Is there a way to reserve exact memory address?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Jaakko Aho
  • Start date Start date
J

Jaakko Aho

Hi all,

it seems that I have faulty memory in my laptop. This Big problem
is this: the faulty DIMM is fixed and cannot be replaced.

I used to Memtest86 to test the memory and I have an idea, which address
space is faulty. So is there a way to tell the kernel, that I want address
space from 0xYYYYYYYY - 0xZZZZZZZZ to be reserved for a RAM drive or what
ever, as long as the memory is reserved and never used, it would
probably stop BSODs.

-Jaakko
 
Jaakko Aho said:
Hi all,

it seems that I have faulty memory in my laptop. This Big problem
is this: the faulty DIMM is fixed and cannot be replaced.

I used to Memtest86 to test the memory and I have an idea, which address
space is faulty. So is there a way to tell the kernel, that I want address
space from 0xYYYYYYYY - 0xZZZZZZZZ to be reserved for a RAM drive or what
ever, as long as the memory is reserved and never used, it would
probably stop BSODs.

-Jaakko
Click to expand...

If it is the only module in the computer, if it is a large module (at
least 256 mb), and if the defective area is near the upper end of the
address range then you can use the /MAXMEM parameter in BOOT.INI to
limit Windows to using only the good portion of the RAM, below the
defective location.

Use Start - Run - MSCONFIG. Go to the BOOT.INI tab and click on the
Advanced Options button.

Good luck

Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP (1997 - 2006)
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca

"Anyone who thinks that they are too small to make a difference
has never been in bed with a mosquito."
 
Jaakko said:
Hi all,

it seems that I have faulty memory in my laptop. This Big problem
is this: the faulty DIMM is fixed and cannot be replaced.

I used to Memtest86 to test the memory and I have an idea, which address
space is faulty. So is there a way to tell the kernel, that I want address
space from 0xYYYYYYYY - 0xZZZZZZZZ to be reserved for a RAM drive or what
ever, as long as the memory is reserved and never used, it would
probably stop BSODs.

-Jaakko
Click to expand...

This is an ugly situation, there are only a handful of options, and
they ALL suck.

1) Send your laptop to the manufacturor for repairs. This is only
enonomical if it's expensive enough. (or under warrenty) The chips can
be desoldered, but it takes a deal of skill to do surface-mount parts
by hand, and it isn't cheap.

2) Switch to linux, download the BadRam/BadMem patch.

http://rick.vanrein.org/linux/badram/
http://badmem.sourceforge.net/

2a) go back to 9x, and see the related project,

https://sourceforge.net/projects/badxms


3) Some motherboards allow you to control the front-side bus speed (the
speed at which memory writes are performed) arbitrarily. You MAY get
stability at a slower speed. Your computer will run slower, if it
works. It's a rare thing to see this feature in laptops, however.

Warning: I've not tried #2. I've done #3 on one of my own systems, a
MSI athlon. And I Know it works in my situation, I can't guarentee
anyone else's.
 
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