Odd RAM Issue (OT)

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I have serviced two computers recently with an unusual issue. Both had been working fine with 2 RAM modules in dual channel mode for several years. A problem developed out of the blue with no hardware changes whereby the RAM pair would no longer work compatibly together though either RAM module was fine by itself.

One of the two (which was crashing constantly with a 0x0000009C: MACHINE_CHECK_EXCEPTION) had 4 RAM slots, so I was able to try the same two modules in single channel mode which worked fine. (Memtest 86 identified no problem in either configuration.)

Note, both of these were a confirmed hardware issue since the same problem occurred with bootable OS's. Tweaking BIOS RAM settings, trying a different PSU, etc. was of no help. It seems as if something must have changed slightly affecting timing or other functionality of one module in the pair.

I'm curious whether anyone else has run into this i.e. a dual channel pair that would no longer work together.

.

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  • Re: Odd RAM Issue (OT)
    ... A problem developed out of the blue with no hardware changes whereby the RAM pair would no longer work compatibly together though either RAM module was fine by itself. ... One of the two had 4 RAM slots, so I was able to try the same two modules in single channel mode which worked fine. ... I'm curious whether anyone else has run into this i.e. a dual channel pair that would no longer work together. ... but I'm less interested in the merits of memtest than the fact that a pair of RAM modules which had run compatibly for several years in dual channel mode would now only work as single channel. ...
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