I'm working on my sister's Dell Latitude 7490. Ubuntu was crashing, so I removed it and kept Windows 11, but the laptop is now showing repeated blue screens. The latest crash displayed a heavily distorted screen for a moment before reporting BAD_POOL_CALLER. It has also shown memory-related stop errors, so I'm wondering whether a failing RAM module could be responsible and how I can confirm the cause.
3 Answers
For a more accurate diagnosis, check whether Windows created crash dumps in C:WindowsMinidump. Copy any files there, compress them into a ZIP, and upload them somewhere accessible so the dump details can be reviewed. If no files are being created, enable Small Memory Dump under Windows startup and recovery settings, then collect several crashes if possible.
The graphical glitches combined with the memory-related crashes make faulty RAM a strong possibility, especially since this model uses integrated graphics and system memory. Run Dell’s built-in ePSA diagnostics: restart the laptop, press F12 when the Dell logo appears, and choose Diagnostics. It may identify the specific memory module that is failing. If it reports an error, reseating or replacing the affected RAM would be the next step.
The screen photo can help, but the crash dump is usually much more useful than an image. Also run the memory test and Dell diagnostics before changing BIOS or disk settings, and back up important files first in case the hardware is becoming unreliable.
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