Memory parity error

Hey guys,

Rumor has it you are some of the best people out there for fixing comp bugs Here's my problem.

As of a few months ago, I started getting an occasional blue screen of death when I play guild wars. It occurs at random intervals and in random places. Sometimes it happens twice in five minutes, sometimes it doesn't happen for days. I know that it only occurs when I am doing processor/graphics intensive things. Playing the Aion beta for example makes the error happen more frequently, and it never happens when I play Warcraft III.

The error says NMI Memory Parity Check Error. Memory hardware failure.

I am running a Dell XPS m1210 on the highest specs basically, was the best laptop money could buy 3 years ago.

I've done a few things on my own to try to figure out what's wrong...

1) formatted computer, reinstalling windows xp
2) reinstalled video drivers (I have a Geforce Go 7200)
3) replaced RAM chip with one my little brother had from an old laptop

None of those stopped it, making me think it might be a video card or processor problem.

What else can I do to get to the bottom of this? Ideally if I have to buy new hardware, I would spend less than $500.

Thanks very much!

I haven't had blue screen issues since I switched from XP to Vista.

It may be the dedicated graphics memory because the geforce go 7200 only has 64mb of dedicated video memory which is insanely low to try and play games with.

Could overheating be the problem? Old laptops usually overheat a lot.

What's the blue screen error?

No it's not that. I have it on a cooling pad.

Re the what's the error, it says hardware malfunction, NMI memory parity error. I have to force shutdown and reboot it every time

Your laptop doesn't use parity memory as it is expensive, for workstations/servers, and not laptops!

Download this tool:

http://www.ocbase.com/perestroika_en/index.php?Download

It will check your system for stability. You can first check your processor for an hour, then your memory.

You can also download a tool called MemTest86+ and burn it to a bootable CD, and run that when your laptop first boots up. MemTest86+ is free, and the most comprehensive memory tester available.

Test your CPU first, then your memory, as a bad CPU can't properly test any other parts.