If you have been using the machine for a long time, it is likely that the memory components have deteriorated during use. Your memory may be completely fine or on the verge of failing, you may never know unless you check. Windows has a built-in memory tester, but it doesn't work as well as you might expect. It has its limitations, which makes its results more or less useless for advanced users. One of these many limitations is that the built-in memory tester runs diagnostic tests only in Windows environments. This results in huge areas not covered in Windows environments and in Windows operation, not scanned for signs of memory errors, memory leaks, and other hardware problems.
This is where Memtest comes in. It is free and very easy to use software, which can help you check if your machine has memory problems and other hardware problems. Memtest is one of the most accurate tests for your computer memory currently available. You can check your PC memory for bad sectors and bad / non-functioning motherboard slots for better troubleshooting. It is free software, completely legal to download, which you can use to check your memory. It is open source software originally written by Chris Brady.
You can download Memtest from the following path.
MEMTEST.org
Make sure you download the latest, stable and functional version, to avoid possible errors and problems during the process.
Memtest is available in ISO format on their website. You can download the ISO and then burn it to a CD. You can also create a bootable USB drive if you don't have access to a CD / DVD drive. Some of you may be wondering that this in turn means that the ISO can be virtually mounted, but I fear this is not possible. The process and functioning of Memtest requires that you have the ISO on any physical device, be it CD or USB.
So make sure you create a bootable CD / DVD or USB after downloading the ISO from the official website.
Once created, you can follow the steps listed below to run Memtest and check your machine's memory and motherboard for bad sectors and broken slots.
Final report: Memtest is a high-processing ad, so it may take longer than expected. I recommend that you run this process on your PC overnight as the software is designed to perform 6 to 8 steps, each of which can take their own time. So, make sure you don't need your PC for the next few hours before running the Memtest process.
To start Memtest
1- Insert the boot device created in your PC and restart the machine.
2- Start from the Memtest media inserted and run the process
3- It will show the initial evaluation and information of the machine before it starts to perform the first step.
4- The first step will be performed and memtest will show the results,
> If errors are found: This means that memtest was able to find a faulty memory / damaged motherboard slot. Start by testing each reported memory device individually, and if you find a good device, test it on all slots to make sure it's working properly.
If a good note stick that you are sure of fails in a particular motherboard slot, this in turn implies that the tested motherboard slot is faulty / bad.
> If no errors are found, it means everything is fine so far, you can continue to perform the remaining 7 steps to check for errors, memory corruption or motherboard slot in other areas.
5- Use Memtest results to identify and identify various bad memory sectors and failed motherboard slots. These problems can help you find the causes of unknown errors and fix them accordingly by disabling or masking bad sectors.
This should help you identify all errors with the RAM and motherboard and find possible solutions for them.
Before proceeding, make sure of the following
1- Make sure your PC is not overclocked or has a low voltage power supply for the duration of the tests.
2- If your PC is overclocked / energized, be sure to reset it to default values before running the tests.
3- If errors are found, do not exceed the clock / low voltage until all problems have been eliminated.
4- also make sure to reset the RAM times to default values, before running Memtest.
Follow these simple steps and precautions to run Memtest error-free on your PC and identify bad memory sectors and bad motherboard slots.
