Alright, so I built this PC back in February:

Crucial Ballistix 1GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Desktop Memory Model BL12864AA1065 - Retail
Item #: N82E16820148090
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250310AS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
Item #: N82E16822148261
LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner With 12X DVD-RAM Write Black SATA Model LH-20A1S OEM BK - OEM
Item #: N82E16827106070
GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX All Solid Capacitor Intel Motherboard - Retail
Item #: N82E16813128059
Antec NeoPower 550 550W ATX12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready Active PFC Power Supply - Retail
Item #: N82E16817103941
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz LGA 775 Quad-Core Processor Model BX80562Q6600 - Retail
Item #: N82E16819115017
EVGA 512-P2-N773-AR GeForce 8600 GTS 512MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
Item #: N82E16814130286
Antec Performance One P180 Silver cold rolled steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

and ever since I built the thing, about every 2-3 weeks, it will BSOD. For the longest time, it was the IRQ_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL message. I tried reformatting then I googled, what I could find pointed to bad RAM. Ran a memtest86+ on it and the RAM failed like crazy. So I RMA'd the Crucial RAM. Another 2-3 weeks, it happened again, so I RMA'd the RAM again. While I was waiting on it to get back, I bought this to test with:
G.SKILL 1GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Desktop Memory Model F2-8500CL5S-1GBPK - Retail
Item #: N82E16820231143.
It BSOD'd again 2-3 weeks later after I got the Crucial back, so I RMA'd the RAM, the power supply and sent the motherboard back to Gigabyte. Gigabyte saw that the board would POST, reset the CMOS and sent it back. Another 2-3 weeks it happened again. So finally I called Gigabyte and complained and after flashing the BIOS and doing all their recommended steps, they finally agreed to just replace the board. I got the board installed a couple weeks ago and left the computer on since. I got back from Thanksgiving with a PFN_LIST_CORRUPT BSOD which has now happened two more times. I also got a PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA message a day or two ago and have shut the thing down since I got that message. Every time I get a BSOD, if I just shut the PC down for about 24 hours or so, I won't get another message for at least a week. It's almost like an overheating problem that occurs after a couple of weeks but I've got two fans in that case aimed directly over the mobo/cpu/ram area. I really don't think I have gotten 3 bad sets of RAM, and I kinda doubt I have gotten two bad motherboards in a row. I don't think it's mixing the brands of RAM because I was getting BSOD's when I only had the Crucial installed. Basically, the only things I haven't RMA'd are the hard drive, cpu and video card. All of which are past the return date. I have no idea what's causing this and it's really starting to piss me off. I have been troubleshooting this crap for months and wanted to see if anybody here had any ideas. If not, I may just try to sell this thing.

12/3/2008 7:06:46 PM

Okay, here is a summary of the problem. I have a computer with those^ parts. Every 2-3 weeks, it BSOD's and starts saying it has bad RAM. After I turn the computer off for about 24 hours or so, it will run fine for another week or two until it starts saying bad RAM again. The process just repeats over and over about every 2 weeks. I've RMA'd the RAM 3 times, Mobo and PSU once. Any suggestions?

12/4/2008 9:30:59 AM

did you try increasing your RAM voltage by a small amount? I had to do that for the last pc i put together.

12/4/2008 10:11:26 AM

also make sure your to turn OFF any kind of "performance mode/Turbo mode" relating to your memory timings in your BIOS.

12/4/2008 10:17:02 AM

I had the exact same IRQL problem a couple weeks ago [message_topic.aspx?topic=549050] and reformatted my hdd, later I found it was probably a memory problem and sure enough failed memtest. I ordered new ram from crucial, got a bad stick of RAM from crucial, RMA'd then finally got 2 good sticks. My installation of Vista was fucked up and I ended up having to reformat/reinstall vista with the new ram. I have no idea if it is even possible (or makes sense) but it seemed like the bad ram somehow corrupted my hdd, because after the reformat/reinstall everything has been fine.

So, have you reformated your hdd since you got the good ram?

[Edited on December 4, 2008 at 10:41 AM. Reason : ]

12/4/2008 10:39:17 AM

^^

that worked for my last computer. i had similar issues.

12/4/2008 11:28:56 AM

i would say check the voltages but with only 1gb it should be able to handle it just fine

seems like the only other viable source of the problem though.

i solved my mem problem by making sure the 4th slot was getting enough voltage

12/4/2008 11:33:28 AM

I had kinda wondered about the voltage issues. The 2 sticks of Crucial I have require 2.2v and IIRC the one stick of GSKILL I have requires slightly less, like 1.8 or 2v. Which should I set in the BIOS?

Also, why would this problem only show up after a couple weeks of use?

[Edited on December 4, 2008 at 12:00 PM. Reason : .]

12/4/2008 11:59:44 AM

Does anybody know of a free program that will monitor the temp of my cpu/ram?

12/20/2008 12:42:58 PM

i also bumped up the voltage of my ram and it helped stability. i guess the bios wasn't accurate when it came to voltage readings.

12/20/2008 10:14:28 PM

^^The Gigabyte mobo should have come with a disk that has a program that will monitor your cpu temps. Easy Tune or something. I don't know how you'd monitor ram temps.

12/21/2008 7:21:25 PM

^Thanks, I'll have to see if I can find that CD. I researched some and found out that most RAM doesn't have a temp sensor so idk.

12/21/2008 7:28:41 PM

you dont really need a temperature sensor on your ram unless you are in HPC territory

and even then, you should have designed the room and the air flow to make it unnecessary

12/21/2008 8:27:49 PM

Quote :

"Does anybody know of a free program that will monitor the temp of my cpu/ram?"

SpeedFan does this. I used to have it running with the All CPU Meter widget in vista. I don't know about ram temp specifically though.

12/22/2008 3:42:23 AM

Quote :

"My installation of Vista was fucked up and I ended up having to reformat/reinstall vista with the new ram. I have no idea if it is even possible (or makes sense) but it seemed like the bad ram somehow corrupted my hdd, because after the reformat/reinstall everything has been fine."

depending on the nature of the issue this is extremely possible, in fact it's practically inevitable in many cases... memory is used to buffer and cache the filesystem during writes, if it a block falls on a marginal adress, blammo you have filesystem corruption

12/22/2008 6:17:00 AM

^Yeah, I reformatted this weekend after upgrading the BIOS and setting the RAM temp. We'll see how it goes. If I get more BSODs I may just have to buy different RAM.

12/22/2008 7:31:03 AM

after you reinstall, be sure to (as mentioned earlier)

1) check voltages and timings of your memory, be sure to set to manf. recommended settings, if you have two specs, go with the more liberal one (higher voltage, looser timings)... although you may just want to start with one stick of known working ram

2) check cpu temps.

[Edited on December 22, 2008 at 11:07 AM. Reason : .]

12/22/2008 11:06:40 AM

I reformatted and set the voltage to 2.1v which appears to be within the recommended range on both sticks and I'm still getting BSOD's. Maybe I just need to buy a different matching set of RAM I give up

1/6/2009 10:23:13 PM