Member Avatar for Member #257740

Hey guys. I just tried to upgrade my eMachines T6534 512mb (specs below) with two 1G memory upgrades. The memory type I purchased is PC3200 DDR 400 Mhz. I removed the 512mb stick that came with it, put in the 2 matching 1G sticks and started it up. It seemed to be running very well, although there was a slight clicking noise in the tower that I hadn't heard before. I was running avg antivirus scan for roughly 50 mins, stopped it and shut the computer down in order to install a new mouse I'd purchase. Upon restart, CHKDSK popped up in the blue screen and said it had found some corrupted files, which it then removed. Ever since then, startup is extremely slow and I can't use all of my programs. For instance, I can't even do the Microsoft update, as it will fail every time.

I've since removed the upgrade sticks and put the original 512mb back in, and I'm having the same issues. Any ideas?

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Dani AI

Generated

Symptoms fit two likely, separate causes: a failing hard drive (especially given the clicking noise and CHKDSK reporting corrupted files) or memory instability introduced by the new modules. Immediate priority is data safety — copy important files off that machine before running intrusive tests or repairs.

Quick diagnostic plan (in order):

  • Check drive health with a S.M.A.R.T. reader (look at Reallocated Sector Count and Current Pending Sector Count). A simple GUI tool for this is CrystalDiskInfo (CrystalDiskInfo) which reports “Good/Caution/Bad.” If it reports caution or you see growing reallocated/pending counts, treat the drive as failing and replace it.
  • Because the problem started after a RAM change, run a full memory burn-in using MemTest86 (MemTest86). Bootable testing is needed; let it run several passes and try each stick alone in different slots to rule out bad modules or incompatible sizing/timings.
  • Repair the OS only after hardware is confirmed. Run the System File Checker to attempt to restore corrupted system files using sfc /scannow (Microsoft docs). Also review the System log in Event Viewer for disk or controller errors and reduce nonessential startup items (as recommended) before heavy testing.

Notes and cautions:

  • Clicking is a classic mechanical-drive symptom — prioritize backup and don’t rely on low-level formats as a cure for physical failure. See the general bad-sector/S.M.A.R.T. background (Bad sector / S.M.A.R.T.).
  • If RAM tests fail, revert to proven, supported memory sizes for the motherboard and check BIOS recognition; mismatched or unsupported modules can cause write errors that corrupt files on disk.
  • If drive health checks clear and memory is good but corruption persists, consider an XP repair install or full reinstall after backing up data.

References: CrystalDiskInfo (https://crystalmark.info/en/software/crystaldiskinfo/), MemTest86 (https://www.memtest86.com/), SFC docs (https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/administration/windows-commands/sfc), Bad sector / S.M.A.R.T. overview (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bad_sector).

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Member Avatar for gaurav_indian

Your hard disk has bad sectors mate.

go to command prompt and type

chkdsk drivename :

and test all drives

Member Avatar for Member #257740

Thanks for the reply!

So, I'm not the most computer literate person. What does it mean that my hard disk has bad sectors? Can it be fixed?

Member Avatar for gaurav_indian

Thanks for the reply!

So, I'm not the most computer literate person. What does it mean that my hard disk has bad sectors? Can it be fixed?

Bad sector

A bad sector is a sector on a computer's disk drive that cannot be used due to permanent damage, such as physical damage to the disk particles. It is usually detected by a disk utility software such as CHKDSK or SCANDISK on Microsoft systems, or badblocks on Unix-like systems. When found, these programs mark the sectors unusable and the operating system skips them in the future.

No it cant be fixed.But thats not true also.Low level formatting might help.I had 20kb bad sectors in my new 250gb hdd and i formatted it low level.And they went away.Low level formatting means if you right click any drive and select format then dont "quick format" it.See if there is 4kb bad sectors in your hdd.Then it will increase day by day.Have u tested it?Are there any bad sectors?How old your hdd is?

Member Avatar for Serunson

Can you get your computer to boot into SAFE MODE? To do this press F8 repeatedly when you hit your power button to turn it on. Then hopefully you will get your desktop screen. From here go to Start -> Run -> and type "msconfig". From here go to the last tab, "startup". Un-check anything not related to Microsoft. Look for where the program is located if it is under "c:\windows\...\..." then leave it checked.

Member Avatar for Member #257740

Thanks to both of you for your help. I will give these ideas a try tonight when I get home from work. I'll post the results. Thanks!

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