Quick questions about memtest86

[Sparkling Soap]

I have a couple questions about memtest86.

1. Does memtest86 put load on the ram to make it heat up? I'm just curious because what if the problem with the ram only occurs when the ram is hot?

2. How long is it best to keep memtest running?

3. Does memtest only detect problems with the ram itself? Or the ram slot too? I am asking this because I want to be sure if the ram itself or the ram slot is not working.

4. Do I have to do the test with one stick of ram at a time? Or can I just save some time and do both at once?

[vanished]

3 minutes ago, Sparkling Soap said:

I have a couple questions about memtest86.

1. Does memtest86 put load on the ram to make it heat up? I'm just curious because what if the problem with the ram only occurs when the ram is hot?

2. How long is it best to keep memtest running?

3. Does memtest only detect problems with the ram itself? Or the ram slot too? I am asking this because I want to be sure if the ram itself or the ram slot is not working.

4. Do I have to do the test with one stick of ram at a time? Or can I just save some time and do both at once?

1. I suspect it would heat up a similar amount to any heavy load, but not particularly more or less so.  Not sure about this tbh though
2. As long as possible.  Usually 24 - 48 hours, or until an error is found
3. The whole package.  If there's a problem with either, it should show up
4. I believe you can test all RAM at once but a common troubleshooting method is to try one stick at a time, in case one in particular is causing you issues.

[zMeul]

1. yes it does put a work-load on the RAM module(s). how else would it test it?
2. as long as needed; some errors can be revealed in less than 1H others can take a day
3. the RAM slots are almost never the issue - the issue can be the memory controller
4. if you encounter issues, it's best to identify if it's the RAM stick (test each stick individually) and test on each slot to see if the channel is borked

[porina]

1, Turn on the multi-core option which is off by default. It helps increase the loading and may make failures quicker to happen.

2, I run it for several passes. Each pass is a set of operations, so smaller capacity/faster ram could get done quicker than a large amount of slower ram.

3, everything between the controller CPU and ram will by necessity be tested.

4, I'd test everything initially, and only resort to one stick at a time if needed to troubleshoot further.

[ybriK]

If the RAM slot was the issue you'd most likely run into an error straight away, assuming that particular slot is filled is a RAM stick.