So what's up with my new computer?

[miggols99]

I recently build my own computer, and it was working fine..until suddenly in Windows I kept getting BSODs and Debian/openSUSE kept crashing. I really don't know what is wrong with it. The only thing I added was a wireless card, but even without it it does the same thing. What do you think is wrong?

(I'm running a memtest at the moment..tell you the results in a min..)

UPDATE: The memtest is going mad! When I put it to beep on error it beeped constantly!

[fatality_uk]

Overheating? A possibility.

[miggols99]

Don't think so. In the BIOS it has ok temperatures. 50 degrees for the processor) and ~37 degrees for the mobo ok?

[Elfy]

If you've been in and fitted a new card I would open the case and just make sure all the cables/connectors are secure still.

[aeiah]

how's the powersupply? powerful enough, cooling properly etc? do a full system test if you arent testing anything but the memory.

is it grounded properly? has everything been plugged in securely? its best to test the simple things first.

[regomodo]

`

[miggols99]

Ahh! I think the memory's bad. When I tested it and put it to beep on error, it went mad! What can I do? Send it back to get a new one? Or should I try the other slot?

[shad0w_walker]

If you have more than one bar of RAM, take them all out, try them one at a time to determine where the error is. I had a stick of RAM fail in my media centre and memtest gave me constant errors, but it turned out to be the stray 256Mb bar I found and put in, the rest was fine.

[Elfy]

Ahh! I think the memory's bad. When I tested it and put it to beep on error, it went mad! What can I do? Send it back to get a new one? Or should I try the other slot?

If this is all tied up with your recent thread looking for where to get parts from - I would return it to the supplier.

[miggols99]

Nope, only one stick. So do you think I should return it? It's from aria.co.uk.

[Canis familiaris]

Nope, only one stick. So do you think I should return it? It's from aria.co.uk.

Confirm whether it is really damaged. Try to plug it in another compatible PC to check.

[miggols99]

Yup, it's damaged alright. On my other computer I got exactly the same symptoms..looks like I'll be sending it back then. Do you think I should get a better quality one instead of the Aria one?

[Canis familiaris]

Check whether it is under warranty and replace it. If it is not under warranty buy from a more reputed brands. In my country OCZ and Corsair are most repited. YOu may check out for those.
And yes if possible, buy 2 ram sticks instead of one. I mean 2 X 1GB sticks instead of a 2Gb stick, so that you can run them in dual-channel mode and get better performance.