The first thing to check is to take a look in the even viewer.
Start -> Control Panel -> Administrative Tools -> Event Viewer
Have a look through the system logs for entries about errors referencing memory 0x…. or even serious/system errors.
If you see entries of this kind then power down your computer and boot a memtest CD. On this dell 5150 desktop computer you will need to press f12 to access the boot menu to boot from CD.
If errors are reported then power down the computer and take the side off the case by pressing the lever on the top backwards to release the right hand case side panel. The DIMM slots are located at the top of the mainboard and there are a total of 4. One or more of the sticks of memory may be faulty and it is a matter of trial and error removing one or more and running further memtests to determine the one or more faulty sticks of ram. Our test machine had one kingston 1gb stick of 400MHz and two samsung 256mb giving 1.5GB in total.
Once you have found your faulty stick(s) then purchase a replacement and fit that. REMEMBER that this mainboard runs DDR2. First impressions when seeing that the memory speed is 400MHz are that it runs DDR but if you order this spec then you will find it does NOT fit. Ensure you order DDR2 memory to replace the faulty RAM. You can fit upto 667MHz but if you are fitting alongside some of the original ram then it will only run at 400MHz.
It is good practice to run a memtest again with the new memory fitted to ensure you do not receive any errors. Once you have a clear pass then power down and boot into windows.
Remember if the memory problem has persisted for some time then this may have corrupted files on the hard drive in which case it may be a good idea to perform a fresh installation of windows XP just to freshen things up.
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