Dying hard drive???

[clocker]

how does ram go bad or is there any way to prevent this, if this is the problem? and can i get a replacement or is the slot the thing thts broke?

RAM, like any other solid state component, goes when it goes- there is no visible reason or preventable action.

Take the known good stick and try it in both slots.
That might tell you if the DIMMs on the motherboard are OK, it might not.
Some boards won't POST with just one stick unless it's in DIMM slot 1.

Buying high quality RAM along with a good PSU are the only things you can do and even then, shit happens.

[bikejumpr2020]

i have another problem now. when i turn on the computer it shows the hp screen then it goes to the windows xp screen and restarts. if i turn it on and off like 30times it eventually works. can someone help me with this?