Hi, After running rock solid for 7 months, Windows XP recently started rebooting itself randomly. I now get regular (4-5 times/day) BSODs with a range of messages. The behaviour is completely unpredictable. Based on the error report feedback I get from M$, I suspect it may be a RAM issue. But does RAM go bad over time? It ran perfectly solidly for months and then suddenly went bad. Also, it seems to be getting worse (crashing more frequently) as each day goes by. Why should this be the case? I have tried four memory test programs: Prime95 (failed after 18 mins and 1 min), MemTest (running under windows, 4 errors), MemTest86+ (from boot floppy, 1 error), and Windows Memory Diagnostic (from boot floppy, 7 errors all with an address like xxxxb53c). Does this sound like a RAM problem? Are these progs usually accurate? My system (according to Everest): Athlon 64 3200+ Asus K8V motherboard 1gb DDR SDRAM (2 x 512MB PC3200) 2.5-3-3-8 DVD-ROM, DVD-RW, D-Link Wireless card. Thanks, Ferris.

You have 2 RAM sticks.If you suspect bad RAM, test the computer by removing one stick at a time.Keep the one stick left in the first bank(bank 0 or 1).Run the computer for awhile and test it again with the other stick.One of them may be faulty.Good luck.

In addition to the above suggestion, try resating the RAM 4 or 5 times to scrub off and oxidation on the contacts.

This could also be caused by a overheating CPU. Check the heatsink, Is it clogged with dust?

my CPU tends to run at around 33-38c... occasionally it goes up to 45 when under heavy load. are those reasonable temps?

Those are reasonable temps.