Memory test

  • Thread starter Thread starter Stan Brown
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Stan Brown

I'm a big fan of the memory-test utility at memtest.org.

But now I have a 64-bit computer. Is the ISO bootable image
compatible with 64-bit PCs? The site doesn't say. It does mention
the i5 core chip, which is what I have.

And if I can't use memtest, does anyone know a good memory-test
program? I really like the memtest approach of a bootable image, so
that it's not dependent on the operating system.
 
I'm a big fan of the memory-test utility at memtest.org.

But now I have a 64-bit computer.  Is the ISO bootable image
compatible with 64-bit PCs?  The site doesn't say.  It does mention
the i5 core chip, which is what I have.

And if I can't use memtest, does anyone know a good memory-test
program?  I really like the memtest approach of a bootable image, so
that it's not dependent on the operating system.
Click to expand...
Have a look here, Stan
http://shareme.com/showtop/freeware/ram-memory-test-software.html
 
Stan said:
I'm a big fan of the memory-test utility at memtest.org.

But now I have a 64-bit computer. Is the ISO bootable image
compatible with 64-bit PCs? The site doesn't say. It does mention
the i5 core chip, which is what I have.

And if I can't use memtest, does anyone know a good memory-test
program? I really like the memtest approach of a bootable image, so
that it's not dependent on the operating system.
Click to expand...

Your hardware (or the few parts that need to be) allow you to now use a
64-bit Operating System. You don't have to (most likely) and the memory
tester you are used to should work just fine.

Are you actually running a 64-bit Operating System? (As I said -having the
hardware for it and actually doing it - two different things.)
 
Stan Brown said:
I'm a big fan of the memory-test utility at memtest.org.

But now I have a 64-bit computer. Is the ISO bootable image
compatible with 64-bit PCs? The site doesn't say. It does mention
the i5 core chip, which is what I have.

And if I can't use memtest, does anyone know a good memory-test
program? I really like the memtest approach of a bootable image, so
that it's not dependent on the operating system.
Click to expand...

As Shenan was saying, most personal computers produced within the last 10
years has 64 bit architecture (actually before Windows XP 64 bit was
originally produced.) 32 or 64 bit operating systems will run on a 64 bit
architecture enabled computer platform but 64 bit will not run on a 32 bit
architecture system. That said most 32 bit programs will also run on either
64 or 32 bit operating systems but 64 bit programs will not run on 32 bit
operating systems (Windows 2000, Windows XP (home or Pro), Vista 32 or Win 7
32 bit.)

The first operating system that has had fairly wide device drivers
(sub-programs that actually operate devices attached to the computer such as
printers, scanners, etc.) created for it is Vista 64 bit with Win 7 having
even more being produced for it.)

All that said, your memory test program should run without any issues on any
hardware you currently have. Remember to create your bootable CD from the
ISO bootable image prior to attempting to boot from the program to test the
memory. A bootable CD is totally operating system independent (the
computer's OS isn't loaded) as the CD contains whatever operating system the
program's creator desires to use to test the memory.
 
Your hardware (or the few parts that need to be) allow you to now use a
64-bit Operating System. You don't have to (most likely) and the memory
tester you are used to should work just fine.

Are you actually running a 64-bit Operating System? (As I said -having the
hardware for it and actually doing it - two different things.)
Click to expand...

Yes, it's 64-bit Windows 7. But memtest is a boot image itself; it
doesn't boot the operating system.

Come to think of it, "64-bit" in the hardware would refer to the
address space, right? The actual RAM is still going to consist of
eight-bit bytes, just potentially more of them. Or am I off base
here?
 
All that said, your memory test program should run without any issues on any
hardware you currently have. Remember to create your bootable CD from the
ISO bootable image prior to attempting to boot from the program to test the
memory.
Click to expand...

Thanks to you and Shenan for your reassurances. I know that the ISO
image is independent of the OS -- that's one of the main attractions
for me.

The laptop that is now showing its age (66 months) had bad RAM -- I'm
not sure if it was shipped that way or if the RAM went bad within the
first year. The symptom was BSOD if I ran several programs together,
but no problem if I didn't. I thought it was a Windows issue. When
I ran the memtest.org image it found the exact bad bit in about five
seconds.

So on my new computer, I want to test the RAM before I load anything
critical on there. (I've downloaded the ISO image and will burn it
from a known good computer.) I'll also do a full hard drive scan to
get bad sectors marked before anything is written to them.



I know this is an XP group, so I won't post here about Windows 7,
beyond one comment that might help others getting into Windows 7: I
bought two O'Reilly books, /Windows 7 Up and Running/ and /Windows 7
Annoyances/. I highly recommend the Annoyances book (based on as
much of it as I've read so far, and my very positive experience with
/Windows XP Annoyances/). But IMHO /Windows 7 Up and Running/ was a
waste of money: lots of fluff about included application programs and
how great they are and very, very little practical advice about
configuring the system.
 
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