On Tue, 8 Jul 2014, Pete Travis wrote:
On Jul 8, 2014 10:02 AM, "Michael Hennebry" hennebry@web.cs.ndsu.nodak.edu wrote:
The beep codes say memory. I ran memtest86 overnight and it passed. That said, I'm not sure how good memtest86 is. Could you suggest a memory test program that might find in a few hours what POST found in less than two minutes?
To me, cracking the case is a *really* big deal. I don't want to do it unless I know I have to. Static, ribbons, fear and trepidation. I certainly do not want to have to buy some more DDR2 memory.
Just to reiterate : *no matter what* the book says the beep code is, the actual problem is usually memory.
Sometimes you have to run memtest for days before it sees anything. Sometimes, you just need to open the chassis, clear out the fuzz, and reseat the memory. If you're that adverse to cracking the case, I'm guessing you're due for it.
I'd rather not take days to confirm a problem that POST found in under two minutes. Unless POST is magic (WHAT was I supposed to do to the goat?), there should be some software out there that could do the trick.
I did crack the case in February. It arrived without a hard drive and I did a transplant from the dead body of its predecessor.
Said predecessor was my first computer. The first time I cracked its case, I zapped a video card installing a new hard disk. I haven't cracked cases very often. My success rate is about 75% . To me, the rat's nest of expensive things is scary.
All that said, reseating would seem less error-prone than replacing.