OS and all the programs installed with a bad RAM

[Tridashie]

Hi.

 

My build:

• Ryzen 9 5950x
• Noctua NH-D15S
• MSI MAG B550M Mortar
• Patriot Viper Steel 2x32GB 3600MHz C18
• Colorful RTX 3060 Ti NB Duo LHR-V
• PSU be quiet! Straight Power 11 750W Platinum
• BIOS 7C94v1C (The latest version as I’m writing this)
• Windows 10 64-bit

 

It's my new build. Everything is normal, I’ve installed Windows and all the programs without crashes/BSOD, except it won’t install MAGIX Vegas until I move the installation software to somewhere else, not a big deal since it’s now installed and works normally.

 

But the next day, I got Memory Management BSOD in a minute or two after I turned on this PC. I ignored this problem because maybe it’s just a one-time BSOD and it doesn’t crash on the next restart.

 

A few days after that incident, here’s the summary of the problems I’ve got in a different time and days:

• Discord restarts itself at random time, often stuck in a welcome screen.
• Steam won’t open and taking CPU usage in the background, makes the CPU fan loud.
• Opening “This PC” will act like opening Task Manager and restarting Windows Explorer.
• Random Memory Management BSOD, again.

 

Okay, something is wrong with the PC. So I ran memtest86 and got tons of errors almost immediately. Then I tested with one stick at a time, and it turns out one of them is a bad RAM. I also use Prime95 and it fails at Large FFT and Blend Test. But just to make sure it’s not the motherboard, I tested all the 4 DIMM slots, thankfully it’s not the motherboard.

 

RMA’d that RAM and now I’m currently using a temporary kit of good and tested RAM (OLOy WarHawk 2x16GB 3600MHz C18) and haven’t experienced any tiniest system anomaly.

 

But that makes me think, if the person thinks their PC works “normally” and ignores occasional buggy programs, then the other day they test with memtest86 and found tons of errors, then they replace the kit without nuke and pave the OS, does that mean they installed the OS and all the programs with a faulty RAM? Do the files that go into the RAM go bad before transferred to the SSDs?

 

Since I have nothing to lose, reinstalling the Windows is definitely a good idea. My friends that are experts in this field have varyingly different answers stating about the possible corruption to the installed programs while the other stating that it’s still absolutely fine without reinstalling everything.

 

I need a definitive answer.

Thanks.

[Bombastinator]

RAM just goes bad sometimes.  It’s literally cosmic rays.  No control at all.  It can be fine for weeks or years then BAM you’re hosed.  That’s why memory is checked for all instances of certain kinds of problems even though it’s rarely faulty.   They’re arguably both right.  Comes down to how mission critical stuff is. One variable is how high up in the registers the error is.  If someone has 16gb of memory and the whole 16gb is rarely used a person might not even know they have an error because nothing gets written to the bad bit.

Edited July 7, 2022 by Bombastinator

[191x7]

Updating programs (or reinstalling them) usually removes issues that occurred during installation with faulty RAM.

Windows are usually OK if they pass chkdsk c: /scan and sfc /scannow.

But yes, a clean install is the best to be safe.

[porina]

The problem is you just don't know if there might be corruption in any installed software, so a reinstall will be the safest option. Especially on a new system this might not be too painful, compared to say an older system with a lot more software and configuration done.

 

A middle ground is to get Windows to check itself. See following page for two commands to run. Do not be surprised if it finds "errors" even on a fresh install. Windows is just that good. https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/use-the-system-file-checker-tool-to-repair-missing-or-corrupted-system-files-79aa86cb-ca52-166a-92a3-966e85d4094e

 

Of course, that only deals with Windows files. Not drivers or any software. Steam games can be run through verification but don't know if others offer that.

[Tridashie]

Thanks for all the answers! Will do a clean reinstall since it's a new system anyway.

 

• Good news: I got my RAM replacement. Passed memtest86 at stock speed 2666MHz.
• Bad news: The replacement kit didn't run properly at XMP/advertised speed (3600MHz C18) aka fails at Test 8 Random Number Sequence and Test 13 Hammer Test. Also fails at Prime95's Blend Test.
• Semi-Good news: The replacement kit passed memtest86 at 3200MHz C16, I'm just gonna stick with this for a while because I heard 3600MHz C18 = 3200MHz C16.

 

The RAM is PVS464G360C8K (Patriot Viper Steel 2x32GB 3600MHz C18) if anyone's wondering.