Hello everyone. I was wondering if anyone knows of any memory testing utilities that perform the XMATS32 test. I tried to use Google to find some but so far all I can find are people who experience problems with dell computers during the XMATS32 diagnostics. Here is a [strike]little[/strike]alot of background on my problem if anyone has any ideas that would be great.
This might be long so thanks in advance for taking the time to read it:
I've got a Dell Inspiron 17R SE 7720, Core i5 3230m, 8GB RAM, 2GB GT 650m. I usually run the Dell ePSA diagnostics about once a week while my machines are in warranty. I ran it before upgrading my BIOS to A13 from A12 and everything passed. Now that I am on A13 when I run the diags I get two problems. The first is a Video Memory Discrepancy Error. This test says it tests the video card but I think it is only testing the integrated graphics and its associated shared system memory. If I move onto the memory test the computer will reboot itself during the XMATS32 portion of the memory test, It's like 5 or 6 tests in. Another reason why I think the video card test is for the integrated graphics is because when I do the thorough test it too reboots the system, the same way it does when the system memory is being tested.
Here is the troubleshooting I have done so far:
I took the RAM out of the 17R and tried one DIMM at a time in different slots, same results. I then decided to take the RAM out of my Inspiron One 2320 and swap that with the RAM from my 17R SE. I ran the diags on both machines and the One 2320 passed using the 17R SE's RAM, however the 17R SE still failed at the same points using the One 2320's RAM.
In addition I ran memtest86+ for 11 passes with 0 failures, I ran several other tests and everything passed with the RAM and the Video Card. I even used a bootable Dell diagnostics utility that can be ran from a USB drive, designed for a workstation but it still ran and passed just fine. I never experience any artifacts when playing games, I never have any problems with BSODs or programs crashing, and let me say again that every single test I run passes, except for the built in Dell ePSA Diagnostics.
Could it be that my Dell Diagnostics broke as a result of the BIOS flash? Given the state of Dell's BIOS support lately this would not surprise me. I would like to troubleshoot this by extracting the diag tools from their partition and placing them onto a USB drive to boot on a different system to see if the crash occurs at the same points. However I tried to use clonezilla and gparted to make a copy of the diags partition and the data from it, however, all they do is create the partition and I cannot boot from it or see any data, I even tried to change the hidden flag off. Does anyone have any experience with this? Unfortunately Dell does not make the diag tools for this system available for download.
I know I could have a dell tech come out to my home and replace the mobo, however I would like that to be a last resort. The last time a Dell tech came to my house he was pretty ignorant and kept resting his arm on the motherboard while replacing the screen, did not bother to wear an anti-static wrist strap, and did not put the laptop back together correctly. Don't worry I sent that machine in for a refund, it's not my current machine, this one is about 30 days old.
To all who took the time to read this I greatly appreciate it. If you need more information let me know, and if anyone has any ideas I am all ears.
This might be long so thanks in advance for taking the time to read it:
I've got a Dell Inspiron 17R SE 7720, Core i5 3230m, 8GB RAM, 2GB GT 650m. I usually run the Dell ePSA diagnostics about once a week while my machines are in warranty. I ran it before upgrading my BIOS to A13 from A12 and everything passed. Now that I am on A13 when I run the diags I get two problems. The first is a Video Memory Discrepancy Error. This test says it tests the video card but I think it is only testing the integrated graphics and its associated shared system memory. If I move onto the memory test the computer will reboot itself during the XMATS32 portion of the memory test, It's like 5 or 6 tests in. Another reason why I think the video card test is for the integrated graphics is because when I do the thorough test it too reboots the system, the same way it does when the system memory is being tested.
Here is the troubleshooting I have done so far:
I took the RAM out of the 17R and tried one DIMM at a time in different slots, same results. I then decided to take the RAM out of my Inspiron One 2320 and swap that with the RAM from my 17R SE. I ran the diags on both machines and the One 2320 passed using the 17R SE's RAM, however the 17R SE still failed at the same points using the One 2320's RAM.
In addition I ran memtest86+ for 11 passes with 0 failures, I ran several other tests and everything passed with the RAM and the Video Card. I even used a bootable Dell diagnostics utility that can be ran from a USB drive, designed for a workstation but it still ran and passed just fine. I never experience any artifacts when playing games, I never have any problems with BSODs or programs crashing, and let me say again that every single test I run passes, except for the built in Dell ePSA Diagnostics.
Could it be that my Dell Diagnostics broke as a result of the BIOS flash? Given the state of Dell's BIOS support lately this would not surprise me. I would like to troubleshoot this by extracting the diag tools from their partition and placing them onto a USB drive to boot on a different system to see if the crash occurs at the same points. However I tried to use clonezilla and gparted to make a copy of the diags partition and the data from it, however, all they do is create the partition and I cannot boot from it or see any data, I even tried to change the hidden flag off. Does anyone have any experience with this? Unfortunately Dell does not make the diag tools for this system available for download.
I know I could have a dell tech come out to my home and replace the mobo, however I would like that to be a last resort. The last time a Dell tech came to my house he was pretty ignorant and kept resting his arm on the motherboard while replacing the screen, did not bother to wear an anti-static wrist strap, and did not put the laptop back together correctly. Don't worry I sent that machine in for a refund, it's not my current machine, this one is about 30 days old.
To all who took the time to read this I greatly appreciate it. If you need more information let me know, and if anyone has any ideas I am all ears.