How do I test RAM?

[Sin Stalker]

I just bought replacement RAM for my PC. I'm doubling the total and increasing the speed.

 

What is a program for testing memory? I want to make sure all 6 sticks fully work.

 

 

[Oshino Shinobu]

MemTest86

[BDunkz]

2 minutes ago, Sin Stalker said:

I just bought replacement RAM for my PC. I'm doubling the total and increasing the speed.

 

What is a program for testing memory? I want to make sure all 6 sticks fully work.

 

 

Just put it in your pc and go to the bios

[BDunkz]

Just now, BDunkz said:

Just put it in your pc and go to the bios

Then it should show how many sticks and how much @ what frequency 

[ARikozuM]

You can set Prime95 to test your RAM. Just look up FFT settings.

[paddy-stone]

I personally wouldn't use memtest, that's reserved IMO for testing when you have a problem that might be attributed to RAM, it takes a looong time.Using memtest IMO would be like buying a brand new HDD and testing every block/bit - not necessary in other words.

Just enjoy your PC

 

[edit] If you must test it, just use AIDA64 or prime95 or similar... that will be enough of a test for now. I wouldn't want to waste possibly tens of hours waiting on a memtest when I could be gaming or something else more useful

 

 

[Sin Stalker]

35 minutes ago, paddy-stone said:

I personally wouldn't use memtest, that's reserved IMO for testing when you have a problem that might be attributed to RAM, it takes a looong time.Using memtest IMO would be like buying a brand new HDD and testing every block/bit - not necessary in other words.

Just enjoy your PC

 

[edit] If you must test it, just use AIDA64 or prime95 or similar... that will be enough of a test for now. I wouldn't want to waste possibly tens of hours waiting on a memtest when I could be gaming or something else more useful

 

 

All the RAM was purchased via eBay.

Four sticks are claimed to be new. Two sticks are used. 

[Sin Stalker]

43 minutes ago, paddy-stone said:

I personally wouldn't use memtest, that's reserved IMO for testing when you have a problem that might be attributed to RAM, it takes a looong time.Using memtest IMO would be like buying a brand new HDD and testing every block/bit - not necessary in other words.

Just enjoy your PC

 

[edit] If you must test it, just use AIDA64 or prime95 or similar... that will be enough of a test for now. I wouldn't want to waste possibly tens of hours waiting on a memtest when I could be gaming or something else more useful

 

 

And I want to test my current memory before I sell it.

[paddy-stone]

11 hours ago, Sin Stalker said:

All the RAM was purchased via eBay.

Four sticks are claimed to be new. Two sticks are used. 

 

11 hours ago, Sin Stalker said:

And I want to test my current memory before I sell it.

 

Ahh I see, then yes memtest is the best option. I apologise, I assumed you were talking about brand new.

[DrMikeNZ]

11 hours ago, paddy-stone said:

I personally wouldn't use memtest, that's reserved IMO for testing when you have a problem that might be attributed to RAM, it takes a looong time.Using memtest IMO would be like buying a brand new HDD and testing every block/bit - not necessary in other words.

Just enjoy your PC

While I agree, I have to admit I personally do the opposite.

I have a strict validation policy for any new PC, which needs to go through a weekend of memtest, aida64, prime95 then handbrake before I put it into the workflow.

I would rather find issues during the build and RMA the components immediately before I prepare a workload than to find data corruption or stability issues and have to deal with it later. But then again, I am not normal, and rather OCD.

Block testing harddrives is fun, and the only way to enjoy your new PC.

[paddy-stone]

58 minutes ago, DrMikeNZ said:

While I agree, I have to admit I personally do the opposite.

I have a strict validation policy for any new PC, which needs to go through a weekend of memtest, aida64, prime95 then handbrake before I put it into the workflow.

I would rather find issues during the build and RMA the components immediately before I prepare a workload than to find data corruption or stability issues and have to deal with it later. But then again, I am not normal, and rather OCD.

Block testing harddrives is fun, and the only way to enjoy your new PC.

 

I agree up to a point... I also test any new PC I build, but after it's passed testing for OC/stability issues it then gets used for regular workloads. I stress test the PC for at least a few hours after initial stress testing when trying to find the right OC and voltage required etc. I also test with doing a few workload type tests anyway, like encoding/re-coding video for example... I find that these tests get the job done and the PC is fit for daily use. I rarely encounter problems that are hardware based after the initial testing. I have only used memtest maybe twice in the last few years for my own PCs, for clients it gets used more often, especially as they can be a tad vague about what the problems are with their PCs

 

[JacobFW]

Windows has a builtin memtest you can use that will detect anything seriously wrong, and usually only takes about 30minutes to an hour to run.

Memtest86 work best if used for a couple of days to detect more subtle problems, but it does have certain tests to detect known problems that hardware has had in the past.  Those it will usually detect on the first run.

 

However, as great as Memtest is, it will NOT detect all issues.  I had a bad set of ram last year, and I let memtest run for two days and not detect a single problem, but as soon as I booted up into windows it would crash within 15 minutes.  What I found though was using Prime95 as soon as I booted up, I could detect if it would crash within 2-3 minutes.  Minimized my time wasted with that headache.

 

[Sin Stalker]

On 7/5/2017 at 3:55 AM, DrMikeNZ said:

While I agree, I have to admit I personally do the opposite.

I have a strict validation policy for any new PC, which needs to go through a weekend of memtest, aida64, prime95 then handbrake before I put it into the workflow.

I would rather find issues during the build and RMA the components immediately before I prepare a workload than to find data corruption or stability issues and have to deal with it later. But then again, I am not normal, and rather OCD.

Block testing harddrives is fun, and the only way to enjoy your new PC.

 

On 7/5/2017 at 5:19 AM, paddy-stone said:

 

I agree up to a point... I also test any new PC I build, but after it's passed testing for OC/stability issues it then gets used for regular workloads. I stress test the PC for at least a few hours after initial stress testing when trying to find the right OC and voltage required etc. I also test with doing a few workload type tests anyway, like encoding/re-coding video for example... I find that these tests get the job done and the PC is fit for daily use. I rarely encounter problems that are hardware based after the initial testing. I have only used memtest maybe twice in the last few years for my own PCs, for clients it gets used more often, especially as they can be a tad vague about what the problems are with their PCs

 

 

On 7/5/2017 at 6:42 AM, JacobFW said:

Windows has a builtin memtest you can use that will detect anything seriously wrong, and usually only takes about 30minutes to an hour to run.

Memtest86 work best if used for a couple of days to detect more subtle problems, but it does have certain tests to detect known problems that hardware has had in the past.  Those it will usually detect on the first run.

 

However, as great as Memtest is, it will NOT detect all issues.  I had a bad set of ram last year, and I let memtest run for two days and not detect a single problem, but as soon as I booted up into windows it would crash within 15 minutes.  What I found though was using Prime95 as soon as I booted up, I could detect if it would crash within 2-3 minutes.  Minimized my time wasted with that headache.

 

 

 

 

What's a trusted source for both memtest and prime95? I've used Aida before but my trial is done. 

[JacobFW]

http://www.memtest86.com/  Download the free version

 

https://www.mersenne.org/download/

[paddy-stone]

Another option for prime95 (plus many more software and games progs) http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/prime95.html

[typographie]

This thread makes me feel weird for not going out of my way to test new memory. I make sure the BIOS settings are correct, that the system boots, and check that Windows sees the RAM and fills it with data when needed. But aside from that I just carry on as usual and watch for any new crashes. If I start noticing suspicious behavior, that's when I'll start running the diagnostic software.

[Sin Stalker]

I haven't tested yet but I have gotten 1 blue screen. That's been a log time... But it may be cause of the other new component I just installed. Got a Hue+ off eBay for $7.50. Wasn't working but I fixed it. 

 

 

So may have been the updating of it's firmware or maybe the ram...

[Sin Stalker]

20 hours ago, typographie said:

This thread makes me feel weird for not going out of my way to test new memory. I make sure the BIOS settings are correct, that the system boots, and check that Windows sees the RAM and fills it with data when needed. But aside from that I just carry on as usual and watch for any new crashes. If I start noticing suspicious behavior, that's when I'll start running the diagnostic software.

 

20 hours ago, paddy-stone said:

Another option for prime95 (plus many more software and games progs) http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/prime95.html

 

On 7/6/2017 at 7:31 AM, JacobFW said:

http://www.memtest86.com/  Download the free version

 

https://www.mersenne.org/download/

 

On 7/5/2017 at 3:55 AM, DrMikeNZ said:

While I agree, I have to admit I personally do the opposite.

I have a strict validation policy for any new PC, which needs to go through a weekend of memtest, aida64, prime95 then handbrake before I put it into the workflow.

I would rather find issues during the build and RMA the components immediately before I prepare a workload than to find data corruption or stability issues and have to deal with it later. But then again, I am not normal, and rather OCD.

Block testing harddrives is fun, and the only way to enjoy your new PC.

 

On 7/4/2017 at 3:04 PM, ARikozuM said:

You can set Prime95 to test your RAM. Just look up FFT settings.

 

On 7/4/2017 at 3:00 PM, BDunkz said:

Just put it in your pc and go to the bios

So I'm trying to use Prime95 to test the RAM. I went through an explanation on a forum but when I run the test, it finishes right away. I was expecting it to run for some time.

 

The result says its good, but the almost instantaneous test time has me skeptical.

 

I'll be running memtest tonight or tomorrow. Anyone know the minimize USB drive size for installing memtest?

[JacobFW]

38 minutes ago, Sin Stalker said:

 

 

 

 

 

So I'm trying to use Prime95 to test the RAM. I went through an explanation on a forum but when I run the test, it finishes right away. I was expecting it to run for some time.

 

The result says its good, but the almost instantaneous test time has me skeptical.

 

I'll be running memtest tonight or tomorrow. Anyone know the minimize USB drive size for installing memtest?

Click on the option that says to test ram.  That will load all the default settings.  Then you click on the custom button, and you can modify those settings.  Change the ram size to 80-90% of your max ram capacity.

 

Sorry, I don't have the program in front of me, so I can't be more descriptive than that till I get home.

[Sin Stalker]

7 hours ago, JacobFW said:

Click on the option that says to test ram.  That will load all the default settings.  Then you click on the custom button, and you can modify those settings.  Change the ram size to 80-90% of your max ram capacity.

 

Sorry, I don't have the program in front of me, so I can't be more descriptive than that till I get home.

That's what I did and it completes right away. How long should it be taking?

[Sin Stalker]

23 hours ago, JacobFW said:

Click on the option that says to test ram.  That will load all the default settings.  Then you click on the custom button, and you can modify those settings.  Change the ram size to 80-90% of your max ram capacity.

 

Sorry, I don't have the program in front of me, so I can't be more descriptive than that till I get home.

 

On 7/6/2017 at 2:01 PM, typographie said:

This thread makes me feel weird for not going out of my way to test new memory. I make sure the BIOS settings are correct, that the system boots, and check that Windows sees the RAM and fills it with data when needed. But aside from that I just carry on as usual and watch for any new crashes. If I start noticing suspicious behavior, that's when I'll start running the diagnostic software.

 

On 7/6/2017 at 1:44 PM, paddy-stone said:

Another option for prime95 (plus many more software and games progs) http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/prime95.html

 

On 7/6/2017 at 7:31 AM, JacobFW said:

http://www.memtest86.com/  Download the free version

 

https://www.mersenne.org/download/

 

On 7/5/2017 at 3:55 AM, DrMikeNZ said:

While I agree, I have to admit I personally do the opposite.

I have a strict validation policy for any new PC, which needs to go through a weekend of memtest, aida64, prime95 then handbrake before I put it into the workflow.

I would rather find issues during the build and RMA the components immediately before I prepare a workload than to find data corruption or stability issues and have to deal with it later. But then again, I am not normal, and rather OCD.

Block testing harddrives is fun, and the only way to enjoy your new PC.

 

On 7/4/2017 at 3:04 PM, ARikozuM said:

You can set Prime95 to test your RAM. Just look up FFT settings.

 

On 7/4/2017 at 3:00 PM, Oshino Shinobu said:

MemTest86

 

 

So none of these programs actually work. 

 

Prime95 doesn't do anything.

 

Memtest has been added to a bootable us drive a few different ways, a few different drives, a few different USB ports, and won't run. I just get error messages that there's no operating system found, press any key to restart.

 

Can someone please help?

[paddy-stone]

10 minutes ago, Sin Stalker said:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So none of these programs actually work. 

 

Prime95 doesn't do anything.

 

Memtest has been added to a bootable us drive a few different ways, a few different drives, a few different USB ports, and won't run. I just get error messages that there's no operating system found, press any key to restart.

 

Can someone please help?

You have been making them bootable right? you can use rufus Rufus - Create bootable USB drives the easy way

Very easy to use.

 

Or, you can Download ubuntu or another liveUSb build and put that onto USB drive with rufus, boot it and select "run memtest" from the GRUB menu.

[Sin Stalker]

4 hours ago, paddy-stone said:

You have been making them bootable right? you can use rufus Rufus - Create bootable USB drives the easy way

Very easy to use.

 

Or, you can Download ubuntu or another liveUSb build and put that onto USB drive with rufus, boot it and select "run memtest" from the GRUB menu.

I've made bootable USB drives before. But it didn't like the CD iso and wouldn't recognize the USB iso, which wasn't really an iso. The USB download version comes with software for making a bootable drive but for some reason was making a partitioned us drive. 

 

I got it working and has been going through for about 4 and a half hours. It says no errors detected, press Esc to exit...

 

 

However the Esc key is not exiting and none of the other control keys are being recognized. I would think it was frozen but the scans continue and iteration went into the 20s and is now back to 6 as I type this.

 

 

Is it safe to just restart the computer or is there a way to get the Esc key to work again??

[paddy-stone]

Yes, should be fine to restart it, there's no other option if the ESC key isn't working anyway.

 

As for the .iso thing, I find it much easier and often quicker to use rufus for making bootable USB drives and such... if you're not used to it maybe it looks daunting? but there are very few options that you actually need to change from default, and then you just tell it where the .iso file is and let it do it for you - takes about a minute or 2 depending on your hardware and which .iso you're using. It's always handy to have a Linux drive around anyway for those times when windows is being a pain etc. I use rufus all the time, much quicker at most things.

[Sin Stalker]

3 hours ago, paddy-stone said:

Yes, should be fine to restart it, there's no other option if the ESC key isn't working anyway.

 

As for the .iso thing, I find it much easier and often quicker to use rufus for making bootable USB drives and such... if you're not used to it maybe it looks daunting? but there are very few options that you actually need to change from default, and then you just tell it where the .iso file is and let it do it for you - takes about a minute or 2 depending on your hardware and which .iso you're using. It's always handy to have a Linux drive around anyway for those times when windows is being a pain etc. I use rufus all the time, much quicker at most things.

Thanks. I like ISO to USB. I have a Linux USB drive by, as well as windows installation. 

 

So I tried Prime95 again, a few times. It says it's completed and good right away. Then I went to my NZXT Cam and found all four cores of my CPU we're at 100% with nothing else running. Then I found multiple instances of Prime95 running via the task bar in the lower right corner. I guess they just keep repeating the test? 

 

I closed those out and back down to my normal 1 or 2% idle.

Does anyone know of a good video showing Prime95 in action? I must not be following what's going on past starting the test.