Hi there.
This is a real off topic, no purpose, no substance post.
Just to vent my frustration. Perhaps my misadventures may serve as a warning to readers of the board.

Yesterday, I bought a couple of memory sticks 2 x 1Gbyte, to increase my RAM to its max of 4Gbytes. I have been doing some exceedingly long database/search plus string manipulation procedures that were taking 12 to 24 hours a pop. I figured that getting the whole database in memory, cutting disk access overlay would be a simple solution.

Long story long.
Install the RAM. Fight with the BIOS to recognize it: initially it said 4 gigs detected 3 gigs usable. an obscure remapping option in bios allow the 4 gigs to be active.

Then boot the OS (WinXP 64. Win32 cannot handle 4 Gigs).

First complain: "Registry error: incongruence in the blah blah. . . hive problem has has been repaired.

I am glad. keep going.

Every time I try to start PERL interpreter, I get a C0000005 Error.

Umhh. OK. May be the OS needs time to map all the RAM, I performed a Reboot.

Now the OS loader hangs. gets lost finding the boot record

Try to repair the MBR, boot system

The OS ntskrnl was not found.

Try to boot in Linux

kernel panic. . .Syncronization problems

OK may be the memory sticks are fucked. take them out. . .

Too late. Windows64 OS is damaged beyond recovery. I cannot reinstall in recovery mode, have to do a clean reinstall

Placed the memory sticks in another computer: Run memory check.

first pass looks good. (a more in depth search showed some problems when it was to late)

Try to boot the OS in second computer, all the apps, except very small ones fail with c0000005 code.

And the OS in second system gets corrupted, no boot, beyond recovery. Clean install again ;(

My scientific explanation for this behavior? the fucking memory sticks were cursed, dipped into witch urine before they were packed and sold to me.

How can faulty RAM produce so much PERMANENT damage in several OS ??(Linux also refused to boot again and had to be reinstalled)