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After hooking up a KVM switch, my Windows machine started to blue screen. I unhooked the KVM, and the blue screens continued.

I was able to do a system restore, and all seeemed okay. After doing another restart, I blue screen the second "Starting Windows" appears.

It basically gives the 0x7b STOP error. However, I have seen other BSOD's including Page_Fault errors.

Startup repair finds nothing wrong.

I'm unable to perform another System Restore as I get a "can't read memory" error.

I have 4 DIMM'S, 2 GB each. I've swapped them all out, and continue to blue screen.

I'm assuming all four RAM chips wouldn't go bad at once?

I've run HDD utilities and there are no issues found with the hard drives.

Running Windows Memory diagnostics found hardware errors in the memory for two of the sticks.

If I attempt to load safe mode, it blue screens when trying to load CI.dll

Is my motherboard just gone bad? Is there a utility to check it? Or am I missing something else that could be wrong?

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2 Answers

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7b is an error referring to the hard drive controller, usually when the hard drive controller is set to AHCI from IDE or vice versa.

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I rain Windows 7 repair and it seems to have fixed the problem. – Jack Marchetti Sep 6 '11 at 1:18
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You should try stability tests with the RAM sticks a piece or a pair at a time.

If it totally runs fine with the two (reportedly) faultless sticks, while the two with reported errors consistently crashes the OS, you have isolated the troubled hardware components.

UPDATE

Forgot to mention, when i encounter suspected memory problems, i test it using Memtes86+

http://www.memtest.org/

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Two of the sticks reported as having "hardware" problems. I removed them, and placed the two good sticks in. Still blue screens. – Jack Marchetti Sep 6 '11 at 0:37
I ran Windows Repair from the Windows 7 CD - it found errors, fixed them and I'm now booted into Windows. – Jack Marchetti Sep 6 '11 at 0:46
@Jack: Looks like the problem is elsewhere then. Exactly what type of bluscreen is it? What is the exact error message? – Robert Massaioli Sep 6 '11 at 0:56
It ranged. I was getting the 0x7b, and then some Page Fault BSOD's – Jack Marchetti Sep 6 '11 at 1:16
if it still blues out with the "good" RAM, then the error is probably elsewhere. I'm updating the post to add a tool i forgot to mention. even though you've fixed it, keep a tab on that tool. – icelava Sep 6 '11 at 2:42
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