Member Avatar for Warsong

hi guys i got a pritty big problem.

my computer is so stuffed basically....

i had a harddrive which kept blue screening and i couldnt get it to fix so i brought a new hdd, here we are about a month down the track, and my new hdd i brough wont work properly, im not sure if i got some kinda mega virus or something my antivirus isnt picking up but msn keeps rebooting my computer on startup, so i removed that. All my drivers and various proggys i install everytime i reformat are getting alot of errors installing and most cases dont install at all. everytime i goto install windows (on the first part just after it formats the partition with ntfs then copies files), i usually get a error on there where one or more of the files cant be copied. im also having alot of random reboot troubles and im really stumped at what the problem actually is, is there some sort of hdd utility i can download to check if i maybe have a fault somewhere, ive run chkdsk utility (both on windows and the dos version when u push R using the win xp cd) and both came up clean saying nothing was wrong.

my specs,

motherboard = Gigabyte GA-8IG1000 PRO-G
video card = Radeon 9600
memory = 3x twinmos 512mb
hdd = old one was a seagate 80g the new one is a western digital 80g

other random stuff, im using AVG antivirus, Comodo firewall, windows XP (obviously) i was using SP1 but i dont think the service packs the problem but i have now downloaded SP2, Ad-aware SE personal.

if you need any other information i will provide.

thanks guys,
Warsong`

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Dani AI

Generated

The thread ends with isolating the fault to a single RAM stick: removing that module stopped the errors and allowed a reformat. That result makes a bad memory module the most likely root cause of the repeated file-copy failures, driver install errors, blue screens and random reboots rather than a persistent HDD fault or an elusive virus.

Why bad RAM looks like a drive problem: during setup and installs the OS and installers use RAM as working buffers before data is written to disk. Corrupted RAM flips bits in those buffers, which can make the installer report "file copy" errors, break driver installs, and cause processes to crash unpredictably. High error counts from a memory diagnostic almost always point to a defective stick or a marginal DIMM slot rather than transient software corruption.

Practical, concrete next steps and checks: run a long multi-pass memory diagnostic and test each DIMM one at a time and in each slot to determine whether the stick or the socket is bad; reseat modules and clean contacts; reset BIOS to stock timings/voltages (disable any overclocking/profiles) before testing; if a module fails, replace or RMA it. Because the system used three 512 MB sticks, note that many motherboards run best with matched pairs—mixing odd numbers or different speeds can reveal stability problems. Also verify PSU connectors and data cables and, once memory is confirmed good, re-run HDD checks to be certain the drive is healthy.

After replacing a faulty module, perform a clean OS install and run extended stability/stress tests for a few hours. Replacing the bad stick and using matched memory usually converts this kind of recurring install failure into a one-time hardware replacement.

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Member Avatar for Tropp

it may not be the hdd at all, could be faulty RAM, Drive cable etc etc

Try new cables and memtest etc.

Member Avatar for Warsong

i tried downloading the western digital diagnostic programs off the website, i ran them and the tests came out fine, does this mean its not a hdd problem? also tropp you said a mem test, how do i perform one of them?

Member Avatar for Tropp

http://www.memtest.org/#downiso (several sources when googled)

Just run it as per the instructions


You could also try swapping ram if you have a spare stick or a friend will lend you a stick.

My point was that if you swapped the drives out 1 month ago and the issue returns than its more likely to be some other hardware issue or if you are installing all the same software and setup again it be a software conflict

Could be an Drive cable, RAM, Motherboard issue. Way more componentry in a system than just a HDD.

Member Avatar for dos_centavos

i tried downloading the western digital diagnostic programs off the website, i ran them and the tests came out fine, does this mean its not a hdd problem? also tropp you said a mem test, how do i perform one of them?

If the diagnostics ran fine then you do not have an hard drive problem. I am assuming you ran the highest level of diagnostics that wipes the drive and tests read write operations extensively.

Member Avatar for Warsong

um. i dont think i did im not sure i just ran the extended test, am i supposed to do the write zero's one?

also i think the problem is my ram, i ran one "pass" of memtest and came up with 350,000 errors (YES 350k ERRORS THATS NOT A TYPO)

Member Avatar for Warsong

ok so the problem is solved, one of my old ram sticks has died or something and once i removed that i got no errors. going to try reformat now and hopefully all should be good again

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