faulty ram?

My family's dell xps 8500 (windows 7) starting having problems a couple days ago out of nowhere. It got a blue screen which i did not get a look at while merely browsing the internet. after it restarted it got stuck on the "windows is loading files" progress screen. restarted again and went to safe mode to look at the event viewer and the blue screen came up again and i took a picture of it which i can attach if necessary, but it said page fault in non paged area. i ran the dell diagnostic on the next restart and everything went fine until the memory part which brought up several errors. The final screen showed the following message:

Error Code 2000-0122

Validation 122720

Msg: Memory errors detected. Limit exceeded. Additional errors will not be resolved.

Technical Support will need this information to diagnose the problem.

Please record the above Error and Validation codes.

I tried to reboot again and got a message that said "No physical memory is available at the location required for the Windows Boot Manager. The system cannot continue". i opened up the side to make sure nothing looked fried or out of place and it looked fine (i also took a picture if anyone wants to see it). i didnt touch any parts and blew out some dust and closed it up and tried to boot up again. the power came on but nothing came up on the screen and the computer beeped 4 times repeatedly (apparently means memory problems). This computer is just a hair over 2 years old and shouldnt be experiencing these problems as its used only for web browsing and storage of pictures and music. please help!
I booted just fine with both ram sticks individually in both slots and ran the windows memory diagnostic on standard with no errors. When I tried to boot again with both stocks installed I got the message I mentioned previously "No physical memory is available at the location required for the Windows Boot Manager. The system cannot continue". Right now I have just 1 stick in and I'm running the advanced scan in the windows memory diagnostic but it's stuck at 21%.
im not sure if it's worth mentioning, but I remember having a similar problem with this computer when it was practically brand new. It was under warranty and the phone rep I talked to had me do the same thing to test both sticks of ram. Both worked individually, then everything was fine when they both were back in. He told me that it happens occasionally, but does anyone know if dell has recognized this defect and if they've made any effort to replace any faulty components they've sold over the past couple years?

 

Remove both memory modules. Re-insert them and ensure there is an audible click. If the PC doesn't boot, swop the 2 modules around.
If the PC doesn't boot, try 1 memory module at a time. If the PC boots with either memory module installed, the problem is in all probability with the motherboard.

 

Source: http://www.dell.com/support/article/us/en/19/SLN288428/EN

 

Are the DIMM modules in question be made by Samsung?

I've encountered a similar issue with other Dells. The modules would function individually, but not with both installed. The solution was replacing the RAM in those cases.

Also, there were some motherboards in the XPS series which were replaced under warranty. Look into your specific model to be sure.

 

It's now booting with both modules in (for now). In running the windows memory diagnostic extended scan again so we'll see what happens. As i type this its stuck at 21% again on the first pass, 10% complete overall. The ram is not samsung, it's nanya.

 

I ran the extended windows memory diagnostic, chkdsk, and the dell pc checkup full scan and stress test. all came back with no errors. so far the computer is behaving normally so i dont know whats going on

 

It is most unlikely, though possible, for the problem to be faulty RAM
The problem is much more likely to be a compatibility issue, marginal voltages or timings be my favourite suspect, which can explain why the RAM will work sometimes (eg under favourable temperature conditions or voltage conditions [marginal being the difference e.g., of a few hundredths of a volt]). These may have changed with age of the components accounting for the fact that they originally worked for some time in the past.

Persist with Dell support for a free replacement motherboard, RAM or whole PC: the fact that it has been reported to happen occasionally is enough to make to make me suspicious of Dell using marginal components, either RAM or motherboard.

This is a difficult fault finding job because of its 'intermittent' nature. I have read on the internet (on the HP forum I seem to remember) of others who had who have had the same/similar problem ...1 DIMM good in all combinations but two DIMMs fail but I don't remember how/if a solution was found.

Nanya might make the RAM chips, but who assembles them with other chips and circuitry to make the DIMM ?

If possible you might try the DIMMs in a different PC always assuming that you can find a PC that is compatible with these particular model DIMMs,
or
get some (= in most cases buy) known/guaranteed to be compatible with the particular model of PC eg by finding out from the Kingston, Crucial or Corsair websites/'tools', e.g. the Crucial Memory Advisor tool gives this as one possible pair - http://www.crucial.com/usa/en/xps-8500/CT4053330. (Typing the crucial p/n into the search box will also enable you to see whether crucial have checked the compatibility of that modules with any system - NOT COMPATIBLE can mean 'not compatible' (i.e. checked and doesn't work) or 'not checked in that PC'. Used ones normally work and are much cheaper.

It also tells me that the DIMMs are arranged in 4 slots as 2 banks of 2. Presumably you are populating the slots in the correct order ?

Dumb_Question
13.April.2015