Can't install OS / bad ram?

[dawizhacker]

I have problem with one of my computers.

I have had this machine for just under 2 years. Had some minor troubles but none worth mentioning. I ran into the biggest one ever as of now.

So there I am sitting down to play some WoW, about 10 hours in my computer all of a sudden shuts down (has NEVER done that before). I start it up and quickly go to bios, the Temperture readings are 23C for CPU 45C GPU. I'm like that's not the problem. So I go back into WoW about 15 minutes in it cashes to the Blue Screen of Death with message ---> PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA. So i'm like what ever,go back on WoW cashes again, This time it sais ---> IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL.

Prior to this the computer has been running flawlessly for about 40-50 hours streight, prior to that I installed a enw TV tuner and mouse and keyboard, the TV tuner drivers where has to install since I was missing the disk and the website drivers were coming up with an error, but I got them to work never the less.

I read the two messages on a different machine and it sais 50% tiem it's mad ram or mobo and other 50% it's faulty Drivers.

I'm like dang it I don't have time to deal witht his so I totaly wipe my harddrives clean and break them into three partitions. I format them and put in Windows xp SP1...Some files where missing since disk was scratched, so I put in XP SP2 that disk loads fine, but the blue screen pops up after about 97% of the installation is done. I'm like I didn't want it to come to this...I put in VISTA. The thing is not that even load, I get a message saying that faulty memory is preventing my computer from operating normaly.

Can Ram go bad?
What are my choises, I am currently going to run a ram check VIA Floopy.

PC is:
3500+
Lan Party DFI ULTRA-D
1 GIG samsung ram
7600GT
160 GIG HD

 

[carnageX]

Download Memtest86, and let it run for AT LEAST 4 hours. The longer you let it run, the better. If any errors come up, then you know its bad RAM.

 

[dawizhacker]

^^^

That's exactly what I'm doing with my floppy idea atm.
Say that RAM is the problem, I stick a new stick in and it still doesn't work? Mobo?

 

[the_patriot2008]

possibly, ram does go bad sometimes. try taking a stick out of another computer and drop it into that one and see what happens. if it still does it put the hard drive in another computer and see what happens. if the new memory works then the old mem is bad. if it doesnt, and the hard drive works in the other system chances are its the motherboard. there could be something else that im not thinking off but thats what my guts sayin right now.