# New RAM causing internet problems?



## Seelegewehr (Mar 8, 2015)

I installed some new RAM today - 2 2GB sticks of DDR2 (this, specifically).

I had replaced an old 2GB stick & a 1 GB stick, both the same brand as the RAM I replaced it with. I booted up and initially, everything was completely fine. No errors or bizarre behavior or slowdown.

After about 20 minutes I lost the ability to connect wirelessly to my router. Restarting my computer is only a temporary fix, as it repeatedly occurs after about 15 minutes to an hour of my PC being on. The wireless adapter (or driver?) simply just stops working. I either get the dreaded limited connectivity symbol (you know, the yellow "!") or the "No connections are available" symbol.

If I get the limited connectivity symbol and attempt to connect to another router in the household, it locks up completely and I can no longer connect/disconnect/interact with wireless network related stuff. If I get the "no connections" symbol and attempting to enable/disable the wireless adapter causes errors.

So far I have attempted reinstalling the drivers for my USB wireless adapter and also reset my BIOS to the default settings. I also tried to update my BIOS, but I couldn't find anything for my current motherboard/BIOS version. Too old, maybe. 










Anyone have any idea what might be wrong and how I can fix it?


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## Rich-M (May 2, 2007)

You say same brand on the ram but are not saying same model number and since of all the brands only about 4 are actually manufacturers the model being the same is way more important. As weird as it sounds I did once trace wireless networking issues to incompatible ram so I would run at least 4 complete 8 segment tests on the ram using memtest86.
Memtest86+ - Advanced Memory Diagnostic Tool


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## Seelegewehr (Mar 8, 2015)

The manufacturer's website says the RAM I'm using is compatible with my computer (according to an scan tool provided by the manufacturer, anyways).

Scan results are here.

The RAM I purchased and am using/having problems with is the 4th one down in the list of compatible memory. This one.










The RAM I was using previously is also by the same manufacturer, just less powerful (and also several years old). I would get a link to it off their website as well but as of the time I'm writing this sentence their website no longer wants to load.

I'll give memtest86 a try and see what it says.


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## Seelegewehr (Mar 8, 2015)

memtest86+ completed without errors, it said.

RAM I was using previously:

one of these
also one of these


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## Rich-M (May 2, 2007)

OK and you also hit a mfgr in using Crucial as theirs is Micron Ram so problem not there. 
Probably coincidence then and problem must be either the adapter or the router. What are they, how old?


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## Seelegewehr (Mar 8, 2015)

Adapter is a D-Link DWA-125. Router is a D-Link DIR-655. Adapter is ~3 years old, router is older than that. I know it can't be the router, as I'm not the only person who uses it.

I did a bit of googling and found that other users of the same adapter have had this problem and it is apparently unique to Windows 7 64 bit. 

However, it can't be a coincidence. The crashing stops if I switch the RAM back to what I was using previously. I don't really know what to do now. I don't want to go out and buy a new adapter just to find that the problem was really the RAM all along.


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## Rich-M (May 2, 2007)

Well I did have one time when memtest showed ram good and I replaced it and solved the problem. I never questioned memtest86 before that. It is one of the best utilities but I proved it can be wrong. I saw quite a few posts of issues with that adapter and Windows 7 and 8 64 bit. Did you try the sticks individually with memtest? It could be that 1 stick is bad.


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## Bill_Bright (Dec 17, 2004)

> Well I did have one time when memtest showed ram good and I replaced it and solved the problem. I never questioned memtest86 before that.


Software based RAM diagnostic tools are good, but none are conclusive. If they report the RAM is bad, it is bad. Period. But it is not uncommon for RAM to test good, but still fail when put into real-world use, or when paired with other RAM. So you might try running with just a single new RAM module to see if it fails. Repeat process with the remaining module, hopefully identifying the bad stick through a process of elimination. Just be sure to unplug the computer from the wall and touch bare metal of the case interior BEFORE reaching in to discharge any destructive static in your body. 

Note to conclusively test your RAM, you need to use sophisticated and very expensive test equipment, like this *$4,000 Eureka Express DDR3 DIMM Memory Module Tester*.

I have never heard of RAM preventing wireless access. But the wireless programming could be hitting a memory location on the new RAM that is bad. But then why does it work for the first 15-20 minutes?  :huh:

BTW, I stopped recommending MemTest86+ because the developers stopped development on it and have not released an update since 2013. I have now gone back to recommending the original, *MemTest86* which has continually released updates to stay current, most recently last month.


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## Seelegewehr (Mar 8, 2015)

I tested both sticks individually and both came out good.

I'm no expert (obviously) so this is probably all just uninformed speculation, but what I'm guessing is going on is that one or more of the adapter/driver/adapter firmware/whatever has issues handling certain amounts and/or types of memory on 64 bit operating systems. 

Some other users of the same adapter have experienced the exact same symptoms with it using Windows 7 64 bit. And the adapter is the only thing malfunctioning with the new RAM in, leading me to believe that the adapter is one that just doesn't work in very specific conditions. It's bizarre, but I can't think of any other possibility.


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## Bill_Bright (Dec 17, 2004)

Just to clarify, by "running" with just one RAM module at a time, I meant using one at a time in your computer, not testing with MemTest one at a time. 



> is that one or more of the adapter/driver/adapter firmware/whatever has issues handling certain amounts and/or types of memory on 64 bit operating systems.


Ummm, kinda, sorta but not really. How the resources are used is the job of the OS, not individual add-on devices. And it is up the devices maker's to ensure the hardware, firmware and drivers are compatible with industry standard network protocols and the specific OS it will be used with. And again, since it works with the old RAM using the same drivers and same 64-bit Windows 7, it would seem to be the new RAM that is the problem. 

Did you visit D-Link's website for you adapter to make sure you have the latest 64-bit W7 drivers?



> I did a bit of googling and found that other users of the same adapter have had this problem and it is apparently unique to Windows 7 64 bit.


Oh? I'm pretty good with Google and don't see where "adding RAM D-link DWA-125 problems". Got some links?

I don't find any with Bing either.


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## Seelegewehr (Mar 8, 2015)

Yeah, that is what I did. I only had one stick in at a time when running the tests.

I do have the latest drivers. That was one of the first things I did when this problem first cropped up (I also attempted uninstalling and reinstalling the drivers multiple times).



> Oh? I'm pretty good with Google and don't see where "adding RAM D-link DWA-125 problems". Got some links?


I should have worded that better. I meant that other users of the adapter have had the exact same crash occur (limited connectivity symbol appears, can't switch connections or manage the wireless connections in any way, computer gets stuck on "Shutting down" screen when powered down or restarted).

I have a new adapter on the way, so I'll see if that helps any.


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## Bill_Bright (Dec 17, 2004)

> Yeah, that is what I did. I only had one stick in at a time when running the tests.


 Again, that is NOT what I said. I do NOT mean running the "tests" with one stick, I mean using your computer doing everything else with just one stick to see if you lose wifi connection. 



> I have a new adapter on the way, so I'll see if that helps any.


What did you get?


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## Seelegewehr (Mar 8, 2015)

Ah, my bad. I misunderstood. I will try that shortly.

I ordered this. I haven't got a lot of cash to spend and it was inexpensive with a decent number of positive reviews. I don't really want to bother with D-Link products anymore as this is the 3rd time now that something from D-Link has given me problems - assuming the cause of this issue is actually the adapter, anyways.


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## Bill_Bright (Dec 17, 2004)

That looks like a decent on. I personally like external antennas you can move around as they tend to provide for greater range between devices.


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## Rich-M (May 2, 2007)

One thing I noticed in checking your ram is it is cas latency 6 and your pc calls for 5 so I still think the ram may be incompatible. This is Cas latency 5 and I would bet it fixes it, this just sounds like ram to me:
http://www.amazon.ca/PNY-MD4096KD2-..._sim_pc_3?ie=UTF8&refRID=0XGT2H07KCY4QSCCDQEN


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## Bill_Bright (Dec 17, 2004)

> this just sounds like ram to me


Me too.


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## Seelegewehr (Mar 8, 2015)

So far it's lasted about an hour and a half (and still going) with just one stick in, so I guess it must be the other stick that's causing problems. But I'm going to try it with that stick alone anyways and see what happens.


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## Rich-M (May 2, 2007)

When ram is incompatible but close, 1 stick alone will work but both together will not and both sticks will work individually just not together and the 6 cas latency is probably the reason.


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## Seelegewehr (Mar 8, 2015)

Problems do not occur with the new adapter. Everything works perfectly.

I guess this is resolved, then?


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## Bill_Bright (Dec 17, 2004)

> I guess this is resolved, then?


That's your call. But since "everything works perfectly", it would seem so.


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