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I was super excited to upgrade my computer from 4GB to 8GB, so much so, I made a pretty amateur mistake: I swapped out the memory while my computer was asleep, and not shut down. Now, I'm not sure this is what is causing my problems, but that's the only thing I can think of at the moment.

So, my issues:

  • When I stream things online, they will randomly slowdown usually resulting in a crappy image and/or weird broken sound for a quick period of time
  • When I play music/movies directly from my computer, the same thing happens but usually not as often

These issues aren't that serious, but it happens often enough to be annoying and I'm worried there could be future unforseen issues.

What tools can I use to diagnose/fix my RAM issues?

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Any updates? How did you get on with extended memtesting? – HaydnWVN Apr 27 '12 at 9:22

migrated from stackoverflow.com Nov 2 '11 at 13:54

4 Answers

up vote 1 down vote accepted

Another vote for Memtest 86+. Better than the windows version with a similar name. Just boot it and leave it running overnight.

It may be a problem with your memory itself, but don't discount an incompatibility with your mobo. Frequently, mobo manufacturers oversell their hardware - yes, it may able to handle 4 x 2GB sticks, but only if the sticks are a particular type/speed/latency/brand of memory. So check with your mobo manufacturer what 8GB RAM configurations will work.

If Memtest86+ reveals no faults, and if you are confident that your mobo supports that RAM, I'd raise the issue with your mobo supplier. If memtest86+ does detect errors, note it could still be due to incompatibility with your motherboard.

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As my issue still exists, I'm leaning towards it being a mobo/memory problem now that I ran memtest 86+ and it hasn't found any issues. I'm going to run it one more time, for a longer amount of time, to see if it catches any issues. – kand Nov 8 '11 at 15:40
up vote 4 down vote

MemTest should do it.

http://hcidesign.com/memtest/

Old school, maybe, but still works. All you really need is a test that will run through all your available RAM, which this will do.

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up vote 4 down vote

Windows 7 has a built in memory tester that you can select from your boot menu. For most part, i've tended to rely on memtest x86+ livecd for checking systems, since by the time i figure i need to test the ram, everything else is already out.

I'd also probably try setting my pagefile to zero, then back to automatic (to clear it out), and running sfc /scannow to rule out system file corruption to be safe.

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Even an 'inplace' Windows reinstall might be what's required... – HaydnWVN Nov 2 '11 at 16:16
presumably. I'm not sure whats wrong yet tho – Journeyman Geek Nov 2 '11 at 16:39
Sometimes finding an exact fault and solution can take a huge amount more time than another more broad (ie reinstall) 'fix', reinstalling can also be seen as a kindof 'housekeeping' or 'spring clean' :) – HaydnWVN Nov 2 '11 at 16:59
true, but if we went for a nuke and pave, that would rule out system file errors, but not ram errors. – Journeyman Geek Nov 3 '11 at 5:32
Very true, +1 for 'nuke and pave'! :D – HaydnWVN Nov 3 '11 at 11:59
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up vote 3 down vote

Memtest (and lots of other VERY useful diagnostic tools) are included on Hiren's Boot CD

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