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    SONY VGN-FZ11E memory problem (bluescreen!)

    Discussion in 'VAIO / Sony' started by 66z, Feb 17, 2009.

  1. 66z

    66z Notebook Geek

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    Hello fellows!

    For few months already I am getting irregular bluescreens announcing "Memory Parity Fail" on my FZ11E.. Most of the time it's when the computer has noticeably warmed up but not always. Sometimes there's no crash for weeks and suddenly it's here again and keep coming back several times per day.

    My guess would be the memory gets overheated, probably because I upgraded from 2x512MB to a cheap pair of Corsair's 1GB. However I suspect my computer might have a tendency to get too hot by itself even if I keep it on hard surface and always on a Balanced power plan. Memory tests show no errors so I can't know for sure.

    The question is, how do I find out if the problem is in RAM or the cooling system? I'm willing to buy a new pair of memory modules but want to make sure it will fix the issue.


    CPU: T7100 @ 1.8GHZ x2
    RAM: CORSAIR DDR2 1GBB SODIMM 667MHZ CL5
    VIDEO: NVIDIA GEFORCE 8400M GT 64MB
    OS: WINDOWS VISTA HOME PREMIUM


    Please. :confused:
     
    66z, Feb 17, 2009
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  2. 66z

    66z Notebook Geek

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    BUMP ~!

    Sorry, thought it might be a common problem?
     
    66z, Feb 23, 2009
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  3. ScuderiaConchiglia

    ScuderiaConchiglia NBR Vaio Team Curmudgeon

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    What are your temps? Get SpeedFan and find out. If they are normal, then the issue is bad RAM. What are you using to test the RAM? Get Memtest86.

    Gary
     
    ScuderiaConchiglia, Feb 23, 2009
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  4. owais

    owais Notebook Deity

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    run a diognostics test, i dont know how. google it i guess.
    i cant remember but thats what a dell guy told me to do when i messed my studio xps screen up. it checks all the stuff in the computer but i cant remember how to do it :(

    iv actually never had a blue screen ever on any pc i owned which is quite good
     
    owais, Feb 23, 2009
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  5. ngvuanh

    ngvuanh Notebook Deity

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    You can download this ISO of memtest86+ from following link
    http://www.memtest.org/download/2.11/memtest86+-2.11.iso.zip
    Burn it to a CD and place in your DVD drive and restart.
    It will boot from CD and test your laptop memory.
    If you see any RED line scroll up, you have BAD memory.
     
    ngvuanh, Feb 23, 2009
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  6. ScuderiaConchiglia

    ScuderiaConchiglia NBR Vaio Team Curmudgeon

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    And let it run for several hours, since the problem appears to be intermittent.

    Gary
     
    ScuderiaConchiglia, Feb 23, 2009
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  7. 66z

    66z Notebook Geek

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    Thank you so much.

    I just downloaded the SpeedFan tool and the temperatures are as follows:

    No info on RAM temps though (or might the modules be under TEMP1/TEMP2?)


    I've also scanned for the DIMM info and this is what I get:
    DIMM #7.. what?


    I'll run the memory test you recommended when the computer will be idle next time.. I'm afraid it will be hard to catch the glitch though because often there's no sign of crash for weeks. The VAIO Hardware Diagnostics memory test shows no problem at all.

    Could it be my VAIO is just "naturally" prone to heat up beyond reason and the RAM can't stand it?

    ~~~
     
    Last edited by a moderator: May 8, 2015
    66z, Feb 25, 2009
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  8. ScuderiaConchiglia

    ScuderiaConchiglia NBR Vaio Team Curmudgeon

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    Your core temps are very high. My FZ190 idles at 50c and the GPU idles at 64c. I would guess you need to clean out the vents. Also were these temps taken on a HARD surface? The laptop should never be placed on anything soft as it will block the vents under the laptop and cause the temps to rise.

    Gary
     
    ScuderiaConchiglia, Feb 25, 2009
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  9. 66z

    66z Notebook Geek

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    Yes, I never put my laptop on a soft surface, I even often keep it half over the edge of the desk so there's a better cooling.

    My temps are back to normal now but they seem to rise unpredictably without obvious reason.. Even when CPU/GPU are far from being loaded.

    I guess there might be a point in cleaning my baby as it has been carried around and used outdoors on a regular basis for a couple of years, there's also some annoying dirt behind the screen. I just wonder if it can be dismantled easily :rolleyes:
     
    66z, Feb 25, 2009
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  10. 66z

    66z Notebook Geek

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    OK, took me a while to get through the test but finally there's some result. Have no clue what does it really prove though.

    [​IMG]

    There's definitely something wrong with the temperatures, I don't need to load my CPU or GPU much to (sometimes) get painfully hot, also if I hibernate the OS and boot back into in a minute the heat stops building up.

    Any advice highly appreciated!
     
    66z, Mar 20, 2009
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  11. 66z

    66z Notebook Geek

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    Still no clue..

    Haven't been any crashes recently but would be so nice to get through with the problem once and forever ;)
     
    66z, Mar 31, 2009
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  12. 66z

    66z Notebook Geek

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    OK, life been hectic lately but finally I've ripped my Sonya apart and cleaned the fan -- oh my was such a mess around it!

    l-top seems to be much cooler now, let's see if the memory problem persists.
     
    66z, Jul 21, 2009
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  13. 66z

    66z Notebook Geek

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    Current temps:
     
    66z, Jul 21, 2009
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  14. 66z

    66z Notebook Geek

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    Well, well, well..

    Just got an another bluescreen and the laptop wasn't hot at all.

    So I'll look into replacing the RAM.

    BTW: the manual says FZ11E can't have more than 2GB of RAM, is that true? I thought I could address 3GB with my 32-bit Vista, so why this limitation?
     
    66z, Jul 24, 2009
    #14