How do you diagnose your RAM? If your computer crashes after installing a new set of RAMs, there are few possibilities. The first possibility is likely faulty RAM, the second possibility is hardware compatibility. More often than not if it is compatible due to overspec or underspec, your system will not boot up and will make a beeping sound.
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Faulty RAMs are pretty rare, almost unlikely if you bought a branded RAM such as Kingston, Samsung, Corsair, Apache and etc, this is because they performed many tests before distributing them to dealers. Based on my experience, here are some possibilities:
- Defective RAM ( Use both Windows Memory Diagnostics and Memtest86 to perform a deep scan, run twice to confirm, if both tests show the RAM is in good condition, then it is most definitely another issue. )
- Outdated Motherboard BIOS ( Update your Motherboard BIOS if it is outdated )
- Outdated drivers and chip-sets ( Update your drivers and chipsets )
- Overheating of RAM ( Use a table fan to test this )
- Faulty RAM slot ( Swap RAM between slots to see if problem continues )
- Incompatibility with your other hardware such as Asus NVidia GTX 970 Graphic Card. ( I’ve upgraded my RAM to 32GB from 16GB for my Dell XPS 8700, unfortunately, the solution to limit the RAM in Windows as shown in Reddit doesn’t work for me. Read more – GTX 970 unstable on system with 32 GB RAM or 64 GB RAM )
After much trial and error, swapping graphic cards and RAMs. I’ve discovered that my Asus Strix GTX 970 is unstable when my Dell XPS 8700 has a 32GB Kingston HyperX Fury or 24GB Kingston + Samsung RAM. It runs without problem when my system has both my old (4x4GB Samsung) and new (2x8GB Kingston) 16GB RAM installed, and with no problem when it is 32GB with my older GTX 745 graphic card. This is a very old issue, Nvidia appears to be dragging their feet or this is exclusively an Asus GTX970 problem.
1. Windows Memory Diagnostics Tool
17 Tests | Windows
This Window memory Diagnostics Tool is the Pre-installed memory testing software available in Microsoft Windows Vista, Window 7, Windows 8 or 8.1 & Windows 10. The Memory Diagnostics Tool will run automatically when you restart Windows. It might take several minutes for the tool to finish checking your computer’s memory.
Once the test is completed, Windows will restart automatically. If the tool detects errors, you should contact your computer manufacturer for information about fixing them, since memory errors usually indicate a problem with the memory chips in your computer or other hardware problem. Type “Mdsched” and search for the tool.
2. Passmark MemTest86
13 Tests | Windows | Mac | Linux
MemTest86 is the original, free, stand alone memory testing software for x86 computers. MemTest86 boots from a USB flash drive or CD and tests the RAM in your computer for faults using a series of comprehensive algorithms and test patterns. The latest version of MemTest86 supports all the current technologies, including:
- DDR4 RAM (and DDR2 & DDR3) support
- XMP – high performance memory profiles
- UEFI – The new graphical standard for BIOS
- 64bit – From version 5, MemTest86 is native 64bit code
- ECC RAM – support for error-correcting code RAM
- Secure boot – With MemTest86 being code signed by Microsoft
- Graphical interface, mouse support and logging of results to disk
- Self booting off USB or CD, without needing DOS, Linux nor Windows
- Dual booting – Will boot to V4 in BIOS and V6 in UEFI from a single flash drive
3. Rember
Unknown Tests | macOS
Rember is a front-end GUI to the ‘memtest’ command line memory testing program. This application will allow the user to select the number of test loops, as well as the amount of memory to test. There is a ‘Log’ tab that will allow the user to monitor memory testing. The user can toggle a ‘verbose’ switch to limit the amount of output, and can also choose to quit Finder and other applications.
Defective memory can cause computers to malfunction, crash, and behave in a variety of ways which can sometimes baffle end users and computer technicians alike. Apple provides hardware test CDs with most of their products, and there are some third-party utilities for macOS which perform memory testing.
In my experience, these tools have not always been able to quickly and efficiently diagnose memory problems. Rember has been designed to simplify the testing, and diagnosis of these problems.
4. Apple Diagnostics
Apple Hardware Test
Apple Diagnostics is a great way to check your Mac computer’s hardware. Apple Diagnostics helps to identify the potential source of a hardware issue and provides first steps to try and resolve it. Apple Diagnostics will also help you get in touch with Apple Support for further assistance.
5. Memtest64
TechPowerUp Memtest64 is a free lightweight, standalone utility that lets you check your system memory for problems at the hardware-level. It has a graphical interface, and can be run from within Windows.
Memory hardware errors can cause major application crashes, blue-screens of death (BSODs), and data corruption. It is caused due to either faulty hardware, or bad memory timings/frequency. Memtest64 lets you test your memory without having to pull out an MS-DOS boot disk. The utility loads your physical memory with test-patterns, and can push other applications into the pagefile to free up memory for testing.
6. MemTest
MemTest is a RAM tester that runs under Windows. It verifies that your computer can reliably store and retrieve data from memory. A correctly functioning computer should be able to do this with 100% accuracy day in and day out.
A computer that fails these tests, perhaps because of old hardware, damaged hardware, or poorly configured hardware, will be less stable and crash more often. Even worse, it will become even less stable over time as corrupted data is written to your hard disk.
7. Memtest86+
Memtest86+ is a stand-alone memory tester for x86 and x86-64 architecture computers. It provides a more thorough memory check than that provided by BIOS memory tests. Memtest86+ can be loaded and run either directly by a PC BIOS (legacy or UEFI) or via an intermediate bootloader that supports the Linux 16-bit, 32-bit, 64-bit, or EFI handover boot protocol. It should work on any Pentium class or later 32-bit or 64-bit x86 CPU.
