[citadel77]

on a 3rd laptop im trying to save, i replaced the believed incapacitated RAM and before the grey dell screen even appears it tells me that the physical memory has been changed f1 to continue f2 to enter setup and i reset the time and date as it told me i had to for some reason.....

i had at first got into windows and had began to run MBAM to start his basic cleaning(using just tools no GeekU training used beyond how to setup MBAM and Avast) and somewhere in the middle of a full scan(i later found this scan is unnecessary) the BSOD appeared with the "00050" screen, and a few others when i tried to restart a few times.....

I believe part of the problem is maybe the RAM is not being read yet? must i do something to make sure the new RAM is being used? or should i resort to BSOD thread and retry this?

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The system will detect and use the new RAM without any user intervention. You can enter the setup utility to verify that the system has detected the RAM properly. When the Dell splash screen appears, you'll either press F2 or Delete to enter the utility. Then just poke around for the memory section. I can't tell you exactly where it will be because I don't know what BIOS version you are running.

Or, you can use a utility like System Information Works to verify the system is seeing the RAM.

You can also perform a memory test on the new RAM to verify it's not bad. This website will instruct you on how to create a Ultimate Boot CD with the correct memory testing utility.

[Spyderturbo007]

The system will detect and use the new RAM without any user intervention. You can enter the setup utility to verify that the system has detected the RAM properly. When the Dell splash screen appears, you'll either press F2 or Delete to enter the utility. Then just poke around for the memory section. I can't tell you exactly where it will be because I don't know what BIOS version you are running.

Or, you can use a utility like System Information Works to verify the system is seeing the RAM.

You can also perform a memory test on the new RAM to verify it's not bad. This website will instruct you on how to create a Ultimate Boot CD with the correct memory testing utility.

[citadel77]

so i went through the BIOS and never really saw to much to tell me if the RAM was being detected or not, i was reading somewhere that multiple different BSOD stop screens meant bad RAM i removed the new stick and left just the original working one and i got back into the desktop

ill have to recommend new RAM for him possibly make sure its compatible.

Im not up on the hardware side of a PC or laptop really, so i wouldn't even know what to tell him to buy

[Spyderturbo007]

Run the System Information Works program I linked to above and click memory on the left side of the screen. That will give you all the memory specs.

[rshaffer61]

Go to HERE and run the Crucial online scanner.
This will give you the exact memory configuration for your system.
You do not have to buy the memory from there, but write down the information and if you need assistance in purchasing the upgrade memory GTG can assist with suggestions also.

[123Runner]

i removed the new stick and left just the original working one and i got back into the desktop

You either have a "new" ram stick that is bad, not compatible, or a bad ram slot.

Run the crucial scanner as requested.

I would check for compatibility first. If its compatible, then I would run memtest86 on the ram.


Broni's Instructions:


If you have more than one RAM module installed, try starting computer with one RAM stick at a time.

NOTE Keep in mind, the manual check listed above is always superior to the software check, listed below. DO NOT proceed with memtest, if you can go with option A

B. If you have only one RAM stick installed...
...run memtest...

1. Download - Pre-Compiled Bootable ISO (.zip)
2. Unzip downloaded memtest86+-2.11.iso.zip file.
3. Inside, you'll find memtest86+-2.11.iso file.
4. Download, and install ImgBurn: http://www.imgburn.com/
5. Insert blank CD into your CD drive.
6. Open ImgBurn, and click on Write image file to disc
7. Click on Browse for a file... icon:



8. Locate memtest86+-2.11.iso file, and click Open button.
9. Click on ImgBurn green arrow to start burning bootable memtest86 CD:



10. Once the CD is created, boot from it, and memtest will automatically start to run.

The running program will look something like this depending on the size and number of ram modules installed:




It's recommended to run 5-6 passes. Each pass contains very same 8 tests.

This will show the progress of the test. It can take a while. Be patient, or leave it running overnight.



The following image is the test results area:



The most important item here is the “errors” line. If you see ANY errors, even one, most likely, you have bad RAM.

[citadel77]

I have a grand total of 3 sticks currently........

One in the laptop right now(I initially tried using just one to get back into windows)
When I placed either of the other 2 sticks in there I got either various stop screens or the comp would not even turn on....

The "new" RAM was actually just an extra stick given to us to replace our bad stick, so it's not actually new...
The "new" stick is the one that wont even let the laptop turn on with....

Might it be better to just get the compatibility and actually buy a new one?

And when buying RAM are there good and bad prices? Or just average(if you don't mind tossing that in here)