Prime95 and Memtest86

[Kabob]

So now that I've built my new system, I want to make sure that everything is working as it should be. I downloaded Prime95 and Memtest86 in hopes of:
A. Making sure that my setup will run well overclocked as it is (HTT running at 235MHz at the moment)
B. Making sure that my memory is in good shape, since stuff seems to be loading awfully slow for 1GB.

So I ran Prime95 for a few mins (I understand it takes hours) and it sat there, nothing happening. Once you stop the test, will it tell you how your system did, or is it a "if your system is still running after 24 hours, you're good to go" kind of test??

As for Memtest, how exactly do I run the thing? I saw that I put some file on a floppy disk and restart, but I really couldn't understand exactally what it file I was supposed to put on this disk, and how to get the program running, and how to tell how my RAM did...

Can anyone clear these 2 things up for me real speedy-like??

Thanks!

-Kabob

 

[Navid]

It is better to test the memory first.
Download the memtest and follow the instructions. It creates a boot floppy that runs memtest.
Then, put the floppy in the drive and reboot and let it run. Watch it for 10 minutes. If you get errors, reduce the memory overclock or increase the RAM voltage only by one step. Never change anything too much at once. If it creates no errors after 10 minutes, let it run overnight. The next day, if there are no errors, your memory is stable. If there are errors, you need to reduce overclock or increase voltage.

After you pass memtest overnight, leave the memory alone. Now, run prime95. Let it run for 10 minutes. If it stops, you need to reduce the CPU overclock or increase the VCore. If it runs for 20 minutes, let it run overnight. If it is still running the next day, your CPU is OK too.

If you are not sure if it is the memory or the CPU that is causing instability, take the memory out of the picture. Set the memory:CPU ratio to 4:5. Then, the memory will be underclocked. Now, run prime95 and find the max your CPU can handle.
Now that you know your CPU limit, you can go back to 1:1 and see how high your memory can go.

Keep in mind, overclocking voids warranties!

 

[Kabob]

That's an excellent description. Thanks!!

-Kabob

P.S. well, since I don't HAVE a warranty for the CPU or Mobo, that's not a big deal. And I'm confident that my RAM can handle the load.

 

[PremiumG]

is memtest for windows a good substitute for memtest86?

 

[SickBeast]

Originally posted by: PremiumG
is memtest for windows a good substitute for memtest86?

Not really. It can't test the memory being used by windows. If you have XP, that's alot of memory.

 

[Navid]

As mentioned by SickBeast, windows itself needs RAM too. When you are booting to windows, windows uses some RAM and that part of the ram is "reserved" and cannot be used by any other utility. Hence, that part of the RAM cannot be exercised and checked while in windows.
If the sensitivity of the RAM happens to be in the section that is reserved by windows, you may get a "green light" while you should really get red!

 

[lobadobadingdong]

prime95 is just a distributed computing project it stresses your memory and processor well. (you can use folding at home or seti at home to achieve the same goal)

memtest is just a popular memory diagnostic utility.

 

[Kabob]

Originally posted by: Navid
It is better to test the memory first.
Download the memtest and follow the instructions. It creates a boot floppy that runs memtest.

The instructions are pretty vague. Which of the files do I put on a disk? Or do I click one while I have a disk in the floppy drive and it'll automatically setup the files??

Anyone know what I should be doink??

-Kabob

 

[HiDeAtHfInItIoN]

word

 

[Navid]

Originally posted by: kabob983
The instructions are pretty vague. Which of the files do I put on a disk? Or do I click one while I have a disk in the floppy drive and it'll automatically setup the files??

-Kabob

Download the precompiled version installable from windows or DOS.
http://www.memtest86.com/memt31a.zip

Unzip all the contents into a folder. Put a floppy (will be erased) in the floppy drive. Run install.bat.