Laptops General - Read Only

[Don2011]

I recently upgraded from Vista to Windows 7 (32 bit) on a Dell Inspiron 6400 laptop. I have 2gigs of mem.   After the upgrade a few days later the computer freezes up and nothing works except to turn it off.  On occasion, I get the following error message:

"Hardware malfunction - NMI:Parity Check/Memory Parity Error - The System has Halted."

I have searched various forums and also searched the Internet and was told that simply removing the memory and reinstalling them should fix the problem but it hasn't.  I have also ran various memory check programs from both Dell  32-Bit Diagnostics Utility and Microsoft  Windows Memory Diagnostic all to no avail.

Does anyone have any ideas or solutions?

Thanks

[GabrielN]

Thanks, after 2 days working on this issue I had tried everything except the integrated network card.  This is the first time I see this error message in more than 20 years of IT work.  It's a weird situation because the machine would boot Windows XP and a Linux distro from a live DVD without a problem and all diagnostics came out all right.  Windows 8.1 and Windows 10 wouldn't install on this machine due to this issue.  The error message I got was "NMI Hardware Failure".  Disabling the integrated NIC from the BIOS did it for me. Thanks again.

[jacobs102]

The NIC was my issue as well.  I have been running my Dell Inspiron Mini for over 3 years wirelessly without issue.  Was doing some maintenance on the device, decided an Ethernet connection would be best for downloading some items, and when I rebooted the error appeared.  I was sure I had downloaded some malware that screwed something up until I found this post.  All I did was UNPLUG the Ethernet cable and reboot.  Started up with no issue.  Weird thing is, I can plug the cable back in AFTER windows has booted and the connection works without issue.

[PC Expert · Accepted solution]

I have to say that this solve my NMI parity issue. I had problems with the integrated NIC. I disabled it within Windows and then the problem went away. I then installed a new PCI NIC. I was having this problem with Windows 7 32-bit on a Dell OptiPlex 360. The problem is no more.

[ART1982]

AL CAMBIAR EL S.O. (SISTEMA OPERATIVO) A VISTA O WINDOWS 7  EL MISMO SISTEMA ACTUALIZA LOS CONTROLADORES Y PUDE IDENTIFICAR QUE LA FALLA ESTA EN EL CONTROLADOR DE LA INALAMBRICA.

ENTRA A MODO SEGURO (REINICIAR Y PRESIONAR VARIAS VECES LA TECLA F8)  VALIDA LA OPCION DE MODO SEGURO Y DEBES INABILITAR LA INALAMBRICA EN EL ADMINISTRADOR DE DISPOSITIVOS (INICIO-PANEL DE CONTROL-SISTEMA.....PESTAÑA ADMINISTRADOR DE DISPOSITIVOS) Y EL S.O. TE VA A FUNCIONAR BIEN LUEGO DE REINICIAR .

PASO SEGUIDO DEBES ACTUALIZAR LA ULTIMA VERSION DE LA BIOS 

ESPERO TE RESUELVA LA DUDA DE LO CONTRARIO ESTARE ATENTO.

CORDIAL SALUDO.

[Don2011]

Does anyone have any potential solutions?  Thank you

[Don2011]

Sorry for the confusion but I havent changed the RAM.  I merely updated the OS from Vista to Windows 7.  Also, I ran numerous windows updates and I am assuming the drivers are all well.  The laptop works without stalling in Safe Mode however, which may indicate that it is a driver issue. 

[ejn63]

Next question:  does the problem go away when you remove the new RAM and install the original?

[Don2011]

Mobile Intel 945 Express Chipset Family.

[ejn63]

What video card or chip is in the system?