Is your computer unstable? There may be a problem with its RAM. To check, you can either use a hidden system tool included with Windows or download and boot a more advanced tool.
UserBenchmark tests your PC within a minute and compares the outcomes to other users with the same subsystems. It’s one of the best free tools to quickly detect hardware issues and explore appropriate upgrades. The tool tests four major components of the system: CPU, RAM, GPU and drive.
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Best Free Ram Testing Software
Both of the below tools function by writing data to each sector of your computer’s RAM and then reading it back in turn. If the tool reads a different value, this indicates that your RAM is faulty.
Option 1: Run the Windows Memory Diagnostic
To launch the Windows Memory Diagnostic tool, open the Start menu, type “Windows Memory Diagnostic”, and press Enter.
You can also press Windows Key + R, type “mdsched.exe” into the Run dialog that appears, and press Enter.
You’ll need to reboot your computer to perform the test. While the test is happening, you won’t be able to use your computer.
To agree to this, click “Restart now and check for problems (recommended)”. Be sure to save your work first. Your computer will immediately restart.
Your computer will restart and the Windows Memory Diagnostics Tool screen will appear. Just leave it be and let it perform the test. This may take several minutes. During this process, you’ll see a progress bar and a “Status” message will inform you if any problems have been detected during the process.
However, you don’t need to watch the test–you can leave your computer alone and come back to see the results later.
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When it’s done, your computer will automatically reboot and return to the Windows desktop. After you log in, the test results will appear.
At least, that’s what the tool says is supposed to happen. The results didn’t automatically appear for us on Windows 10. But here’s how to find them, if Windows doesn’t show you.
First, open the Event Viewer. Right-click the Start button and select “Event Viewer”. If you’re using Windows 7, press Windows Key + R, type “eventvwr.msc” into the Run dialog, and press Enter.
Navigate to Windows Logs > System. You’ll see a list of a large number of events. Click “Find” in the right pane.
Type “MemoryDiagnostic” into the find box and click “Find Next”. You’ll see the result displayed at the bottom of the window.
Option 2: Boot and Run MemTest86
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If you’re looking for a more powerful testing tool, you can download and use MemTest86. It performs a wider variety of tests and may find issues that the included Windows test won’t. The latest releases of this tool offer a paid version with more feature, although the free version should do everything you need. You don’t need to pay for anything. MemTest86 is signed by Microsoft, so it will work even on systems with Secure Boot enabled.
You could also try the free and open source MemTest86+. However, this tool doesn’t seem to be actively developed anymore. We saw reports that it didn’t work properly on some newer PCs.
Both of these are bootable, self-contained tools. MemTest86 provides both an ISO image you can burn to a CD or DVD and a USB image you can copy to a USB drive. Just run the .exe file included with the download and provide a spare USB drive to create a bootable USB drive. This will erase the contents of the drive!
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Once you’ve created bootable media, restart your computer and have it boot from the USB drive or disc you copied the memory test tool to.
The tool will boot and automatically start scanning your memory, running through test after test and informing you if it finds a problem. It will keep running tests until you choose to stop it, allowing you to test how the memory behaves over a longer period of time. Information about any errors will be displayed on your screen. When you’re done, you can just press the “Esc” key to exit it and restart your computer.
If memory tests give you errors, it’s very possible that your RAM–at least one of the sticks–is faulty and needs to be replaced.
Best Ram Tester Software
However, it’s also possible that the RAM isn’t compatible with your motherboard for some reason. It’s also possible that your RAM can’t reliably run at its current speeds, so you may want to adjust your RAM speed to a lower setting in your UEFI or BIOS settings screen.
Control where downloads are stored located. After making a change, you can run the RAM test again to see if there’s a problem.
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Updated: May 22, 2019 Home » Freeware and Software Reviews » SSD, HDD, RAM & Flash Memory
If your computer crashes after installing a new set of RAMs, there are few possibilities. The first possibility is likely a faulty RAM, the second possibility is hardware compatibility. More often than not if it is compatibility due to overspec or underspec, your system would not boot up and will make a beeping sound.
Alternative Article ➤ 7 RAMDisk vs SSD – Ten Times Faster Read and Write Speed via RAM Virtual Disk
Ffaulty RAMs are pretty rare, almost unlikely if you bought a branded RAM such as Kingston, Samsung, Corsair, Apache and etc, this is because they performed many tests before distributing them to dealers. Based on my experience, here are some possibilities:
- Defective RAM ( Use both Windows Memory Diagnostics and Memtest86 to perform a deep scan, run twice to confirm, if both tests show the RAM is in good condition, then it is most definitely another issues. )
- Outdated Motherboard BIOS ( Update your Motherboard BIOS if it is outdated )
- Outdated drivers and chip-sets ( Update your drivers and chipsets )
- Overheating of RAM ( Use a table fan to test this )
- Faulty RAM slot ( Swap RAM between slots to see if problem continues )
- Incompatibility with your other hardware such as Asus NVidia GTX 970 Graphic Card. ( I’ve upgraded my RAM to 32GB from 16GB for my Dell XPS 8700, unfortunately, the solution to limit the RAM in Windows as shown in Reddit doesn’t work for me. Read more – GTX 970 unstable on system with 32 GB RAM or 64 GB RAM )
After much trial and error, swapping graphic cards and RAMs. I’ve discovered that my Asus Strix GTX 970 is unstable when my Dell XPS 8700 has a 32GB Kingston HyperX Fury or 24GB Kingston + Samsung RAM. It runs without problem when my system has both my old (4x4GB Samsung) and new (2x8GB Kingston) 16GB RAM installed, and with no problem when it is 32GB with my older GTX 745 graphic card. This is a very old issue, Nvidia appears to be dragging their feet or this is exclusively an Asus GTX970 problem.
↓ 01 – Windows Memory Diagnostics Tool | 17 Tests | Windows
This Window memory Diagnostics Tool is the the Pre-installed memory testing software available in Microsoft Windows Vista, Window 7, windows 8 or 8.1 & windows 10. The Memory Diagnostics Tool will run automatically when you restart Windows. It might take several minutes for the tool to finish checking your computer’s memory. Once the test is completed, Windows will restart automatically. If the tool detects errors, you should contact your computer manufacturer for information about fixing them, since memory errors usually indicate a problem with the memory chips in your computer or other hardware problem. Type “Mdsched” and search for the tool.
Best Ram Testing Software For Pc
↓ 02 – Passmark MemTest86 | 13 Tests | Windows | Mac | Linux
MemTest86 is the original, free, stand alone memory testing software for x86 computers. MemTest86 boots from a USB flash drive or CD and tests the RAM in your computer for faults using a series of comprehensive algorithms and test patterns. The latest version of MemTest86 supports all the current technologies, including:
- DDR4 RAM (and DDR2 & DDR3) support
- XMP – high performance memory profiles
- UEFI – The new graphical standard for BIOS
- 64bit – From version 5, MemTest86 is native 64bit code
- ECC RAM – support for error-correcting code RAM
- Secure boot – With MemTest86 being code signed by Microsoft
- Graphical interface, mouse support and logging of results to disk
- Self booting off USB or CD, without needing DOS, Linux nor Windows
- Dual booting – Will boot to V4 in BIOS and V6 in UEFI from a single flash drive
↓ 03 – Rember | Unknown Tests | Mac
Rember is a front-end GUI to the ‘memtest’ command line memory testing program. This application will allow the user to select the number of test loops, as well as the amount of memory to test. There is a ‘Log’ tab that will allow the user to monitor memory testing. The user can toggle a ‘verbose’ switch to limit the amount of output, and can also choose to quit Finder and other applications.
Defective memory can cause computers to malfunction, crash, and behave in a variety of ways which can sometimes baffle end users and computer technicians alike. Apple provides hardware test CDs with most of their products, and there are some third-party utilties for Mac OS X which perform memory testing. In my experience, these tools have not always been able to quickly and efficiently diagnose memory problems. Rember has been designed to simplify the testing, and diagnosis of these problems.
↓ 04 – Apple Diagnostics (Apple Hardware Test) | Mac
Apple Diagnostics is a great way to check your Mac computer’s hardware. Apple Diagnostics helps to identify the potential source of a hardware issue and provides first steps to try and resolve it. Apple Diagnostics will also help you get in touch with Apple Support for further assistance.