A computer components & hardware forum. HardwareBanter

If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Go Back   Home » HardwareBanter forum » General Hardware & Peripherals » Homebuilt PC's
Site Map Home Register Authors List Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read Web Partners

Be aware of Testing Memory



 
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old January 1st 12, 07:13 AM posted to alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt
Red Cloud
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 94
Default Be aware of Testing Memory


A defected memory paired with working memory installed on mobo does
not indicted memory
error when it boots up. This tricks the PC guru thinking both memory
is working. I've had to argue with a man sold old defected memory
when I returned it. He did not understand why the defected memory
was booted up fine when it paired with working memory. He even
maintained that I've had to install as a pair. I did not know how
to show him the memory he sold was defect it. The system normally
boots up by ignore the defected memory and read only working
memory. He showed me the first boot up screen to prove the memory
he sold me was working and did not read the total memory size in BIOS
program.
  #2  
Old January 1st 12, 08:10 AM posted to alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt
Jumbo Jack
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 16
Default Be aware of Testing Memory

ask him to use memtest86

"Red Cloud" wrote in message
...

A defected memory paired with working memory installed on mobo does
not indicted memory
error when it boots up. This tricks the PC guru thinking both memory
is working. I've had to argue with a man sold old defected memory
when I returned it. He did not understand why the defected memory
was booted up fine when it paired with working memory. He even
maintained that I've had to install as a pair. I did not know how
to show him the memory he sold was defect it. The system normally
boots up by ignore the defected memory and read only working
memory. He showed me the first boot up screen to prove the memory
he sold me was working and did not read the total memory size in BIOS
program.



  #3  
Old January 1st 12, 08:42 AM posted to alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt
larry moe 'n curly
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 812
Default Be aware of Testing Memory



Red Cloud wrote:

A defected memory paired with working memory installed on mobo does
not indicted memory
error when it boots up. This tricks the PC guru thinking both memory
is working. I've had to argue with a man sold old defected memory
when I returned it. He did not understand why the defected memory
was booted up fine when it paired with working memory. He even
maintained that I've had to install as a pair. I did not know how
to show him the memory he sold was defect it. The system normally
boots up by ignore the defected memory and read only working
memory. He showed me the first boot up screen to prove the memory
he sold me was working and did not read the total memory size in BIOS
program.


He's not a guru but an idiot or a liar because he should know that the
boot-up memory test is not very thorough at all, and most computers
are configured so they perform only an incomplete version of it that
mostly just counts the amount of memory installed in the system.

To really test memory fairly well you need to run at least one of
these diagnostics, each for several hours, and preferrably test with
more than one kind of computer (one with an AMD CPU, another with an
Intel CPU):

MemTest86 www.MemTest86.com
MemTest86+ www.MemTest.org
Gold Memory www.GoldMemory.cz

The first two programs are very similar but have given me different
results. I've seen diagnostics run for 4-5 hours before they reported
errors, and one diagnostic didn't find the same error again for almost
10 hours.

Most memory modules are made with substandard chips that failed some
testing done by the $1,000,000 (US) testing machine used by actual
chip manufacturers. Those chips are not marked with that
manufacturer's part numbers or logo or may be covered with useless and
purely decorative heatsinks. Most memory module makers perform their
own, much more lax tests on those chips, often using nothing but
motherboards. To always avoid getting bad memory, buy modules made
only with chips marked as having come from Samsung (SEC), ProMOS,
PowerChip, Nanya, Inotera, Elpida, Micron, or Nynix. As far as I
know, the only ways to be guaranteed of this is by either looking at
the chips on the modules, or by purchasing Samsung or no-heatsink
Micron/Crucial modules.
  #4  
Old January 2nd 12, 05:30 AM posted to alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt
Red Cloud
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 94
Default Be aware of Testing Memory

On Jan 1, 12:42*am, "larry moe 'n curly"
wrote:
Red Cloud wrote:

A defected memory paired with working memory installed on mobo does
not indicted memory
error when it boots up. *This tricks the PC guru *thinking both memory
is working. * I've had to argue *with a *man sold old defected memory
when I returned it. He did not understand *why the defected *memory
was booted up fine when it paired with working memory. He even
maintained *that I've *had to install as a pair. * I did not know how
to show him the memory he sold *was defect it. *The system normally
boots up by ignore the defected memory and read only working
memory. * *He showed me the first boot up screen to prove the memory
he sold me was working and did not read the total memory size in BIOS
program.


He's not a guru but an idiot or a liar because he should know that the
boot-up memory test is not very thorough at all, and most computers
are configured so they perform only an incomplete version of it that
mostly just counts the amount of memory installed in the system.

To really test memory fairly well you need to run at least one of
these diagnostics, each for several hours, and preferrably test with
more than one kind of computer (one with an AMD CPU, another with an
Intel CPU):

* * *MemTest86 * * * * *www.MemTest86.com
* * *MemTest86+ * * * *www.MemTest.org
* * *Gold Memory * * * *www.GoldMemory.cz

The first two programs are very similar but have given me different
results. *I've seen diagnostics run for 4-5 hours before they reported
errors, and one diagnostic didn't find the same error again for almost
10 hours.

Most memory modules are made with substandard chips that failed some
testing done by the $1,000,000 (US) testing machine used by actual
chip manufacturers. *Those chips are not marked with that
manufacturer's part numbers or logo or may be covered with useless and
purely decorative heatsinks. *Most memory module makers perform their
own, much more lax tests on those chips, often using nothing but
motherboards. *To always avoid getting bad memory, buy modules made
only with chips marked as having come from Samsung (SEC), ProMOS,
PowerChip, Nanya, Inotera, Elpida, Micron, or Nynix. *As far as I
know, the only ways to be guaranteed of this is by either looking at
the chips on the modules, or by purchasing Samsung or no-heatsink
Micron/Crucial modules.


Never use memtest86 and no need to use it. Setup program in BIOS
displays size of the working memory.
  #5  
Old January 2nd 12, 05:38 AM posted to alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt
Paul
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 13,364
Default Be aware of Testing Memory

Red Cloud wrote:
On Jan 1, 12:42 am, "larry moe 'n curly"
wrote:
Red Cloud wrote:

A defected memory paired with working memory installed on mobo does
not indicted memory
error when it boots up. This tricks the PC guru thinking both memory
is working. I've had to argue with a man sold old defected memory
when I returned it. He did not understand why the defected memory
was booted up fine when it paired with working memory. He even
maintained that I've had to install as a pair. I did not know how
to show him the memory he sold was defect it. The system normally
boots up by ignore the defected memory and read only working
memory. He showed me the first boot up screen to prove the memory
he sold me was working and did not read the total memory size in BIOS
program.

He's not a guru but an idiot or a liar because he should know that the
boot-up memory test is not very thorough at all, and most computers
are configured so they perform only an incomplete version of it that
mostly just counts the amount of memory installed in the system.

To really test memory fairly well you need to run at least one of
these diagnostics, each for several hours, and preferrably test with
more than one kind of computer (one with an AMD CPU, another with an
Intel CPU):

MemTest86 www.MemTest86.com
MemTest86+ www.MemTest.org
Gold Memory www.GoldMemory.cz

The first two programs are very similar but have given me different
results. I've seen diagnostics run for 4-5 hours before they reported
errors, and one diagnostic didn't find the same error again for almost
10 hours.

Most memory modules are made with substandard chips that failed some
testing done by the $1,000,000 (US) testing machine used by actual
chip manufacturers. Those chips are not marked with that
manufacturer's part numbers or logo or may be covered with useless and
purely decorative heatsinks. Most memory module makers perform their
own, much more lax tests on those chips, often using nothing but
motherboards. To always avoid getting bad memory, buy modules made
only with chips marked as having come from Samsung (SEC), ProMOS,
PowerChip, Nanya, Inotera, Elpida, Micron, or Nynix. As far as I
know, the only ways to be guaranteed of this is by either looking at
the chips on the modules, or by purchasing Samsung or no-heatsink
Micron/Crucial modules.


Never use memtest86 and no need to use it. Setup program in BIOS
displays size of the working memory.


The BIOS memory test doesn't work right.

I had an Nforce2 chipset motherboard, with dual channel memory,
and the BIOS memory test could not detect an entire dead chip!
That's how bad the BIOS test is. It's not guaranteed to catch anything.

Memtest86+ boots from a floppy, CD, or USB stick. If tests everything
except BIOS reserved areas (perhaps 1MB worth). As such, it covers about
as much as you can reasonably expect to cover.

Memory test programs which run while the OS is running, are limited in
test coverage, to the free RAM area.

Paul
  #6  
Old January 2nd 12, 09:39 AM posted to alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt
DevilsPGD[_4_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 177
Default Be aware of Testing Memory

In message

someone claiming to be Red Cloud typed:

Never use memtest86 and no need to use it. Setup program in BIOS
displays size of the working memory.


Displaying the size of the memory available to the BIOS and testing to
see if it works are very different things.

--
It's always darkest before dawn. So if you're going to
steal your neighbor's newspaper, that's the time to do it.
  #7  
Old January 2nd 12, 08:00 PM posted to alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt
Davej
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 273
Default Be aware of Testing Memory

On Jan 1, 11:38*pm, Paul wrote:
The BIOS memory test doesn't work right.

I had an Nforce2 chipset motherboard, with dual channel memory,
and the BIOS memory test could not detect an entire dead chip!
That's how bad the BIOS test is. It's not guaranteed to catch anything.

Memtest86+ boots from a floppy, CD, or USB stick. If tests everything
except BIOS reserved areas (perhaps 1MB worth). As such, it covers about
as much as you can reasonably expect to cover.

Memory test programs which run while the OS is running, are limited in
test coverage, to the free RAM area.

* * Paul


Yes, I recently installed Ubuntu Linux on a machine that I'm sure I
have tested thoroughly in the past and thought was fine. Memtest86+
was included in the Ubuntu GRUB menu and it found an error that occurs
only at two particular pseudo random values.
  #8  
Old January 3rd 12, 02:54 PM posted to alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt
Flasherly[_2_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 2,407
Default Be aware of Testing Memory

On Jan 2, 4:39 am, DevilsPGD
wrote:

Displaying the size of the memory available to the BIOS and testing to
see if it works are very different things.


I get it, now. If the bad memory shows tested properly, then buy a
new BIOS chip and replace it!
  #9  
Old January 3rd 12, 10:56 PM posted to alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt
DevilsPGD[_4_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 177
Default Be aware of Testing Memory

In message

someone claiming to be Flasherly typed:

On Jan 2, 4:39 am, DevilsPGD
wrote:

Displaying the size of the memory available to the BIOS and testing to
see if it works are very different things.


I get it, now. If the bad memory shows tested properly, then buy a
new BIOS chip and replace it!


Exactly!

--
It's always darkest before dawn. So if you're going to
steal your neighbor's newspaper, that's the time to do it.
 




Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Testing USB pen memory? Richard Blackwood General 3 January 24th 06 11:17 PM
Testing memory modules? Ken Gateway Computers 4 December 27th 04 09:47 PM
Memory testing software?? half_pint General 12 April 17th 04 05:58 AM
"Safe" memory testing Timothy Lee General 1 March 8th 04 08:04 PM
Program for testing video memory Artur Butryn Nvidia Videocards 1 September 24th 03 12:57 PM


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 03:35 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.6.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©2004-2024 HardwareBanter.
The comments are property of their posters.