up vote 4 down vote favorite

I'm having trouble with my PC freezing, and decided to run Memtest. What happens is: no error is being revealed, but the test gets halted when it reaches 8:30 min (16% of total test). Does this mean something? What should I do?

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Are you running MemTest86+ 5.01? – misha256 Feb 12 '15 at 5:24
    
Memtest86 v5.1, is that is? If so, yes :) – Aloizio Macedo Feb 12 '15 at 5:42
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Ok you're using a different version. I use this one: memtest.org. In any case, both versions share a lot of the same underlying code. When you run yours, is SMP (multi CPU/Core) mode enabled? That could absolutely be the issue. It's buggy and doesn't work with certain PC configurations. – misha256 Feb 12 '15 at 5:47
    
I'll check tomorrow and leave feedback. Thank you for your attention! – Aloizio Macedo Feb 12 '15 at 6:02
    
Sorry, I could not find where that option is available : /, but I downloaded the v6. version of what I said and the problem persists. – Aloizio Macedo Feb 15 '15 at 16:04
up vote 7 down vote

I recently hit the same issue on Memtest 5.01 Release version. The test fails exactly at Step #7. At around 20-25% progress indicator.

If something similar is happening to you, the recommended solution is to not use SMP mode. I am guessing you did the the same thing as me. Hit F2 and enable SMP when the test starts. If that is not what happened and you do not see SMP enabled in the memtest86+ screen then you should try the other solutions recommended here.

Currently there is no known fix for this. Officially on memtest.org86+ only 5.01 exists as latest release as of this writing. If you are using a higher version it is likely an OEM but likely uses the same underlying base code with minor modification inheriting the issue.

Reference: http://forum.canardpc.com/threads/84663-Memtest86-is-freezing-while-running-test-7

When I ran the tests without SMP everything checks out. The only reason I investigated is because I find it hard to believe Hardware will be the most likely cause of issues so I would suggest trying different methods to confirm hardware failure.

I wasted half a day on this test and google brought me here first. Now I hope other can save that time to run test without SMP.

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Same thing here, three years later. Running tests with SMP disabled works, but running with SMP enabled freeze at the exact same percentage in step 7. – Andreas Paulsson Apr 17 '16 at 17:40
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I had this issue again in March 2016 - 5 years later and hit the same. Forgot about this whole thing. Hit google and did not find my answer at all?? wasted hours searching. Can we all upvote this please to save the planet the collective waste of electricity. thank you – Vangel May 4 '16 at 10:48
    
Exactly this was the case with me too! – chrulri Aug 22 '16 at 19:56
    
I have a similar issue but at step #5. – einpoklum Feb 17 '17 at 15:55
up vote 2 down vote
+50

If Memtest freezes up, and doesn't recover (if you just let it keep running a while), then I can only conclude that this really is a good, strong indicator that the memory is not properly accessible.

Usually when there are memory errors, MemTest does not have a problem continuing to run, but it does continue, and so MemTest draws something on the screen. Having it completely freeze does indicate that the system's stability was affected, which is one of the possible symptoms of memory not working right.

This could be a bad memory stick, a bad motherboard, or maybe some other issue like a bug with a CPU feature. Disabling the CPU feature might help make Memtest work better in that case, and if so, may result in the system working better at other times (when you have a normal operating system booted up). There may be other possible causes; in theory, a damaged motherboard could cause errors when trying to access memory.

I would not trust this computer with any important data-handling tasks until I troubleshot further (which may involve replacing parts with other parts) to get to the bottom of the issue. I might tolerate the computer for something like playing a video, where a bit of inaccurate memory handling (loss) might be tolerable, for entertainment. If I cared about the presentation, like a business meeting where I am relying on the system stability so that I have a nice presentation, then I wouldn't be trusting this system. Understand that memory is needed to access data; bad memory can result in incorrect data being written, which could cause further troubles. Do treat this as a top priority until it really seems resolved.

And if you've been doubting whether there really is an issue or not, I'm interpreting your MemTest results to say yes, most certainly: there is. I'm not trying to say that I know exactly what is causing the problem, but I am confirming that something is wrong. Memtest did its job by conclusively telling you that.

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It may help to add this information: My computer is freezing, approximately twice, three times per day. When it freezes, a loud noise comes on the speaker. Is it associated? – Aloizio Macedo Feb 15 '15 at 22:20
    
Speaker noise can be caused by all sorts of things, like interference in a wire, or a motherboard misbehaving (and maybe sending out weird/wrong/bad sound data out its sound ports). Likely related? Really don't know; there's lots of possibilities to that. Could be; very good chance that it's not caused by bad memory; maybe some other bad part. Really hard to tell since so many things can cause that particular symptom. However, freezing is often something that is quite commonly caused by bad memory. Likely related? Yes, high probability on that one. Worth checking out. – TOOGAM Feb 15 '15 at 22:27
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You shouldn't "only conclude". There always a chance it's a MemTest bug, and in fact, several people have been encountering one lately. – einpoklum Apr 9 '17 at 22:01
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I've hit the SMP-freeze issue with three different memory sets, all of the same properties (one RMA and one to check if RMA is a solution). It is either a bug in MemTest86+ or it's the CPU/Mobo which triggers this issue. – Daniel F Jun 12 '17 at 11:45
up vote 2 down vote

There's likely a bug with MemTest+ 5.01, see this question of mine from a while ago:

How likely is it that I've encountered a MemTest+ bug?

It may or may not be the reason you're seeing a freeze. It's still quite likely that there's an actual problem with your memory.

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up vote 0 down vote

It's probably because there is a memory fault that even memtest can't deal with. If you have multiple sticks of RAM, remove all but one and run memtest again. Repeat with each RAM module so you can identify the faulted one.

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up vote 0 down vote

Try remove RAM module(s), and clean the gold contacts with a dry sponge or eraser (rubber). Sometimes there is a thin film of oxidation, and the computer freezes randomly.

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