Memtest+ Errors

[KeithTalent]

So my PC has been running flawlessy for months now, since my last upgrade, but I picked up Fallout 3 yesterday and it started crashing and freezing like crazy; just Fallout 3 though, nothing else is impacted, I just have to close Fallout and everything else is fine, I can start up another game right away and play for hours.

After trying all of the easy fixes for Fallout 3 listed online to no avail, I decided to run Memtest to see if it was a RAM issue. Well according to Memtest+ it is a RAM issue; I received 4 errors (one in test 4 and 7, plus two in test 5).

My question now: is the only way to figure out which stick is bad (I have 4x2 GB) to run Memtest on each stick separately? Just wondering if there is a somewhat faster way to figure it out. I have no idea how to read the errors from Memtest, but I assume it just means a stick or two has gone bad.

Rest of my system for reference (everything at stock):

CPU: Intel Core i5 650
Mobo: ASUS P7P55D-E LX LGA1156 P55 ATX DDR3
RAM: Patriot Sector 5 PGV34G1333ELK 4x2GB DDR3
GPU: HD5770
OS: Windows 7 Ultimate

Thanks in advance for the help!

KT

 

[strep3241]

You have to test each stick individually. I don't think there is a faster way.

I would think most people don't know how to read the errors.

 

[razel]

Yes, test individually. If you want to speed it up, only run the individual tests that failed. Set the bad ones aside. Retest all the good ones using all tests. Why? I ran into some situations where a stick runs fine by itself, but when run dual channel it'll error out. Have fun.

 

[KeithTalent]

Ugh, thanks guys. I may just buy new sticks; I've already spent too much time on this and another dozen hours testing RAM does not sound fun at all.

KT

 

[strep3241]

Normally if there are errors, they will show up in the first hour or two.

 

[KeithTalent]

Yeah, but testing them all indivdually, then as a group will take forever. I think I am going to test them in pairs and if one pair is fine, I'll just buy another two pack. If they both fail, then I'll just avoid trying to play Fallout 3 for now and reassess after the holidays.

KT

 

[RebateMonger]

I ran into some situations where a stick runs fine by itself, but when run dual channel it'll error out. Have fun.

Yeah, I've seen that happen. There's some discussion of it in the Memtest Forums or FAQ (I don't remember exactly).

 

[zephxiii]

In my experience, when you have a bad stick of ram the errors will show up pretty quickly in memtest. It really shouldn't take long at all.

Hell I just used it last week and found a bad stick in my server, it showed an error within about 10 minutes.

Keep in mind there could be a stick that is borderline may take longer for it to show an error, but in my experience bad sticks show up quickly.

I did once have errors in memtest in my workstation earlier this year, but it wasn't from bad sticks, just ram that was overheating lol. I had the side of the case off and air wasn't flowing properly (had a hot running 7800gtx at the time). I've since kept the side of the case on and haven't had a problem with the ram since.

 

[bryanl]

Add a stick at a time until failures reappear, but don't assume the last stick added is always the defective one because it could be one of the others, as adding sticks increases bus loading (capacitance) and slows signal timings. In other words, when errors appear, remove the first stick to see if they go away.

Testing memory does take forever, which is why most companies that make modules don't do a thorough job of it.

 

[Blain]

Just to cover all the bases...

Technical Information
* Troubleshooting Memory Errors
"Please be aware that not all errors reported by Memtest86 are due to bad memory. The test implicitly tests the CPU, L1 and L2 caches as well as the motherboard. It is impossible for the test to determine what causes the failure to occur. However, most failures will be due to a problem with memory module. When it is not, the only option is to replace parts until the failure is corrected.

Once a memory error has been detected, determining the failing SIMM/DIMM module is not a clear cut procedure. With the large number of motherboard vendors and possible combinations of memory slots it would be difficult if not impossible to assemble complete information about how a particular error would map to a failing memory module. However, there are steps that may be taken to determine the failing module.

Memtest86 can not diagnose many types of PC failures. For example a faulty CPU that causes Windows to crash will most likely just cause Memtest86 to crash in the same way."