[olug] Computer Woes....

[Daniel Linder]

On Wed, December 14, 2005 16:06, Joe Gulizia wrote:

> I think the problem is narrowed down to RAM or

> CPU/Motherboard issues.

> 

> On startup machine only recognizes 512 Meg out of 1.25

> Gig of RAM....



Definately a sign of bad things. :)



> It was suggested that I try "MemTest"?  I couldn't

> find that exactly to tell me if I'm running a correct

> memory test either.



If you have most any of the bootable LiveCD's (Knoppix, Ubuntu, or
Ultimate BootCD), you normally just boot from it and type
"memtest" at the CDs boot prompt.  Don't let it go all the
way into Linux -- MemTest runs all by itself.  I know that
"MemTest+" will automatically start checking RAM when it boots
up -- when it does find a memory failure it notes the specific information
about in the lower half of the screen.



When I've had RAM problems, I usually take out all but one stick and run
MemTest on it for a couple passes.



You'll also want to check your Motherboard manual -- some require that
slots be filled in a specific order.  And some motherboards are just
picky about the sticks they use.  In your case, where the MB won't
see a big chunk of it, I would suspect that one or more of the sticks
might not be compatible with your board, or loose in the slot.



Dan



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