I was playing a wav music file and this BSOD showed up. It happened when I was messing with the speakers last nite, too, but figured then that it was because of me.

Hardware Malfunction

Call your hardware vendor for support

UMI: Parity check / Memory Parity Error

***The System has halted***

I have to go to work this am so can't mess with it right now.
_________________


Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea. - Robert Heinlein

That isn't good.

Do you think it is a driver issue?

If so, here is an article with a bunch of info on how to deal with them.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/283658/EN-US/

Is that NMI or UMI?

Check to insure you have the latest drivers for the new sound card.

If so, you may have conflicts with the new card or a defective card, possibly bad ram on the card. Do make sure the card is well seated in the PCI slot.

I'd reinstall the latest drivers from the Creative website and if the problem still exists, I'd pull the card, remove the drivers and run the onboard sound.

If you get the error again, I'd look to the system RAM but being this error just started, the card is most likely the culprit. I guess it's possible you bumped a RAM chip or a RAM chip got zapped during the install but that seems unlikely. Hope the later is not the case but it could happen.

Good luck!!
_________________

"Linux is more than an OS, it's a state of mind."

Part of the UMI was cut of by the edge of the screen and I really couldn't tell for sure. It look most like part of a U but really can't tell.
_________________


Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea. - Robert Heinlein

I've never heard of a UMI error so it must be NMI (Non-maskable interrupt).
_________________

"Linux is more than an OS, it's a state of mind."

OK. If it happens again, I'll be sure to squint harder at that letter. I'll go through stuff in the computer and check for updates when I get home.

I don't know if it makes any difference, but the PCI slot I put it in is right next to the video card (left). There's one more empty slot above it and then there's a small card (USB card I think).

Next to = computer on side, Above = computer upright.
_________________


Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea. - Robert Heinlein

How many times has this happened? If it's just once I don't think i'd worry to much, run scandisk and defrag and stop playing with the speakers!

Move the SBLive to another PCI slot also. If you can recreate the problem by doing the same thing, stop doing it! just kidding, sure nuff, you might have a bad sound card.
_________________
You can't hold a liberal responsible for their words because it's character assassination.

It happened once when I was running tests in the SB program and unplugged and plugged in a speaker in a different hole.
_________________


Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea. - Robert Heinlein

Scandisk and defrag is not gonna help ya with that error but I guess it couldn't hurt.

I do agree that moving the card to another slot might help.
_________________

"Linux is more than an OS, it's a state of mind."

I wouldn't be too worried about a memory parity error, they fall under the category of "stuff happens" from time to time.

What has happened is that every time memory is read for any purpose (data, program code) the integrity of the contents are checked by parity, which detects single bit errors. When a "parity error" occurs the hardware issues a NMI (Non-Maskable Interrupt) which immediately stops all processing and in Windows you get the BSOD. Linux will give a Kernal Panic, Netware an ABEND. It is designed so that data or an instruction with an altered bit is not processed, producing unknown results.

If you get another one, first thing you should do is remove and reinsert all your memory sticks, which will create new electrical connections to memory. Worst case would be some flaky memory, which would require replacing but probably only one stick, just which one is the question.

Statistically 1 parity error will occur once a week in a PC with 1 Gig of RAM, that is being constantly read/written, such as some of the hardware memory tests. That is why servers utilize ECC memory which can detect and repair single bit memory errors. All of my PCs are Dell servers, running as workstations, and came with ECC memory.

And the fact that you were fooling with the speakers leads me to believe that this was just a static discharge that caused the error, and hurt nothing.

She said it happened again while playing a sound file SG.

If you're getting a memory parity error and the BSOD once a week (or less), you have big problems. I never, repeat never, have this errror in Linux, or any version of Windows. Imo, this is not a "stuff happens" kind of error and can lead to data loss and drive corruption (getting this error during a FAT write) if left unchecked.
_________________

"Linux is more than an OS, it's a state of mind."

I have 1 gb of memory. I installed 512 of it soon after I got the computer. I've never had a memory issue before.

I doubt if I knocked a chip loose ... the memory chips are a long distance from the PCI slots.

I will check and make sure everythng is tight. I really shoved hard on the sound card and it fit fine in the computer. No wobble or anything not fitting where it should. The metal face with the holes in it was fine in the slot and down to where the retention arm fit fine over it and clicked down.
_________________


Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea. - Robert Heinlein

Oregonian wrote:

I have 1 gb of memory. I installed 512 of it soon after I got the computer. I've never had a memory issue before. I doubt if I knocked a chip loose ... the memory chips are a long distance from the PCI slots. I will check and make sure everythng is tight. I really shoved hard on the sound card and it fit fine in the computer. No wobble or anything not fitting where it should. The metal face with the holes in it was fine in the slot and down to where the retention arm fit fine over it and clicked down.

It is not that it is "loose" but removing and reinstalling memory, or any circuit card makes a complete new set of connections between the card and the bus it connects to. I spent 30+ years repairing computers, and have fixed hundreds, if not thousands be simply re-seating all components, from mainframes to PCs.

SG is correct in regards to re-seating components but on the flip side, you can zap memory chips or other components simply by handling them. Given my 25 years of experience with PC hardware, I suspect this problem lies with your new sound card. I'd start there 1st before messing around with the ram.

Moving the new sound card to another free PCI slot will re-seat the card, as well as reorder resources the card uses, such as interrupts and such. I'd do that, as well as ensure you have the latest drivers, as a 1st step.
_________________

"Linux is more than an OS, it's a state of mind."

Gadget Wizard wrote:

She said it happened again while playing a sound file SG. If you're getting a memory parity error and the BSOD once a week (or less), you have big problems. I never, repeat never, have this errror in Linux, or any version of Windows. Imo, this is not a "stuff happens" kind of error and can lead to data loss and drive corruption (getting this error during a FAT write) if left unchecked.

If there is no "stuff happens" then why do PC's check parity at all, and why to most servers come with ECC memory as standard?

I have never had a "parity error" on any of my PCs either, but they happen, as "O" has just experienced. Parity is a very simple method of verifying that the data that was written into the memory location passes an integrity check when it is retrieved. It is probably possible to make "perfect" memory, but we couldn't afford it.

Also it is not going to happen once a week for most users, as memory is simple idling most of the time, and some not used at all in a running PC. The statistic is for a machine that is having its memory tested 100% of the time, as memory tests do.