Help with Memtest-86 v4.10 & memory problem

trinaz · 02 Jun 2010

AMD Athlon II X4 620 CPU
ASUS M4A785-M Motherboard
Current bios (0906 - 4/14/2010)
OCZ XTC Platinum Edition PC2-8500 DDR2 2GB OCZ2P10662GK (4gb total in blue slots
650 watt PSU
Windows 7 Pro 64bit OS
Hatachi 500 GB Hard drive
2 sticks PC2-8500 DDR2 2GB OCZ2P10662GK (Asus approved memory for this board)

Have an issue with my MB and memory I think. Have 1066 MHz memory in system but system is unstable (relatively quick blue screens and dumps) unless I run this at 800 MHz. However...if I run only one stick ( 2gb)...system runs fine at 1066 (533Mhz) ?

I'm running Memtest-86 4.10 now...

What settings/options are best to run Memtest under.....and how do I submit test results dump here...?...where do I get the Memtest dump from ?

Thanks....TR

usasma · 02 Jun 2010

MemTest:
Memory Diagnostics (read the details at the link)

Upload Dump Files:
Please go to C:\Windows\Minidump and zip up the contents of the folder. Then upload/attach the .zip file with your next post.
Left click on the first minidump file.
Hold down the "Shift" key and left click on the last minidump file.
Right click on the blue highlighted area and select "Send to"
Select "Compressed (zipped) folder" and note where the folder is saved.
Upload that .zip file with your next post.

If you have issues with "Access Denied" errors, try copying the files to your desktop and zipping them up from there. If it still won't let you zip them up, post back for further advice.

If you don't have anything in that folder, please check in C:\Windows for a file named MEMORY.DMP. If you find it, zip it up and upload it to a free file hosting service (not RapidShare as the analysts usually can't download from it) - then post the link to it.
Then, follow the directions here to set your system for Minidumps (much smaller than the MEMORY.DMP file): Set MiniDump

trinaz · 02 Jun 2010

Thanks again ...one more thing...does it matter if I run the test with both 2gb sticks at the same time...or should I run the tests separately for each stick ?

TR

Fumz · 02 Jun 2010

If you want to be thorough, run each stick separately for 8 hours minimum. Otherwise, if you get errors, you won't know which stick is bad.

However, in your case, you may as well do both to save time, because after all, if one is bad you have to RMA the whole kit anyway.

trinaz · 03 Jun 2010

If I have this right...memtest will store the dump file in C:\Windows\Minidump ? Question is if I run multiple test and/or seperate stick and/or slot tests...will these "dmp's" be "accumulated"...?...in other words dmp1...dmp2 etc...or do I have to zip each dmp file seperatelt before I rerun a second...third..etc...test ?

Planning on also testing each stick in each slot...initial 2 seperate stick tests in slot A1 showed no errors so far... Will run boths sticks at one time today and if neccessary...each stick in each of the four slots ?

Thanks, TR

usasma · 03 Jun 2010

Test all the sticks at once. If they fail, then you can test them individually (see Step 7 of my link above for a procedure)
Memtest doesn't make dump files - it merely runs a test and displays the results on your screen. If you see red in the bottom ½ of the screen - those are the errors.

The Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) is what is associated with the memory dump files. And it will either (depending on your settings) save them in C:\Windows as a file named MEMORY.dmp (it will be overwritten each time the system gets a BSOD) - or in the C:\Windows\Minidump folder as a file with a date sequence associated with it (for example: Mini040410-01.dmp or 040410-12345-01.dmp)

trinaz · 03 Jun 2010

usasma said:

Memtest doesn't make dump files - it merely runs a test and displays the results on your screen. If you see red in the bottom ½ of the screen - those are the errors.

Thanks for your patience...been building my own systems since early 90's but don't think I ever had a memory issue before ?

OK...will run both sticks in slots A1 & B1 next...at present running stick #2 in slot A1...after 8 tests...have 4 errors listed in red at the bottom.

Do I need to copy these errors and/or somehow "save" them for reference....or just now run both sticks at once ( A1&B1 )...check for Memtest errors...the restart Windows normally with both sticks installed and and send along dump file which should occur because of stick # 2 ?

Tim

usasma · 03 Jun 2010

No, the errors are just errors and we can't do anything with them.

The point here is to:
1 - determine which of the sticks are good and which are bad
2 - determine if any of the slots are bad (by testing all slots with a good stick of RAM)

trinaz · 03 Jun 2010

usasma said:

No, the errors are just errors and we can't do anything with them.

The point here is to:
1 - determine which of the sticks are good and which are bad
2 - determine if any of the slots are bad (by testing all slots with a good stick of RAM)

Well...Memtest-86 V4.10 seems to have solved it.....ran 8 hr test on stick 1....everything ok...ran 8 hour test on stick 2...6 errors reported.
Re-ran test on stick 2 in slot one....same errors....ran in slot 2 for 8 tests...same errors....ran in slot 3 for 8 tests...same errors...and slot 4...same errors.

Ran stick 1 in slot 2 for eight more tests...no errros...same for slots 3 & 4.

Will re-run troubled stick 2 tonight in slot 1 for another 10 hours in Memtest-86 V4.10...but I anticipate the same errors report.

Thanks for all you help...appears there is a problem with stick two at 1066 Mhz...even tho it runs OK with no faults at 800 Mhz...but since I paid for the 1066 Mhz...hopefully I can get those results with my OCZ2P10662GK

Two more qestions:

1) Memtest-86 v4.10 reports the following about the memory on all test runs: Settings: Ram: 533 Mhz (DDR1067) / cas : 8-5-5-18 / DDR2 (64bits)
OCZ support had me set cas as 5-5-5-18 ? These settings were confirmed in Windows via Speccy and Cpu-z. Is this an issue ?

------------
Set Processor - NB Voltage to {1.35 volts} [ +150 mv]
Set Memory Clock Mode to {Manual}
Set DRAM Timing Mode to {DCT0}
Set Memory OverVoltage to {2.1 - 2.2 volts}
Set Memory Timings to 5-5-5-18 (TCL-TRCD-TRP-TRAS)
Set Memory Hole Remapping to {Enabled]
Set DCT Unganged Mode to {Always}
------------

2) Would the last memory dump from Windows last session shine any light on the errors of stcik 2 ?

Tim

usasma · 04 Jun 2010

What timing is the bad stick supposed to work at (by spec from the manufacturer)?
Is that the timing that gives no errors? If it's still under warranty, I'd see about having it replaced.

Regardless, how sure are you about that stick not misbehaving - even at the lower timings?

The BSOD won't tell you about the memory failure - so there's no need to post it if you don't want.

I'm not a fan of changing settings - but would suggest checking your system's BIOS for the settings to see what they are. Changing the settings in Windows is a workaround (IMO), so I couldn't be sure that the workaround program isn't messing up.

Also, I used to be an overclocker - years ago. But I gave it up because I just wasn't seeing that rewards from it were worth the time that I spent on it (and my income went up). I find now that running everything on default/auto gives me all the performance that I need (if not, I purchase faster stuff). But, if the default/auto settings don't work - then I consider that a fault of the hardware and would suggest replacing it.