i was just wondering if there was a way to tell if your RAM chip is done. is it possible for the computer to detect a RAM chip and display its memory even though it is bad?. in system information it says:

total physical memory: 1,0024mb

oops and it says available physical memory : 437.19mb

available physical memory is telling you how much unused and unallocated memory you have left out of the 1,0024mb you started with.

Stuart

If you suspect a bad stick then download memtest86.

I used to have a signature but it disappeared and I just couldn't be bothered writing another so please feel free to ingore this.

It probably says total physical memory = 1024MB, which is 1GB. The other (available physical memory) is how much you have left after windows & any other programs that are running have grabbed what they need. You do NOT have bad RAM.

Try pressing Ctrl-Alt-Del to bring up Task Manager, then click on the Performance tab...check what is listed under "Physical Memory (K)"

I had a bad stick once that passed every test I ran it through... it seems that it was functioning on somewhat of an intermtant level, but it was not the chip, rather the board itself. After MUCH examination of the board under heavy magnification, it was found that a solder joint was lose. When the board warmed up, it torked in a certain direction which would open the lose connection. Over time the faulty behaviour became worse as oxidation formed within the mating surfaces of the lose connection. It took me a LLLLOOOONNG time to troubleshoot this one.... a simple problem that almost drove me crazy!