W5FM getting BSOD and Windows Error messages

Hey guys, my girlfriend's W5FM has a recurring problem of getting BSODs and Windows error messages saying that the "Windows Host has stopped working". This started happening more frequently after I installed 1G of RAM to the laptop (going from 2x512 -> 1x512 and 1x1G) to get a total of 1.5G.

The laptop has had a few of these error messages before but no BSODs until after the ram upgrade. Its also odd since these have been happening just recently and the laptop was fine ~1week after the RAM installation.

The errors happen more frequently if there are multiple applications running (ie. WM player, Office, Firefox) but seems to be stable with less applications. However, its not like the errors happen all the time, maybe like 3x/week. My gf looked in the Problems and Error Reports, and there seems to be a slew of applications that reported errors following the error message (ie. superfetch, firefox, MS office, powerforgear, windows search, etc...). Seems most of these program were running in the background when the error happened.

The major problem is that she's on co-op in another country and I can't help her replace the ram. She is not very computer knowledgeable so she doesn't want to do it herself. I think its the RAM's problem, but I'm not sure. It might just be Vista (I'm hoping it is and that the upcoming SP1 will fix things) but its odd cuz the laptop didn't show these errors with such high frequency before the RAM upgrade.

What do you guys think? Any suggestions? Thanks

 

I seems pretty clear that it's faulty RAM.

Suggestion: use memtest86+ to test the RAM and make a clear determination. It's a bootable CD ISO that needs to be written on a CD, booted, and then left to run overnight. You can guide her through the steps over the phone it's not so complicated.

RAM exchange is not so complicated either but there are some complications and I don't think she'll be willing to do it. Maybe she has a tech-savvy friend over there who can help her?

 

Thanks for verifying my suspicions. Unfortunately she does not have a techy friend nearby. Her coop is in a small town and no big electronics stores either. I think we'll just wait until she comes back and I'll replace the RAM for her.

I have never done an RMA for RAM before so I just have a few questions about it. The RAM is corsair valueselect. I am wondering what the procedure is for RMA. Do if have to run memtest and call them saying it is bad RAM? Do I need to send in the original receipt? The only problem is that I think I included the original receipt when I did the mail-in rebate. Any suggestions? Thanks for all your help.

 

You can still guide her through the memtest86+ test, so that your suspicions are indeed verified.

Well just call or email the reseller and ask about RMA, once you have the RAM and you're sure it's the cause of the problems. If you don't have the original receipt maybe some confirmation email will suffice.

In the meantime, you can advise your girlfriend to only keep a minimum set of applications open at a given time. That will minimize the chance of hitting upon the bad memory addresses, and of BSOD.