Memory going bad, or just a glitch?

Hi gang,

Last night when I went to boot up, the machine locked, and I had to reboot using the "reset" button. Upon the attempted reboot, the machine would not recognize the drives in POST, although the lights were flashing on the CD/DVD drives and both HDD were spinning. I then removed the cover and blew out what little bit of dust that collected in the case with canned air. Same problem. I then recalled from a previous thread to remove and reseat the RAM. I did this with both modules, and the machine fired right up like nothing ever happened. I rebooted several times after this with absolutely no ill affects. I ran MemTest, which produced no RAM errors. I plan on running the Microsoft memory diagnostic tool soon for good measure. My question is: is this a sign that my memory is going south, or was this just an unexplainable glitch?

I look forward to your responses.
Brad

 

POST doesn't involve the RAM but rather relies on memory (eprom) in the BIOS chip. Makes me wonder about battery on the MoBo. Cost of replacement is a few $ at most. But one instance isn't diagnostic.

 

Hi Sparrow,

About three months ago, my clock was losing time, so I replaced the MOBO battery at that time. I'm going to rule out the battery (for now).

Hi Steve,

I'm hoping that you are correct about the crud. I would prefer that over buying new RAM!

Thanks again.
Brad

 

If you do have "defective" RAM, extended runs of Memtest86 should flush it out. Getting good runs of Memtest should give you some confidence in your memory.

Gary