How to memtest 16GB of DDR2?

In comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.chips Van Chocstraw wrote in part:
Don't test it, run it.

Then when it crashes, how do you know what to fix?
Of course, you can hope it works and run to failure.
The commercial model of PC production.

I prefer to have some justifiable confidence in my machines by
testing upfront. I get parts from all over the place. While they
are to-standards and good quality, no-one can say they'll interact
perfectly. Tolerences could line up just the wrong way.

So I'm a big advocate of testing, especially on homebuilts. Stability
and longevity are the rewards. My main machine is almost 10 years
old and I cannot remember the last crash apart from powerfails.


-- Robert author `cpuburn` http://pages.sbcglobal.net/redelm

pg wrote:

I'm setting up a new rig, with 4 X 4GB DDR2 modules.

I tried run memtest86 but it only detected 4GB of my memory.

In Linux and in XP-64 I see all 16GB of the RAM.

So how to test the RAM?

Memtest+, from www.memtest.org, will test it all, but so should the
newest ver. of Memtest86, ver. 3.4A. I've used the latter to test
systems equipped with 6GB and 8GB.

In comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.chips Van Chocstraw wrote in part:
You can test it by removing one strip at a time and trying
it if you are having problems.


This only works if:

1) The problem occurs often / quickly enough; and

2) You are sure that memory is the cause.

Also, absence of proof isn't proof of absence.

Many reliability problems don't occur often, or at least don't
produce visible consequences frequently. Testing is almost alwyas
more intense than regular usage and monitors continually for errors.

The cause is similarly uncertain. When you have a crash, how
can you possibly know what caused it? If it reproduces well,
then it's probably software. But if not, there still are software
interactions, and all the different peices of equipment (HD, PSU,
....) that could cause it. Testing eliminates them one-by-one.


-- Robert

Van Chocstraw wrote:

You can test it by removing one strip at a time and trying it if you are
having problems.

I've had modules work fine when run alone but always failed when run
with another module, both in single-channel and dual-channel modes.
This includes two OCZ Gold matched pairs in a row.