RAM - Test with Memtest86+

omg... i'm in my 26 hour running and i'm only at pass number 8 :S

Like
*****Pass complete, no errors,perss Esc to exit***** ?

You can stop the test after 7 passes are complete.

It's recommended to run a full 7 passes, see the first page.
The same is recommended on many sites, the errors can come on the later passes.

RAM can pass a few full 7 passes of memtest86+, only to have errors on the next pass. This means there is a problem with the RAM.

This is just the way electronics are, fickle at the best of times.

maxseven said:

Well I dunno where the "7 passes minimum" comes from; the memtest86.com help info says

Memtest86 executes indefinitely. The pass counter increments each time that all of the selected tests have been run. Generally a single pass is sufficient to catch all but the most obscure errors. However, for complete confidence when intermittent errors are suspected testing for a longer period is advised.

So how long you wanna run is up to the discretion of the tester and IMO while "overnight" is prudent if you have a questionable build or "used" memory or something, a single good pass for a brand-new set of DIMMs when you're time-constrained is not imprudent.

Our own personal experiences here on the forums show that it would be imprudent to recommend anything LESS than 7 or 8 passes. When RAM problems are suspected, we should plan on running Memtest for a good long time.

Otherwise, the first pass shows no errors and then the RAM is assumed to be good.

I would agree 1 pass is usually enough, and you should always let it complete at least 1.

But, I always recommend just setting it up, and let it go overnight.
The only reason is that I have seen some wierd things happen where it would complete 1 pass successfully, yet 1 stick was actually bad.

Its times like this where that bad stick may show up on the 3rd, or maybe even the 4th time time through.

This is however rare to happen in my experience, and 1 pass is usually enough 99% of the time.

Just to see if your RAM is ok, of coarse it's up to the individual, if you're having crashes, freezes, and are testing hardware then a more thorough test is needed.

I have seen memtest86+ have no errors for a 'couple' of 7 pass runs, then on another test show many errors.

If you are troubleshooting hardware, be systematic, I have seen RAM issue come up again after many other hardware tests have been run.
The phrase 'but I ran the memory test before and it passed' has been mentioned a lot, many sites including motherboard, RAM, OC'ing, say RAM is the biggest cause of hardware issues.