Can RAM suddenly go bad?

I think the RAM on my laptop has gone out. My BIOS shows over 2GB of RAM but I think Memtest is detecting errors on only one of my sticks of ram (4 X 512). I'm getting the 0x0000008E code on the BSOD. I can still boot into safe mode.

It's real easy for components to be jarred loose in a laptop.

I'll check, but it appears to be one stick of ram according to the results on memtest. I have 4 512kb sticks of RAM.

But then, after having some similar issues with my RAM, did a lot of reading and learned all about how heat can and will eventually wear components out. So yes, it can happen.

Although more likely in your case, is that re-seating will solve it. Just the cycling of heating and cooling down (expansion and contraction) can eventually cause just the slightest misalignment that is fixed by just pressing it back into place (I'm making that up, but it sound right to me, lol). Or maybe just switch the modules into different slots, give them a new environment to wear down (like rotating your tires I guess).

Pull the chips out one by one and run Memtest and see if you can isolate either the chip or the slot.

RAM issues are such a headache aren't they?

Zero Minutes to 40 years.

(Zero Minutes= I've bought brand new ones that are bad) :)

You're dealing with wires (connections) inside the chips that make a human hair seem Huge.

Computer would lock up, wouldn't start up, etc. After I took the memory module out, computer went back to normal. I just bought 2 gigs of Kingston ValueRam - hopefully they do better.