MemTest64 crashes even though other memory tests don’t

[ir_cow]

@Segundoh I just checked Gigabyte X670E Master. It doesn't even have GDM more Command rate options.

 

[Segundoh]

I do a lot of memory testing. I've been doing it for at lease 10+ years & this is what I know.

Each memory tester out there including different version of the same program maybe different. ie different test pattern are added or taken away. So when one version may past all test, another version may fail.

All memory testers require a little bit of system memory to work. So let't look at this carefully. Depending on where the program has allocate a little bit of system memory to run the program, you must remember the program itself can be corrupted (normally not permanent) due to the high level of errors in the memory module. ...ie what i'm saying here is, the program itself may not have loaded correctly due to memory. fault(s). Testing within windows is a bad idea because windows itself may not have loaded correctly. Besides this windows OS is occupying some of system memory which can't be tested.

The best way to test your memory is to use an external standalone bootable device that loads the program & uses little as possible system memory. This is about the program not loading or hitting a bad part of your system memory.

Memory faults are sometimes difficult to detect, but if you have the right professional hardware, "all faults" are capture. .& when I say "all faults", I mean every single bit of fault, there is no escape or hiding place. Understanding memory faults is very difficult at times. It's not always easy to understand what's going on.. It took me many years to understand what's going on & how test programs work, which test pattern triggered certain type of fault(s) within the memory module.

At the end of the day, if you system is unstable & you suspect it's the memory module, you need to know what type of fault you are dealing with. Unfortunately most end user(s) will not know the answer to this.

I see, so that’s why it’s important to try out so many different memory testers even if one version seems to work. So, if just MemTest64 failed and MemTest86 and MemTest86+ are both working fine, does that mean it’s probably a Windows error rather than a memory error? Are there any other good bootable device memory testers?

If the MemTest64 thing is a memory error, how should I detect what is causing that memory fault? I don’t have any professional hardware, but I suppose I can get it.

additioanlyl, it seems that BIOS issues are giving me issues with booting up. I set PBO to Enabled and I then ran a memory test with MemTest86+. It didn’t detect any errors, but my PC didn’t boot up right after I restarted it; maybe PBO wasn’t actually enabled even though I restarted it once before running MemTest86+..

@Segundoh I just checked Gigabyte X670E Master. It doesn't even have GDM more Command rate options.

I see. I would change that if I could since PBO is making my PC fail to boot up if set it to Enabled on its own. PBO is definitely actually important unlike thenother two. I’m pretty sure this worked with the previous BIOS version, so I’ll try to revert to that. People are saying the beta BIOS is more stable as well, but I’d rather wait until that leaves beta.

 

[delshay]

I see, so that’s why it’s important to try out so many different memory testers even if one version seems to work. So, if just MemTest64 failed and MemTest86 and MemTest86+ are both working fine, does that mean it’s probably a Windows error rather than a memory error? Are there any other good bootable device memory testers?

If the MemTest64 thing is a memory error, how should I detect what is causing that memory fault? I don’t have any professional hardware, but I suppose I can get it.

I'm not familiar with memtest64/memtest86, but I do know at lease one of these program you can boot directly from a USB stick. The latest version is more likely to have the more complex test pattern which will trigger more faults (if any) than the older version. So there's no need to go back older versions unless it is known to have a bug. Before starting any test I always clean the memory contacts & make sure it is latched properly in the socket.

Be aware certain type of memory fault can corrupt BIOS. So you may want to check or do a reflash before starting a new memory test. **** Re-flashing motherboard firmware at your own risk ***.

 

[Segundoh]

I'm not familiar with memtest64/memtest86, but I do know at lease one of these program you can boot directly from a USB stick. The latest version is more likely to have the more complex test pattern which will trigger more faults (if any) than the older version. So there's no need to go back older versions unless it is known to have a bug. Before starting any test I always clean the memory contacts & make sure it is latched properly in the socket.

Be aware certain type of memory fault can corrupt BIOS. So you may want to check or do a reflash before starting a new memory test. **** Re-flashing motherboard firmware at your own risk ***.

MemTest86 is the one that boots directly from a USB stick. It seems that it works fine with EXPO I, but it failed after 8 minutes when I used EXPO II which apparently tightens some timings that are left on Auto for EXPO I. However, i was running some BIOS setting that randomly makes my PC unable to boot since ASUS AM5 motherboards seem to have terrible BIOS versions, so I’m thinking it’s related to that. I ran another 9 passes with those settings, and it passed. Right now, I’m trying it with just EXPO II and all my other BIOS settings set to default. Do you think this is a problem with my RAM, EXPO II, or my other BIOS settings? I suppose if it is a problem with the latter two I won’t use them and all. I did make sure to clean the memory contacts, make sure it’s latched properly too, and reflash the BIOS too. Also, how many passes do you usually do?

 

[delshay]

If Memtest86 detects a fault, then you have to treat that as real genuine fault(s) under whatever current Ram/PC settings you are currently running. You have to adjust timings settings & run the test again until it is cleared & shows zero errors. If you are unable to get the rated speed out of the memory module(s), then maybe it's time to RMA them.

Running a computer with memory module chucking out errors can corrupt files on the drive. So you have a choice, (1) do a fresh windows install. (2) do a rollback. (3) do a LIVE windows ON-LINE file checker.. AFAIK the LIVE online file checker should be enough to clear all corrupted files. As a golden rule i never have any of my drives connected when testing for memory faults. Either disable it in the BIOS or disconnect one end of the data cable.

How many passes to run a memory tester depends on what type of fault you are dealing with.. ..If you knew the type of fault you are dealing with, then you could shorten the test significantly by just running one or two test pattern.

There's another memory tester out there called Memtest86+. I think this one is different to the normal Memtest86. Please remember I don't use any of these programs in this thread. I use professional hardware memory testers.

 

[Segundoh]

If Memtest86 detects a fault, then you have to treat that as real genuine fault(s) under whatever current Ram/PC settings you are currently running. You have to adjust timings settings & run the test again until it is cleared & shows zero errors. If you are unable to get the rated speed out of the memory module(s), then maybe it's time to RMA them.

Running a computer with memory module chucking out errors can corrupt files on the drive. So you have a choice, (1) do a fresh windows install. (2) do a rollback. (3) do a LIVE windows ON-LINE file checker.. AFAIK the LIVE online file checker should be enough to clear all corrupted files. As a golden rule i never have any of my drives connected when testing for memory faults. Either disable it in the BIOS or disconnect one end of the data cable.

How many passes to run a memory tester depends on what type of fault you are dealing with.. ..If you knew the type of fault you are dealing with, then you could shorten the test significantly by just running one or two test pattern.

There's another memory tester out there called Memtest86+. I think this one is different to the normal Memtest86. Please remember I don't use any of these programs in this thread. I use professional hardware memory testers.

I see, that makes sense. Im still kind of confused if EXPO I or EXPO II is the real rated speed of my memory modules; apparently, EXPO I is the ASUS settings whereas EXPO II is the RAM settings or something, but I’m not quite sure about the distinction. I guess EXPO II are the real rated speeds since it manually sets some subtimings as opposed to setting them to Auto, but a lot of ASUS mobo users are apparently reporting they get memory errors and such with EXPO II. EXPO I seems fine, but I’ll test that some more to make sure.

oh, I did also try MemTest86+. That worked fine with EXPO I, but I’ll try that with EXPO II. What are some of these professional hardware testers you use? I doubt I’ll be able to get them or even afford them if I can, but I’m curious about that a bit if it’ll help a lot with these errors.