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Random access memory (RAM, RAM) is a dynamic volatile memory with free access. Basically, it is a temporary data archive for the software. As a design, RAM is a combination of modules with microcircuits connected to the motherboard.
It is the RAM that ensures the running of running programs.
What happens when RAM fails:
Reasons why RAM does not work:
How to diagnose RAM: download to a flash drive with the utility ( application program) data from RAM, the utility monitors the parameters of the RAM. Then you need to boot from the flash drive and check the RAM.
What to do if the RAM does not work:
We will help you solve this problem!
If your RAM is not working, and you have not been able to find out the cause of this problem, or do not want to spend time fixing it, you can contact service center"Expert", where experienced specialists will quickly diagnose the RAM and perform the necessary repairs with high quality.
Any problems with RAM are not as common as with other computer components. But they do happen and you have to be prepared for it. When problems with RAM make themselves felt, this can manifest itself in different ways: again - "BSOD" (Eng. Blue Screen of Death - blue screen of death), spontaneous reboot of the computer, "freezes", etc.
Note: "blue screen of death" looks something like this.
It can appear not only during problems with RAM, but this is one of the sure signs that unambiguously "speaks" that something is wrong with the computer and specialist intervention is required, i.e. - US! :)
If RAM not working, then there are two options:
- 1. RAM burned out completely. In this case, when turned on, all the fans of the system unit rotate properly, but the system does not show any further signs of "life".
- 2. RAM is partially out of order (failures in the operation of one or more of its chips). In this case, the situation is not so obvious. The computer can successfully boot the operating system and even work stably for some time, but when you try to start any resource-intensive application, it will reboot, freeze or show a BSOD.
In the second case, it is necessary to conduct a full test of the RAM for errors in its operation. This is done using special programs And today we will talk about one of them. Personally, she never let me down. Meet! Wonderful utility - " memtest».
Here is what the testing process looks like in it:
To identify problems with RAM, the program sequentially runs eight tests, each of which loads its various sections, writing different values into them, reading and comparing with the standard. We can see the progress of all these tests in the right upper corner in the screenshot above.
If errors in memory operation are found during testing, they are displayed in red in the middle part of the window.
The screenshot above shows that this memory module is no longer alive! :)
Problems with RAM are solved, as a rule, by replacing its unstable module (it will still be impossible to achieve normal operation with it). Although some of them we successfully continue to use in our work. How? In terminal clients, which we talked about in the article "". In this case, there is no active exchange with the memory, and if there are no accesses to its faulty pages, then it can function properly for quite a long time.
As you can see, the Memtest program is very easy to use (testing starts automatically after downloading), it does not require any advanced settings and configuration and does its job remarkably well.
I want to give you some tips about troubleshooting memory problems:
- 1. Always test memory only with boot disk programs. If you run "Memtest" from under Windows, it may happen that by trying to access a bad section of memory, the program will cause a Windows reboot. Do you need it again? :)
- 2. If you have several RAM modules installed, then by testing all of them in combination, it will not be possible to determine which particular module is causing failures. Therefore, we need to test them separately (pull out all the "unnecessary" slots and leave only one tested). And so it will be with everyone! ... module :)
That's all I wanted to tell you today about problems with RAM. By tradition, I give a link to download the program itself "".
Note: after downloading the archive, unzip it. You will receive a "memtest" file with an "iso" extension (this is the image file of the program itself). Now it will need to be written to disk in the image recording mode.
After that, insert the CD into the computer under test, set it to boot from it in Bios and test the RAM.
I recommend that you always test RAM only from under DOS, since it uses no more than one megabyte of memory for its own needs, and we can freely test the rest of its space. If we start diagnosing RAM problems from under Windows, then a certain part of it (occupied by the system) will be inaccessible to the testing program and the procedure itself will not be so effective.
I would like to say a few more words about the "blue screen of death" (BSOD). It makes no sense to stretch this material into a separate article, but here this information will be relevant. So what is useful information for ourselves we can learn from this blue screen? Pay attention to the photo below:
We are only interested in the alphanumeric value after the word "STOP". It is this designation that can tell us in which direction to move when determining a particular malfunction. This applies not only to problems with RAM. The values of the STOP error codes themselves are a great many (depending on the specific malfunction), but you can use them approximately navigate and save your time in the diagnosis.
How can we understand such a large number of stop error codes? Don't keep them all in your head! This is not necessary. Everything has been done for us for a long time :) For example, there is one wonderful program "" (you can download it from the link), which contains their database and explanations of errors (in Russian). You just have to specify a specific STOP code and the program will give you all the necessary information.
Specify our value: 0x0000007A
V this case the code points us to problems with RAM. I know this for sure, because this is an example from my recent practice :) The program can update the error database from the manufacturer's website, so pay attention to the "Updates" item.
I would also like to talk about such a moment: it is possible that during installation operating system Have you seen a message similar to the screenshot below?
V 99 cases out of a hundred (one still write off the fact that installation disk really dirty or scratched) we are dealing with the same RAM problems. Naturally, the name of the file that the system cannot copy can be absolutely anything, since it is at this stage of the installation that a large amount of data is copied into memory and some files try to write to its failed cells.
Now there are several general recommendations so that problems with RAM do not cause you concern, remember that memory, like any other node to which voltage is applied, heats up and its overheating can negatively affect the stable operation of the system as a whole.
Personally, I decided for myself this: a couple more small fans in system block- no problem! :) Where am I leading? There are various systems for cooling RAM on the market. These can either be cap-on heatsinks that attach to both sides of the memory chips, or they can be small prefabricated cooling systems that are equipped with fans and are fixed directly above the memory slots.
Here, for example, I use such a cooling system "Kingston HyperX Cooling Fan" in my .
In the disassembled state, this is an elementary children's designer, which must be assembled and fixed on the white slot latches by moving apart (in the direction indicated by the arrows) the aluminum fasteners of the device. The device is connected to one of the fan connectors on the motherboard.
In addition, the device has a nice LED backlight :)
The situation is as follows: very often, when assembling a computer, RAM modules are installed in the nearest (to the processor) slots. If I see this, then, if possible, I try to immediately rearrange them away from the processor (the third or fourth slot). Why am I doing this?
According to my numerous observations, it is the first two RAM slots that are most susceptible to dusting. This is due to active system cooling the processor (fan), which evenly distributes dust within a radius of 5-7 centimeters from it.
More than once, the entire "repair" of a seemingly seriously non-working machine for me was reduced to reinstalling the memory in another slot (with a preliminary cleaning of the latter).
Dust is the enemy of any electronics! Sometimes it can accumulate inside a lot and - nothing, and sometimes - just a little on the contacts and the complete inoperability of the entire system. Cleaning can be done with a soft brush or brush. As shown in the photo below:
Take a good look at the recesses in the connectors, because that is where the electrical contacts are located. So that problems with RAM do not annoy you in the future, also clear the "tracks" on the module itself.
Personally, I use an ordinary rubber band for this.
Thoroughly wipe all the leads with it (move the rubber band parallel to the copper contacts in the direction indicated by the arrow) and you will notice that the contacts immediately become lighter, and therefore the electrical contact is better. Install RAM away from the CPU cooling system and let your computer work for a long time and without failures :)
P.S.. I thought about it and decided to add a little more to the article. The topic, it seems, is not directly related to RAM problems, but I hope it will be useful to readers. With what program will you burn the "iso" image that I posted above? If you answered - "Nero", then - read the text further :)
I have also used this before software, but then he began to notice that his distribution kit with each new version everything is getting bigger and bigger. And it came to a paradoxical situation: in order to simply burn a disc, I had to install a 300 megabyte software package on my computer!
Realizing that this could not continue, I began to look for an alternative for myself. I found it in the form of a wonderful crumb called "img itemprop="image" Burn". Its size is a little less than two megabytes. It burns discs perfectly and I had a case when she (without further ado) burned me a CD image in 800 megabyte per DVD disc, while our "folk" 300-meter package needed some additional plug-in for this "complex" operation :)
So, without further ado, I sincerely recommend you this little helper "".
Hey Giktimes! Upgrading RAM is the most elementary type of upgrade in a PC, but only as long as you are lucky and you have not stumbled upon one of the many hardware incompatibilities. We tell you in which cases a set of cool RAM will not “start up” on an old PC, why on some platforms it is possible to increase RAM only with the help of “selected” modules, and we warn you about other characteristic quirks of iron.
We know about RAM that there is never too much of it, and that, depending on the antiquity of the computer, you have to choose from very old DDR, old DDR2, mature DDR3 and modern DDR4. At this level, “well, you should buy the main thing, and there it will somehow work, or exchange it, if anything” could be completed - it's time to consider pleasant and not very particulars in the selection of iron. That is, when:
- it should work, but for some reason it doesn't work
- the upgrade is unprofitable or it is better to make it with a “multi-move”
- I want to upgrade with little blood in accordance with the potential of the PC
Check where the controller is
If you are upgrading an outdated computer not only for "love of art", but also for practical reasons, it makes sense to first assess how viable the hardware platform is before investing in it. The most archaic of the current ones are chipsets for Socket 478 (Pentium IV, Celeron), which stretch from platforms with SDRAM PC133 support (Intel 845 chipset, for example), through mainstream DDR-based variants, up to later, strikingly more modern chipsets with DDR2 support PC2-5300 (Intel 945GC and others).
Previously, the controllers were outside the processor, and now, as it happens, they work from the inside
Against this background, alternatives from the AMD camp of the same time look less colorful: all chipsets for Socket 754, which sheltered Athlon 64, representatives of the K8 microarchitecture, support DDR memory, the same type of memory was supported by processors for Socket 939 (Athlon 64 and the first dual-core Athlon 64 X2). Moreover, in the case of AMD chips, the memory controller was built into the processor - now you will not surprise anyone with this approach, however, Intel purposefully kept the controller in the chipset, just in order to combine processors for the same socket with new types of RAM.
For this reason, subsequent AMD chips for the AM2/AM2+ socket with a RAM controller under the processor cover worked only with DDR2, and Intel with its "long-lived" Socket 775 stretched the fun with DDR to the very tomatoes of DDR3! In more modern platforms, both processor manufacturers have switched to a controller integrated into the CPU chip, and such tricks with the support of variegated RAM are a thing of the past.
When is it cheaper to change the chipset than fork out for old memory
This cumbersome list is not meant to impress readers with the breadth and abundance of legacy PC chipsets, but for a slightly unexpected upgrade maneuver. The essence of this simple maneuver lies in the fact that sometimes it would be more rational to purchase a motherboard with support for cheaper and more modern memory than to shell out for the already rare RAM of the previous generation.Because the same amount of DDR2 memory in the secondary market will be at least 50% more expensive than comparable DDR3 memory. Not to mention the fact that DDR3 hasn't been taken off the production line yet, so it can be purchased in a new condition, in an inexpensive kit.
And with new chipsets, it becomes possible to expand the RAM to current values \u200b\u200band today. For example, if we compare prices in Russian retail, then 8 gigabytes (2x 4 Gb) of DDR2 memory with a frequency of 800 MHz will cost you 10 thousand rubles, and the same amount of DDR3 memory with a frequency of 1600 MHz (Kingston Value RAM KVR16N11 / 8, for example) - at 3800-4000 rubles. Given the sale and purchase of a motherboard for an old PC, the idea looks reasonable.
The realities of upgrading computers with "native" support for DDR and DDR2 have long been known to everyone:
- memory modules with different timings and frequencies most often they manage to work together, and "alignment" occurs either according to the SPD profile in a less productive module, or (worse,) the motherboard chooses a standard profile for working with RAM. As a rule, with the minimum allowable clock frequency.
- the number of modules should ideally be equal to the number of channels. Two sticks of memory with a capacity of 1 GB each in an old PC will work faster than four modules with a capacity of 512 MB. Fewer modules - less load on the controller, higher efficiency.
Two channels in the controller - two memory modules for maximum performance. The rest is trade-offs between capacity and speed.
- in dual-channel mode, modules of equal volume work more efficiently. In other words, 1 GB + 1 GB will be better than 1 GB + 512 MB + 512 MB.
- evaluate platform performance before buying memory. Because some chipsets do not reveal the potential even of their "antediluvian" type of RAM. For example, the Intel 945 Express platform is equipped with a dual-channel DDR2 controller that supports frequencies up to 667 MHz. This means that the DDR2 PC6400 modules you bought will be recognized by the platform, but the modules will be limited in speed and will only work as PC2-5300, “identical to natural”.
The Intel LGA775 socket is one of the options when it is easier and cheaper to buy a motherboard with DDR3 support than to upgrade the memory with a platform within old version DDR
And, it seems, this list of nuances is enough to want to "drag" a computer based on LGA775 to a chipset with DDR3 support. However, you will still laugh, but only in the modernization of the old platform with the help of the new RAM there are also some nuances.
In debut platforms with DDR3 support (Intel x4x and x5x chipsets and AMD analogs of the same time), controllers can only work with old-style modules. An absurd situation? Yes, but the fact remains.
The fact is that older systems do not know the "language of communication" with modules that are equipped with high-density memory chips. At the household level, this means that this module, in which 4 gigabytes are “smeared” into eight chips on the front side printed circuit board, will not be able to work in the old PC. And the old module, in which the same volume is implemented on 16 chips (8 on each side), with a similar volume and frequency, will be operational.
Such compatibility problems are typical, for example, for the desktop Intel G41 Express (the one that pulls a large proportion of the surviving Core 2 Duo or Core 2 Quad) or Mobile Intel HM55 (notebooks based on the first generation Intel Core based on the Nehalem microarchitecture).
Sometimes manufacturers motherboards/ laptops release new BIOS versions in order to teach older platforms to work with new RAM revisions, but most often there is no talk of any long-term support for old equipment. And, unfortunately, there is no talk of any special series of memory for owners of "obsolete, but not quite" PCs - memory production has gone ahead and it is very expensive to turn it back.
In order not to bother with such concepts as "memory chip density", at the household level, owners of old PCs are advised to look for Double-sided DIMM, double-sided memory modules that are more likely to be compatible with debut DDR3-based platforms. V model line Kingston would be a good option HyperX Blu KHX1333C9D3B1K2/4G - 4 GB DDR3 module for desktops with sixteen memory modules on board. It's not that easy to find on sale, but if you want 16 GB on an old PC, know how to spin.
And yes, the “best of the archaic” chipsets, such as the Intel P35 Express, for example, are also content with DDR3 support at 1333 instead of the 1600 MHz typical for modern budget platforms.
HyperX Blu KHX1333C9D3B1K2 is one of the few ways to get 16 GB of RAM in older PCs
No variety - no problem
After a long "stronghold of resistance" with the memory controller in the northbridge of Intel platforms, the experiments stopped. All new Intel and AMD platforms included a controller under the cover of the CPU itself. This, of course, is bad in terms of platform longevity (you can’t do a trick and “change” to a new type of memory with an old processor), but RAM manufacturers have adjusted and, as you can see, DDR3 memory has not lost its popularity even in 2017. Its carriers today are the following platforms:| AMD | Intel |
| am3 | lga1366 |
| am3+ | lga1156 |
| fm1 | lga1155 |
| fm2 | lga1150 |
| fm2+ | lga2011 |
The list of processor architectures based on these platforms is much more extensive! But the variety in the choice of memory is less, or rather it is almost non-existent. The only exception is AMD processors for socket AM3, which, to the delight of budget buyers, are compatible with socket AM2, AM2 +. Accordingly, the “reds” equipped such processors universal controller, which supports both DDR2 (for AM2+) and DDR3 memory. True, in order to “fire up” DDR3 on Socket AM3 up to 1333 and 1600 MHz, you will have to additionally tinker with the settings.
This is how new computers based on DDR3 and competing types of memory correlated in the recent past
The principles of memory selection in the case of platforms based on DDR3 are as follows:
- for FM1, FM2 and FM2+, if we are talking about an APU with powerful integrated graphics, you can and should choose the most productive RAM. Even old FM1-based chips are able to cope with DDR3 at 1866 MHz, and chips based on the Kaveri microarchitecture and its Godavari “restyling” in some cases squeeze out all the juice even from extremely overclocked DDR3 at 2544 MHz! And these are not “corn”, but really useful megahertz in real work scenarios. Therefore, overclocking memory is simply necessary for such computers.
Performance increase in AMD APUs depending on RAM frequency (source: ferra.ru)
It is worth starting, for example, with modules HyperX HX318C10F - they are already "in the base" working at 1866 MHz and CL10, and in overclocking they will come in handy for clock-sensitive AMD hybrid processors.
AMD APUs are in dire need of high frequency memory
- "antique" Intel processors on platforms LGA1156 and its server counterpart LGA1366 are able to ride the high-frequency DDR3 only in the case of a correctly selected multiplier. Intel itself guarantees stable operation only within the range "up to 1333 MHz". By the way, do not forget that in addition to supporting registered memory with ECC, server platforms LGA1366 and LGA2011 offer three- and four-channel DDR3 controllers. And they remain, perhaps, the only candidates for upgrading RAM to 64 GB, because 16 GB non-registered memory modules are almost never found in nature. But in LGA2011, memory overclocking has become easily feasible up to 2400 MHz.
- almost all processors based on microarchitectures Sandy Bridge and Ivy Bridge (LGA1155) support RAM up to 1333 MHz. It is no longer possible to raise the frequency of the clock generator and thus obtain “easy” overclocking in this generation of Intel Core. But models with an unlocked multiplier and the "correct" motherboard capable of going far beyond the notorious 1333 MHz, so for Z-chipsets and processors with the K suffix, it makes sense to invest in modules HyperX Fury HX318C10F - regular 1866 MHz are "perilous" almost to the limit values for Bridge-processors. It doesn't seem like much!
- LGA1150, the carrier of chips based on Haswell and Broadwell microarchitectures has become the last of the "civilian" Intel platforms with DDR3 support, but in the methods of interacting with RAM it has not changed much since the days of Sandy Bridge and Ivy Bridge. Unless support for mass DDR3 models with a frequency of 1600 MHz has finally come to life. If we talk about overclocking, then the theoretical maximum for processors with unlocked multipliers with overclocking motherboards is 2933 MHz! There is a maximum, but with support for XMP profiles in modern DDR3 modules, it is no longer difficult to achieve high frequencies on an aging memory type.
DDR4 - the fastest, most elementary memory to upgrade and buy
Language does not turn to call DDR4 SDRAM memory a novelty - after all, Intel processors skylake, the first mass CPUs with DDR4 on board, came out back in 2015 and managed to get a “restyling” in the face of slightly more optimized and efficient overclocking Kaby Lake. And in 2016, AMD demonstrated a platform with DDR4 support. True, she just demonstrated, because the AM4 socket is intended for AMD processors“finally serious competition” RyZEN, which have just been declassified.
DDR4 is still very young, but in order to unleash the potential of four-channel controllers of the Intel LGA 2011-v3 platform, overclocking memory is already needed
With the choice of memory for supernova platforms, everything is extremely simple - the frequency of mass DDR4 modules starts from 2133 MHz (they are also achievable on DDR3, but "in a jump"), and the volume - from 4 GB. But buying a "starter" DDR4 configuration today is as short-sighted as being content with DDR3 at 800 MHz at the dawn of its appearance.
The memory controller built into processors based on the LGA1151 platform is dual-channel, which means that in a good way you need to fit into a couple of modules, the capacity of which is enough for modern games. Today, this amount is 16 GB (no, we're not kidding - with 8 GB of RAM in 2017 it will no longer be possible to “deny yourself nothing”), and as for the clock frequency, DDR4-2400 memory has become the right mainstream.
In server/extreme processors for the LGA 2011-v3 platform, the memory controller is already a four-channel one, and of all the varieties of RAM, only DDR4-2133 is de jure supported, but memory overclocking based on Intel chipset X99 with Intel Core i7 Extreme is not easy, but very easy. Well, a computer for maximalists needs memory for maximalists - for example, the “hardest” HyperX Predator DDR4 HX432C16PB3K2 with a clock frequency of 3200 MHz. According to the "walk like a walk" principle, you need to equip the LGA 2011-v3 platform with all four modules - only in this case the four-channel controller will be able to realize the full speed potential of the memory subsystem.
In order not to cram the rules and exceptions
What can be added to the nuances of choice described above? A lot of things: specific monoblock nettops with non-reference component design, laptops of the same model with completely different upgrade potential, individual moody motherboard models and other “rake” that are easy to stumble upon if you haven’t followed the trends in hardware on the forums enthusiasts.In this case, Kingston offers online configurator. With it, you can choose guaranteed compatible and efficient RAM for desktops, workstations, nettops, ultrabooks, servers, tablets and other devices.
There is a reason to check the compatibility of the PC stuffing with the memory you are looking for to buy, so as not to return to the store and explain to consultants that “the memory is workable, but my computer needs DDR3-1600, which is not quite the usual DDR3-1600.”
Don't leave old people to their fate!
It didn’t seem to you - upgrading memory is really more troublesome than older computer. This article does not cover all possible difficulties and particulars in the choice of memory (it is almost impossible physically, and you would be tired of overcoming a summary of such trifles in its entirety) But this is not a reason to send still working hardware to the dustbin of history.
You can ignite at any age
Because outdated PCs from our overclocker-enthusiast bell towers can still serve less ambitious users in good stead or be retrained as a home server / media center, and we will not perform another song to the “immortal” Sandy Bridge, who celebrated his sixth birthday and is still good, today we will not perform. High performance and fair wind to you in upgrading your PC!
Fast RAM is good, discounted fast RAM is even better! So do not miss the opportunity to purchase any of the HyperX Savage DDR4 and HyperX Predator DDR4 memory kits before March 8 with a 10% discount using a promo code DDR4FEB at Walmart. There is no such thing as too much memory, and even more productive and cool memory for new PC platforms!
For getting additional information about products Kingston and HyperX refer to the official website of the company. HyperX will help you choose your kit