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Jul 10, 2016, 19:17 pm
(This post was last modified: Jul 10, 2016, 20:08 pm by RobertX. Edited 2 times in total.)
After being used for five years, my Dell Optiplex GX270 is having POST startup problems.
When turned on after being off for a long period of time, the computer would say something like the Checkpoint to Emem has failed. I don't know what the message says as it goes away and blanks out after a few seconds.
It does that after a few times that I restart it. When it doesn't do that, the PC is fine - for a few hours, at which period, it would blank out. It doesn't show that message, but I would have to restart it when it does that. It keeps doing that after each manual restart.
So, either it shows the Emem message and freezes after it is off, or, when turned to Windows, it blanks out after a few hours after each manual restart.
I have reached an impasse.
Any help/recommendation would be great. Thank you.
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Emem is related to RAM memory. It is possible that the stick of RAM is now having an error on it.
If you can I recommend running a Memtest on it to see if it is showing errors. If there is more than 1 stick of RAM try taking one out and see if things improve.
Keep in mind it can also be the motherboard failing. After a certain amount of time ports will stop responding or stop functioning properly.
Unfortunately, it will probably be cheaper to buy a newer Slimline PC than it is to replace the motherboard.
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What is a "slimline PC?"
I'll try a new RAM stick.
Thank you.
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The last couple of computer shops that I have been to used the term Slimline as a way to describe small desktops.
I recommend MemTest86 (UBCD) for testing memory. It is slow, but reliable.
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Jul 11, 2016, 01:06 am
(This post was last modified: Jul 11, 2016, 01:14 am by RobertX. Edited 1 time in total.)
Well, I tried using only one RAM slot (i.e. I have two 512MB, I know, it's old) and it didn't have the error.
Two of them do.
EDIT: I put the two sticks side-by-side, and the problem seems to be gone as well. Initially, the sticks are seated alternatively, paralleling them on the slots.
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i would still run (a) MemTest, preferably for 24+ hours if you can. Taking them out of the staggered slot arrangement likely took the memory out of dual-channel mode, but that's hardly a problem if it's actually working that way now. lol
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yea, if you have 4 slots for memory, dual channel is usually DIMM0 (or 1 if that's first) and DIMM2 (or 3)
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I remember back in the day there was a reason for removing RAM once in a while. Some cache removal maybe?
Have things improved Robert?
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Well, yes and no.
The Emem error message has gone, but when I leave the computer off and then start it up, the Windows startup will feature a blue screen or a freeze. After two restarts or so, it does boot normally.
Thanks for helping everyone, especially you, AncientRome.
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What error is the blue screen giving?
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