I added fresh RAM with the old ones, but the system is malfunctioning.
I added fresh RAM with the old ones, but the system is malfunctioning.
I recently bought a 32GB kit of G.SKILL Trident Z memory to pair with my existing 16GB Trident Z Kit. Since installing the larger kit, my system has become quite unstable. I’ve experienced logins being lost, Discord failing to launch, and frequent blue screens. For the past five to six years, I haven’t encountered any blue screens before this upgrade. My system ran smoothly until the RAM was added. Now, when I open Ableton with a project, it crashes after some time. A game also triggered another BSOD. The latest issue is that I don’t have administrator rights for the most recent Windows minidump file. A memory diagnostic run showed no faults, but Windows reports an error code: irql_not_less_or_equal, linked to ntoskrnl.exe. It appears the minidumps indicate WdFilter.sys is frequently crashing. I suspect this might be connected to the instability. I’m also using 2866MT/s instead of the advertised 3200, which limits boot speed. Does this contribute to the problems? I plan to run MemTest86 overnight to check for hardware issues. Will reformatting my computer resolve this? Thank you for your time. Edit: Another odd event—MemTest failed to verify the image on my computer, even though it worked perfectly on my laptop. Same USB drive and everything. I’m unsure if this is related, but since many other minor oddities have appeared, I thought mentioning it might help.
You can't just combine various RAM modules and expect it to function... You might manage it manually, but it could take weeks or months... Definitely not worth the effort. Indirectly, yes.
I’m not sure about the manual settings, but I thought the kits would work together. Just make sure they’re the same model and check compatibility first.
The Ryzen CPU has struggled to work well with multiple RAM sticks, even when using identical pairs. A 16GB and a 32GB configuration doesn't ensure smooth performance together. Depending on your choice, you might end up benefiting most from using the 32GB unit alone.
run the 32gb sticks only and all your problems should dissapear assuming that 32gb kit isnt outright faulty which is a possibility
Yes, the same model number should reliably function without capacity changes. I've tested it multiple times and it performed perfectly. There seems to be confusion about the DDR5 version, but the core model remains consistent. People often hesitate, but it works as expected.
Update coming, just tested the 32gb modules separately and they kept generating errors during MemTest after about an hour. It looks like my Windows setup might be damaged – the installation seems corrupted. I still get a boot, but USB devices aren’t working anywhere except in Windows Recovery and BIOS. MemTest passes fine, but even Safe Mode doesn’t fix it; I got another crash right after trying to install Windows with just the 32gb kit. After a restart, it loads but I can’t use the keyboard or mouse. It seems a full reinstall is necessary. The MemTest issues point to faulty RAM, so I think it’s best to return it for replacement. It also isn’t reaching the advertised speeds, even though it’s a 3200 MHz module. When I tried to set the speed manually to 3000 MHz, the system wouldn’t respond until I replaced the RAM. I was also considering updating the BIOS, but given the instability and the test failures, I’m not sure it’ll help.
Attempting to start Windows caused a blue screen after just the 32GB installation, and tests during MemTest are showing issues, suggesting a possible hardware problem.