computer. I decided to add a 1 gb stick of RAM in the one empty slot as MSI stated the motherboard would accept up to 2 gb of RAM “mix and match” in the two slots provided. I purchased the 1 GB stick of generic RAM and installed it which gave me a 512 mb stick in one slot and 1 GB stick in the other slot. That is where the troubles began. My computer would shut down periodically. It might be a matter of hours or it might be as much as five days.

I removed the 512 mb stick and I still had the problem. I replaced the 1 GB stick with the 512 mb stick. It took five or six days but it still shut down. Now I don’t know what to do as my computer shuts down with either one or both sticks of RAM. There is no question in my mind that I need additional RAM but what should I do? Is it possible that something else has happened to cause the shutdowns and not the RAM?

Carol Haynes, FODDER, Mouser and Dormouse all came to my rescue and I appreciate all the input I received.

My problem, as frequently happens, turned out to be a couple of problems which complicated everything immeasurably.

The main problem turned out to be a faulty Belkin UPS. I suspected a problem here (since it did not function properly in the event of a power interruption) but for a long time I did not suspect it would contribute to the RAM problem. (Apparently, the UPS Coincidentally went bad about the same time I decided to add more RAM.) I bypassed the UPS and used memtest to check both sticks running at the same time. Removing the faulty UPS took care of the RAM problem. I then put the side plate on the system box and in a short time the computer shut down again. This led me to believe that I needed some additional cooling. I added another case fan in back pulling air out. I replaced the side panel and installed a new APC UPS. The computer has been running without shutting down for four or five days now. Hopefully my problem has been solved permanently.

I post this in case anyone else has a similar problem so that they might benefit from my experience.

Again, thanks to Carol and the other guys for their input.

Bob Parham

cranioscopical:
Thanks fo the follow-up, Bob.

It's always interesting to see how these things resolve.
One never knows when the info might be useful.

Glad to hear you have some grounds for optimism.

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