A Quick question about MemTest86

ChazHurst

ChazHurst

ChazHurst

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Joined
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327
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Hi, I'm having some serious issues with blue screening and all of the errors point me in the direction of faulty memory. So I was gonna run MemTest86 to check it out

When I run it, what is a typical end result?

Should the memory run 100% error free? or is it normal to see a few errors?

Thanks
 
It should run 100% error free.

Run it for a few hrs - preferably overnight - if you get errors test each stick individually to try and identify the faulty stick (if it is a memory problem.).

Good luck.
 
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ChazHurst said:
When I run it, what is a typical end result?
Click to expand...
Memtest will move a set of DATA backwards and forwards many many times, it has an exact record of what this DATA is so should the data come back with a different result then there is a problem

Example of good working Memory and subsystem:

Memtest Says "ChazHurst has £2000 in his Bank Account"
Memory Says "ChazHurst has £2000 in his Bank Account"
Memtest Says "ChazHurst has £2000 in his Bank Account"
Memory Says "ChazHurst has £2000 in his Bank Account"
Memtest Says "ChazHurst has £2000 in his Bank Account"
Memory Says "ChazHurst has £2000 in his Bank Account"
Memtest Says "ChazHurst has £2000 in his Bank Account"

Example of Faulty Memory or subsystem:

Memtest Says "ChazHurst has £2000 in his Bank Account"
Memory Says "ChazHurst has £2000 in his Bank Account"
Memtest Says "ChazHurst has £2000 in his Bank Account"
Memory Says "ChazHurst has £2000 in his Bank Account"
Memtest Says "ChazHurst has £2000 in his Bank Account"
Memory Says "ChazHurst has -£2000 in his Bank Account" ERROR!

ChazHurst said:
Should the memory run 100% error free? or is it normal to see a few errors?
Click to expand...

It should run 100% error free!

As example above even one single teeny weeny error can make a huge difference! :p

Each person is different but personally when using Memtest I will leave it to run as long as possible, 4-hours, 8-hours, 12 hours, 24 hours etc. Several full passes is a good basic test but I've found through personal experience the longer you leave it to run the *Hotter* your sticks will run . . . . . the hotter your sticks run the more likely you are to find Memtest throwing up an error! This is more noticable when overclocking or overvolting your ram and if it is heat thats causing a problem you can normally fix this by adding a fan to cool your RAMS! :)

ddr212002.jpg

Example of successful Memtest run!
 
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Big.Wayne said:
Several full passes is a good basic test but I've found through personal experience the longer you leave it to run the *Hotter* your sticks will run . . . . . the hotter your sticks run the more likely you are to find Memtest throwing up an error! This is more noticable when overclocking or overvolting your ram and if it is heat thats causing a problem you can normally fix this by adding a fan to cool your RAMS! :)
Click to expand...

Sorry to drag up an old thread but I was doing some searching and I have a question about this....

...I haven't done any overclocking and am running MemTest to check that my RAM that I bought second hand is OK. With all 4 sticks in I got about 1hour 40minutes in before some errors popped up.

I switched the PC off and proceeded to remove the RAM. I removed the RAM but it was very hot to the touch and actually burned a little....would that be what caused the errors (just too hot?) I have run both sets of modules on their own for a few hours and that don't have any errors.

I can't send the Voltage any lower than 1.9V on my motherboard for some reason.
 
The below reply is based on the assumption that you have a LGA775 motherboard from one of your other posts in this forum:

Memory does get hot – especially after a heavy memtest session as Big.Wayne has already mentioned. Excessive heat is never a good thing but hopefully this isn’t the root of your problems – but extra cooling is never a bad thing if you feel things are getting too hot and causing stability issues.

But, hopefully heat isn't the issue - as you’ve tested both pairs individually successfully the solution may lie in a slight BIOS tweak to keep the 4 stick stable as it’s sometimes a bit trickier to keep a system stable with all the DIMM slots filled.

For now, try setting the memory’s voltage back to the recommended manufacturers setting and then try upping the MCH voltage (North bridge voltage) up an increment or two. Upping the MCH voltage can sometimes alleviate the problem you're having when using all the DIMM slots as this puts extra stress on the memory controller and as a result usually requires a bit more juice to compensate.

Hopefully the above will fix your issues if not post back with your system spec – motherboard and memory type in particular.

EDIT: Are all 4 sticks the same brand/spec?
 
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All 4 sticks are the same brand and type but are different revisions. One takes 1.9V the other 1.8V....lowest my motherboard will do is 1.9V.

Its Corsair XMS2 DDR800. Both revisions have same timmings.

I did a Memtest with a fan over the memory and it was fine for a good 8 hours or so, so I'm guessing that it was heat.
 
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