MemTest86 Help and Advice

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
TheJJBman11

TheJJBman11

Honorable
Jan 6, 2015
231
1
10,685
Hey!
I have a feeling my RAM is bad, not sure why, I just do. My HDD has been sent back to the manufacturer as its faulty and I thought while it's gone I'd run MemTest86 (as it doesn't use the HDD I believe)

Before I do, could anyone tell me what some of the symptoms of bad RAM is? I have weird horizontal line crashes sometimes (this was when I had Norton, although, when I was zooming out on a page it did it again -_-).

SInce I don't have an HDD at the moment I need to know if I can download MemTest86 on a separate computer (and USB) and use it on my computer?
 
Solution
Snipergod87
Typically just unexpected blue screens or failure to start the OS. Memtest86+ can be run without a HDD installed and can be run off of a USB drive or CD. You can find the downloads here:
http://www.memtest.org/#downiso
A horizontal line across the screen is more likely having to do with Video Card drivers, GPU being faulty or the screen being faulty.
Sort by date Sort by votes
V

Vlad Rose

Reputable
Apr 7, 2014
732
0
5,160
MemTest86 will run from usb or CD via a 'liveCD' method. Quite a few linux distros include MemTest86 with their installers. Hiren, as Saberus suggested, is a good choice.

Symptoms of bad RAM can be hard to diagnose. The most obvious symptoms are blue screens or computer lockups. When you run MemTest86, if one of your sticks of RAM are bad, it will let you know which module failed a test.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
TheJJBman11

TheJJBman11

Honorable
Jan 6, 2015
231
1
10,685


The horizontal line crash is the most prominent and recurring system fault noticed. It loosely resembles the screen I was last on and covers the whole screen and the lines are multicoloured (which resembles the screen). What does this mean for my GPU? My warranty has ended with all components, so there's not much else I can do but, none the less, I'm still curious xD
Thanks
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Snipergod87

Snipergod87

Splendid
May 26, 2009
5,585
2
29,965


It sounds more like the GPU than the monitor at this point for that specific issue, but it still could be driver related. From what I understand your system crashes when this happens or no?

Do you play games on your system? do the games have any graphical problems?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
TheJJBman11

TheJJBman11

Honorable
Jan 6, 2015
231
1
10,685


Yeah, my system completely freezes, I can't move anything. I have to click the power button and the system turns off instantly.

I do play games. I'm not sure what you mean by graphical problems, but there is microstutter and screen tearing constantly.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Snipergod87

Snipergod87

Splendid
May 26, 2009
5,585
2
29,965
Microstutter and screen tearing happen normally so I wouldn't worry about that.
What I would do right now is test your RAM (let it do 1-2 full passes) and when you get your HDD back re-install (including all the drivers, they probably will ship you a blank drive) and see if the problem still persists.

It is difficult to trouble shoot VGA issues without a functioning operating system.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
TheJJBman11

TheJJBman11

Honorable
Jan 6, 2015
231
1
10,685


Okay! Will do. One last question: Do I have to do two tests with only one RAM stick in at a time? Am I allowed to do it with both in? Any other information about MemTest64 and RAM?

Thanks for the assistance.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
V

Vlad Rose

Reputable
Apr 7, 2014
732
0
5,160


The best to test your VGA would be to use a game oriented LiveCD where everything resides on the CD/USB. With the game oriented ones, you can check to see if there's a problem with the 3D portion of the card. I know Sabyon Linux is one distro to try.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
TheJJBman11

TheJJBman11

Honorable
Jan 6, 2015
231
1
10,685
Hey guys, I'm running Memtest86 now on a bootable cd. I have both my RAM sticks in - is this a problem? If it says there is an error and does not indicate which one is at fault then I will test each one individually.

Also, how many passes shall I let it do? I'm gonna leave it running 'till I get up tomorrow (so it will be running for about 15 hours in total). Is this enough or too long?

Thanks for all the help.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom