Using memtest correctly

Mundu · 9 Apr 2007 at 21:02

I'd like to know what tests I should run and how long I should run memtest for before I can say my memory is stable.

I have 2x1gb sticks of Patriot PC3200 that should run at 2-3-2-5 but together they won't even boot into windows but alone one stick does if I up the voltage to 2.8v.

[TR]SweetSpotOz · 9 Apr 2007 at 21:11

mwtb · 10 Apr 2007 at 12:06

Indeed. I have recently found that MemTest+ isn't enough to verify that memory is actually defect-free. I have some memory on RMA that passed MemTest+ and would fail to even boot into Vista or Ubuntu.

kingo15 · 10 Apr 2007 at 22:53

just a quickie is mem test easy to use and do you need a floppy drive?

Yellowbeard · 10 Apr 2007 at 22:55

kingo15 said:
just a quickie is mem test easy to use and do you need a floppy drive?

You can run it from a bootable CD and there is an ISO version available too. It's VERY easy. Insert disk (floppy or CD) and make sure the system is set to boot from that particular disk and sit back and watch.

kingo15 · 10 Apr 2007 at 22:58

nice one thanks very much

Yellowbeard · 10 Apr 2007 at 22:59

kingo15 said:
nice one thanks very much

Oops, forgot the link:

www.memtest.org

And, YW.

kingo15 · 10 Apr 2007 at 23:17

thanks again i did have the sited saved but werent sure which one i needed but its much clearer now ill get testing tonight cheers

Mundu · 11 Apr 2007 at 05:03

I thought I'd ask in here forst but is there anyway something else apart from the RAM could be causing my PC not to boot up when I'm using my ram at 400MHz? I justtried some PC3200 Corsair ram and it wouldn't boot just like the Patriot stuff and wouldreset mytimefor some reason.

Cob · 11 Apr 2007 at 13:57

Have you tried all the slots?

Mundu · 11 Apr 2007 at 14:04

Cob said:
Have you tried all the slots?

Yup

Yellowbeard · 11 Apr 2007 at 16:48

Mundu said:
I thought I'd ask in here forst but is there anyway something else apart from the RAM could be causing my PC not to boot up when I'm using my ram at 400MHz? I justtried some PC3200 Corsair ram and it wouldn't boot just like the Patriot stuff and wouldreset mytimefor some reason.

Try clearing the CMOS. Also, I'm not clear on what you are trying to do here and I have no clue what your hardware is. If the CMOS clear does not help we'll need more info on your system and all of your bios settings that relate to CPU, memory, and voltages.

Mundu · 11 Apr 2007 at 16:54

I've had to clear the CMOS a few time with this RAm but it hasn't helped.

AMD64 [email protected], Asus A8N Sli, Patriot 2x1Gb PC3200, Geforce 7800GTX

I'm just trying to run my ram at the stated timings/ speed on the box which is 400Mhz and 2-3-2-5 but the PC doesn't boot up when the ram is set to 400MHz even when I relax the timings.

Mundu · 11 Apr 2007 at 17:48

BIOS Settings:

CPU Frequency: 250.0
PCI Express Clock: 100Mhz
DDR Voltage: 2.70v
CPU Multiplier: x11
CPU Voltage: 1.475v
PCi Clock Synchronization: 33.33Mhz

edit: I'm a complete idiot. I forgot about all the overclocking ratios ect and was just being stupid plain and simple.