Question about ECC RAM

I have a GB 8INXP w/ 1GB DDR RAM in it (PC2700). Sometime I get
program errors saying something to the effect that one thing was
expected, but it received another and that the particular part of the
memory "couldn't be read". The main program I get this in is ACDSee,
but I have seen it every now and then in other. In ACDSee, it happens
when I am renaming, copying, or moving a larger amount of files,
greater than 100 or so. My question, is would it be better to go with
ECC/Registered memory for my system? I heard that large amounts of
non-ECC memory were more prone to these kinds of errors. I have the
Corsair XMS memory.

Thanks!
Dave
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Dave Saxton wrote:

I have a GB 8INXP w/ 1GB DDR RAM in it (PC2700). Sometime I get
program errors saying something to the effect that one thing was
expected, but it received another and that the particular part of the
memory "couldn't be read". The main program I get this in is ACDSee,
but I have seen it every now and then in other. In ACDSee, it happens
when I am renaming, copying, or moving a larger amount of files,
greater than 100 or so. My question, is would it be better to go with
ECC/Registered memory for my system? I heard that large amounts of
non-ECC memory were more prone to these kinds of errors. I have the
Corsair XMS memory.


The memory errors you describe are not necessarily problems with the
physical RAM installed in your machine. If a poorly coded application
attempts to read sections of your RAM that it does not have permission
to, it will give the error you describe.

Test your RAM with memtest86 overnight.
If it lists any errors, then try retesting with a single stick of ram to
isolate the bad one. If no RAM tests bad individually, then you may
have issues with the sticks not playing well with eachother. When
using large amounts of unregistered RAM, they can be picky about the
timing. If all RAM tests bad individually, then perhaps the memory is
being overclocked. Lower the timings and/or clock speed of the RAM
until it passes all of the memtest86 tests.

ECC RAM isn't required to have a stable system. (i.e., the problems you
describe should be able to be resolved without having to resort to ECC
RAM). On the other hand, if you have a system which absolutely must
provide the highest uptime, like a server, then ECC is recommended.


-WD

On Sat, 05 Jun 2004 21:01:47 GMT, Will Dormann
typed in the following information:

Dave Saxton wrote:

I have a GB 8INXP w/ 1GB DDR RAM in it (PC2700). Sometime I get
program errors saying something to the effect that one thing was
expected, but it received another and that the particular part of the
memory "couldn't be read". The main program I get this in is ACDSee,
but I have seen it every now and then in other. In ACDSee, it happens
when I am renaming, copying, or moving a larger amount of files,
greater than 100 or so. My question, is would it be better to go with
ECC/Registered memory for my system? I heard that large amounts of
non-ECC memory were more prone to these kinds of errors. I have the
Corsair XMS memory.


The memory errors you describe are not necessarily problems with the
physical RAM installed in your machine. If a poorly coded application
attempts to read sections of your RAM that it does not have permission
to, it will give the error you describe.

Test your RAM with memtest86 overnight.
If it lists any errors, then try retesting with a single stick of ram to
isolate the bad one. If no RAM tests bad individually, then you may
have issues with the sticks not playing well with eachother. When
using large amounts of unregistered RAM, they can be picky about the
timing. If all RAM tests bad individually, then perhaps the memory is
being overclocked. Lower the timings and/or clock speed of the RAM
until it passes all of the memtest86 tests.

ECC RAM isn't required to have a stable system. (i.e., the problems you
describe should be able to be resolved without having to resort to ECC
RAM). On the other hand, if you have a system which absolutely must
provide the highest uptime, like a server, then ECC is recommended.


-WD


Thanks for this info WD! I will try this tonight to see what happens.
Dave
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