memory troubleshooting

memory troubleshooting

Comparing with other computer problems memory problems are less common as they have no rotating or moving parts and have fewer points of failure. For this reason, many RAM problems remain undiagnosed. Normally memory lasts longer than other computer components

Symptoms of Memory Problem

When you first turn on your computer it runs fine, but over time with higher loads the overall performance of the computer goes down. The website takes very longer time to open. Some applications take unusual amount of time to get launched. This type of slow performance degradation with memory intensive programs may be caused by a RAM problem.

Computer may randomly restart while you are in the middle of something. Sometimes it may freeze the entire system (i.e. mouse, key-board do not work). It may also reboot almost immediately upon opening the desktop. This could be due to faulty RAM.

A blue screen with white text flashes before restarting the computer. Blue-screen errors are annoying and hard to trace because you will no time to read the error message. RAM problem is the main factor of this situation.

Most frequently accessed files are corrupted due to bad RAM. Situation can worsen over time.

Attempts to install new applications repeatedly fail for unknown reasons. You can deduce this fact when you can normally install the same application on some other machine with identical configuration. RAM problem can cause this situation.

Solution: RAM is a component that must be present in a computer system. With a faulty RAM the system can not run. Hence it is important to know how to identify if the RAM installed is faulty. How to install RAM in a computer has already been explored in section 2.2.2. So, it is appropriate to explore the mechanism to test a RAM.

There are two approaches for testing RAM:

i) Hardware-based

ii) Software-based

Hardware-based solution requires special devices called RAM tester. Since these devices incur additional cost and expertise we prefer software-based testing. The most available software in this regard is open-source (i.e. you do not need to buy it). In this section we use MemTest86+, a free and reliable memory diagnosis tool to explain each step.

Steps for RAM Software-based Diagnosis

Step 1: Download Software. Download the MemTest86+ Auto Installer for USB Key .ZIP file from the developers site: http://www.memtest.org/. Do not download any other version, be sure that you are downloading the Installer for USB Key version to use in your USB device. If you prefer using a CD/DVD instead, download the Pre-Compiled Bootable ISO (.zip) file. Locate the .ISO file within the downloaded .ZIP file and drag it to the desktop. Now write that .ISO file to the CD/DVD using your preferred CD/DVD writing software.

Step 2: Create an Installer. Locate the .exe file within the downloaded .ZIP file, and double-click it to open the USB installer. The screen should appear.

Locate the .exe file within the downloaded .ZIP file, and double-click it to open the USB installer. Insert a USB flash drive (MemTest86+ is approximately 180 KB in size so any USB flash drive will do) and follow the prompts to install MemTest86+ to the flash drive. Once it is finished, close the installer. You should see a screen similar to the Figure 7 .9.

Step 3: Running MemTest86+. Insert the USB flash drive into a USB2.0 port (or CD/DVD into the CD/DVD drive) and boot the computer. Enter the BIOS/uEFI and ensure the USB (or CD/DVD) option is 1st in the boot priority, and save the changed setting if required.

Reboot the computer.

The system will boot from the USB (or CD/DVD) and MemTest86+ will start automatically - it requires no user intervention. when it is completed successfully. With faulty RAM the errors are highlighted in red color.

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