Prob will Dell Dimension XPS Gen 3 & 1gig crucial ballistix ram upgrade?

lewis_johnstone · Oct 26, 2005, 12:59 PM

Hi,

About 6 months or so back, i upgraded my pc to 2gig ram by purchasing 1 gig crucial ballistix pc-4200 dual channel ddr2 ram.

My pc has been running perfectly fine, until BAM today i came back to my already running pc to see the dreaded 'BLUE SCREEN OF DEATH'?

Saying something like "Windows has experienced a prob. and has shutdown to avoid further damage. If this is the first time u have seen this error please reboot your pc"

I Rebooted to see a 'black screen', with a single line of text "R423 XT 133-A31994-104 BR#7694 A12 DDR3 BIOS Rel9.3.1.18"

THERE ARE SYSTEM CHECK LIGHTS ON BACK OF PC FOR TROUBLESHOOTING, and "2 yellow + 2 green" was showing up = memory problem (according to manual)

I removed the 1gig of crucial ballistix and PC BOOTED UP JUST FINE!?!?!?!?!????

swimtech · Oct 26, 2005, 01:15 PM

Check the condition again - confirm the repeatability of the failure - put the suspect defective 1G DDR Ram back in and see if the failure recurrs - and swap memory slots. Then, take it out again - boots OK now? If it does, your done - call Crucial for your replacement ram.

lewis_johnstone · Oct 26, 2005, 02:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by swimtech

Check the condition again - confirm the repeatability of the failure - put the suspect defective 1G DDR Ram back in and see if the failure recurrs - and swap memory slots. Then, take it out again - boots OK now? If it does, your done - call Crucial for your replacement ram.

I got a problem there, for some reason this is the 1 computer component i got that i dont still have packaging or reciept for...

[I'm sure i recall the ram arriving from crucial without a reciept, really wierd]

This ballistix ram has a lifetime warranty too aparrently. Cant find it either.

I just gotta pray that it works when i put it back in, cant think what could have brought on this problem

swimtech · Oct 26, 2005, 02:30 PM

Are both your ram sticks the same, or different?

BTW, on the warranty with the Crucial stick(s) - I wouldn't worry about the receipt - just call them if that comes to pass. All Crucial memory has a lifetime warranty...

If you are trying to run two different ram sticks in dual channel mode, you could get errors.

lewis_johnstone · Oct 26, 2005, 02:38 PM

The 1gig crucial ballistix comes in x2 512mb sticks. Which i installed as pairs [dual channel]

Originally there was just 1gig ddr2 pc-4200 Samsung/dell ram installed, again x2 512MB. They are installed in pairs. [dual channel]

So all 4 slots were taken up. Obviously right now it's just the 2

swimtech · Oct 26, 2005, 02:44 PM

Have you tried running just the Crucial sticks together?

lewis_johnstone · Oct 26, 2005, 06:28 PM

i'm going to.

But not till 2morrow, I got presentation to do 4 uni. I dont want to mess wit my pc just now...

I'll post back then

soloz2 · Oct 26, 2005, 07:42 PM

try running memtest on each pair of memory individually and then again with both pairs in. see if you get any errors. odds are you probably will get errors together with the problem you're experiencing.

lewis_johnstone · Oct 27, 2005, 07:58 PM

Well i just tested the Crucial Ballistix ram by itself and AGAIN pc wouldnt boot up and i got a memory prob warning light on back of PC.

[PUT MY 1GIG SAMSUNG/DELL RAM THAT CAME WITH PC BACK IN AND IT LOADED UP FINE]

Not sure wether i should RMA for cash or a replacement.

Anyone here got much experience with crucial ram? Was this just a 1 off freak occurance??!?!?

swimtech · Oct 27, 2005, 09:01 PM

First defective Crucial ram I have ever heard of - in eight years - really - and I use it exclusively here at work and at home. However, I don't have any experience with their Ballistix line at all... I'd just call it a one off and get replacements - heh - they'll have a lifetime warranty too.

Maybe when you call or email them, you can ask them if they have had a higher percentage failure rate with that line. Considering it is their envelope pushing product it is likely to, but is also likely comparable to or better than industry average - considering their long track record.

lewis_johnstone · Nov 5, 2005, 02:50 PM

Well i just recieved my replacements from crucial.

Seems all is well again, i ran memtest

http://hcidesign.com/memtest/

And seems everything is ok.

Errr memetest wouldnt let me test all ram at once, so i have done 1024MB twice. Not sure if it tested the same 1024MB twice or both???

Not to sure about that. However, everything seems to be running fine

WxChaser · Nov 5, 2005, 03:08 PM

What version of memtest are you currently running? Curious here. You realize Ballistix uses Micron chips...it's pretty robust memory.

lewis_johnstone · Nov 5, 2005, 04:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WxChaser

What version of memtest are you currently running? Curious here. You realize Ballistix uses Micron chips...it's pretty robust memory.

Errr version.
[color=#ffff00]MemTest 3.2
[/color]

[color=#ffff00][color=Silver]So i dont need to be runnin mem tests u say?[/color]
[/color]

[color=#ffff00]
[/color]

Oct 26, 2005, 12:59 PM	#1
lewis_johnstone DriverHeaven Lover Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 213 Rep Power: 0	Prob will Dell Dimension XPS Gen 3 & 1gig crucial ballistix ram upgrade? Hi, About 6 months or so back, i upgraded my pc to 2gig ram by purchasing 1 gig crucial ballistix pc-4200 dual channel ddr2 ram. My pc has been running perfectly fine, until BAM today i came back to my already running pc to see the dreaded 'BLUE SCREEN OF DEATH'? Saying something like "Windows has experienced a prob. and has shutdown to avoid further damage. If this is the first time u have seen this error please reboot your pc" I Rebooted to see a 'black screen', with a single line of text "R423 XT 133-A31994-104 BR#7694 A12 DDR3 BIOS Rel9.3.1.18" THERE ARE SYSTEM CHECK LIGHTS ON BACK OF PC FOR TROUBLESHOOTING, and "2 yellow + 2 green" was showing up = memory problem (according to manual) I removed the 1gig of crucial ballistix and PC BOOTED UP JUST FINE!?!?!?!?!???? __________________ Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 4GB Corsair DDR3 1333MHz C9 Twin3X Asus P5E3 Socket 775 4870 X2 2GB CrossfireX (Quad-GPU) Sound Blaster X-Fi Fatality 1000W PSU Windows Vista Premium 64bit 3DMark Vantage : 15880 3DMark06 : 16652

Oct 26, 2005, 01:15 PM	#2
swimtech HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: North Carolina Posts: 4,040 Rep Power: 124 System Specs	Check the condition again - confirm the repeatability of the failure - put the suspect defective 1G DDR Ram back in and see if the failure recurrs - and swap memory slots. Then, take it out again - boots OK now? If it does, your done - call Crucial for your replacement ram. __________________ It's not so much getting your way that matters or not - what matters is how you go about getting it.

Oct 26, 2005, 02:30 PM	#4
swimtech HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: North Carolina Posts: 4,040 Rep Power: 124 System Specs	Are both your ram sticks the same, or different? BTW, on the warranty with the Crucial stick(s) - I wouldn't worry about the receipt - just call them if that comes to pass. All Crucial memory has a lifetime warranty... If you are trying to run two different ram sticks in dual channel mode, you could get errors. __________________ It's not so much getting your way that matters or not - what matters is how you go about getting it.

Oct 26, 2005, 02:38 PM	Thread Starter #5
lewis_johnstone DriverHeaven Lover Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 213 Rep Power: 0	The 1gig crucial ballistix comes in x2 512mb sticks. Which i installed as pairs [dual channel] Originally there was just 1gig ddr2 pc-4200 Samsung/dell ram installed, again x2 512MB. They are installed in pairs. [dual channel] So all 4 slots were taken up. Obviously right now it's just the 2 __________________ Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 4GB Corsair DDR3 1333MHz C9 Twin3X Asus P5E3 Socket 775 4870 X2 2GB CrossfireX (Quad-GPU) Sound Blaster X-Fi Fatality 1000W PSU Windows Vista Premium 64bit 3DMark Vantage : 15880 3DMark06 : 16652

Oct 26, 2005, 02:44 PM	#6
swimtech HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: North Carolina Posts: 4,040 Rep Power: 124 System Specs	Have you tried running just the Crucial sticks together? __________________ It's not so much getting your way that matters or not - what matters is how you go about getting it.

Oct 26, 2005, 06:28 PM	Thread Starter #7
lewis_johnstone DriverHeaven Lover Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 213 Rep Power: 0	i'm going to. But not till 2morrow, I got presentation to do 4 uni. I dont want to mess wit my pc just now... I'll post back then __________________ Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 4GB Corsair DDR3 1333MHz C9 Twin3X Asus P5E3 Socket 775 4870 X2 2GB CrossfireX (Quad-GPU) Sound Blaster X-Fi Fatality 1000W PSU Windows Vista Premium 64bit 3DMark Vantage : 15880 3DMark06 : 16652

Oct 26, 2005, 07:42 PM	#8
soloz2 DriverHeaven Addict Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 362 Rep Power: 0	try running memtest on each pair of memory individually and then again with both pairs in. see if you get any errors. odds are you probably will get errors together with the problem you're experiencing. __________________ [COLOR=gray][COLOR=red]CPU:[/COLOR] AMD Opteron 165 CCBBE @ 2.8Ghz [/COLOR] [COLOR=gray][COLOR=red]Motherboard:[/COLOR] DFI nF4 SLI-DR Expert [COLOR=red]Memory:[/COLOR] 2gb G.Skill F1-4000USU2-2 [COLOR=red]Video:[/COLOR] Asus 7900GT TOP @ 700/1700 [COLOR=red]Sound:[/COLOR] Modded X-Fi Elite Pro [COLOR=red]HD:[/COLOR] 2x Seagate 250Gb RAID 0, 1 Seagate 320Gb [COLOR=red]Optical Drives:[/COLOR] Sony DVD-Rom, Plextor 16x DVD DL RW [COLOR=red]Case:[/COLOR] CM Stacker [COLOR=red]PSU:[/COLOR] PC Power & Cooling Silencer 610 [COLOR=red]Cooling:[/COLOR] Custom Water [COLOR=yellow][COLOR=red]Keyboard/Mouse:[/COLOR] [/COLOR]Saitec Eclipse & Logitech MX518 with a Razer ExactMat mouse pad [COLOR=red]Sound:[/COLOR] Modded X-fi > Soloz Audio Silver IC > Maxed PIMETA > Beyer DT 770 Pro/80 cans [COLOR=red]HTPC:[/COLOR] [/COLOR][COLOR=gray]AMD 3800X2[/COLOR][COLOR=gray], Asus A8N-SLI Deluxe, G.Skill 2GB DDR400, MSI 6600GT, Haupauge PVR150, SB [/COLOR][COLOR=gray]Audigy 2ZS[/COLOR][COLOR=gray], Samsung 16x DVD DL RW, Sunbeam Nuuo PSU, Antec P180 case, AC Freezer64 Pro, Viewsonic N2750w LCD HDTV Heatware eBay [/COLOR]

Oct 27, 2005, 07:58 PM	Thread Starter #9
lewis_johnstone DriverHeaven Lover Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 213 Rep Power: 0	Well i just tested the Crucial Ballistix ram by itself and AGAIN pc wouldnt boot up and i got a memory prob warning light on back of PC. [PUT MY 1GIG SAMSUNG/DELL RAM THAT CAME WITH PC BACK IN AND IT LOADED UP FINE] Not sure wether i should RMA for cash or a replacement. Anyone here got much experience with crucial ram? Was this just a 1 off freak occurance??!?!? __________________ Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 4GB Corsair DDR3 1333MHz C9 Twin3X Asus P5E3 Socket 775 4870 X2 2GB CrossfireX (Quad-GPU) Sound Blaster X-Fi Fatality 1000W PSU Windows Vista Premium 64bit 3DMark Vantage : 15880 3DMark06 : 16652

Oct 27, 2005, 09:01 PM	#10
swimtech HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: North Carolina Posts: 4,040 Rep Power: 124 System Specs	First defective Crucial ram I have ever heard of - in eight years - really - and I use it exclusively here at work and at home. However, I don't have any experience with their Ballistix line at all... I'd just call it a one off and get replacements - heh - they'll have a lifetime warranty too. Maybe when you call or email them, you can ask them if they have had a higher percentage failure rate with that line. Considering it is their envelope pushing product it is likely to, but is also likely comparable to or better than industry average - considering their long track record. __________________ It's not so much getting your way that matters or not - what matters is how you go about getting it.

Nov 5, 2005, 02:50 PM	Thread Starter #11
lewis_johnstone DriverHeaven Lover Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 213 Rep Power: 0	Well i just recieved my replacements from crucial. Seems all is well again, i ran memtest http://hcidesign.com/memtest/ And seems everything is ok. Errr memetest wouldnt let me test all ram at once, so i have done 1024MB twice. Not sure if it tested the same 1024MB twice or both??? Not to sure about that. However, everything seems to be running fine __________________ Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 4GB Corsair DDR3 1333MHz C9 Twin3X Asus P5E3 Socket 775 4870 X2 2GB CrossfireX (Quad-GPU) Sound Blaster X-Fi Fatality 1000W PSU Windows Vista Premium 64bit 3DMark Vantage : 15880 3DMark06 : 16652

Nov 5, 2005, 03:08 PM	#12
WxChaser Super Moderator Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 404 Rep Power: 0	What version of memtest are you currently running? Curious here. You realize Ballistix uses Micron chips...it's pretty robust memory.