memory diagnostic tools

i think my memory may be going bad... recently my computer has been suffering some glitches, and i, and the people i have talked to, ahve come to the conclusion that there may be something wrong with the memory...

i was wondering if anyone could reccomend any good memory diagnostic tools...

You could check out this Microsoft diagnostic tool:
http://oca.microsoft.com/en/windiag.asp

I haven't used it but it should be sufficient. Unless you have a mac or something...

I'm sure you'll get recommendations for other utilies...

Lemme ask you something.. When was the last time you formatted your hard drive? What people don't really understand is that your computer (over time) gets pilled up with crap that you don't even know about.. Stuff like spyware, cookies, history, your downloads, hidden files, etc. that are lagging down your memory.. I format at least once every 6 months (AT LEAST!)..

hah.. every 6months..
if you take care of your comp, you dont have to.
<- takes excellent care..

Ive only formatted.. *thinks*
in 2002 once.

formatting, is a last resort, as it should be atleast

i ghost my harddrive every couple of months...
my computer gets scanned for virus' every day with the lastest updates from symantec...
same goes for spyware... every day...

and thanks JrzyCrim, ill try that when i get home...

Diagnostic for memory only .

Memtest86+ 1.25
http://www.majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=4226

GoldMemory 6.64
http://www.majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=325

ASTRA32 - Advanced System Information Tool 0.95 Beta
http://www.majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=4052

PCMark04 Build 120
http://www.majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=4051


Memtest86 is the tried and true memory benchmarker,
if you have memory problems ,it will find them

I don't care how good you take care of your system.. I am VERY organized but it's not about the stuff you DO see.. It's about the stuff you do NOT see.. You cannot go through over a million files and if you do than your crazy.. Formatting is easy.. I image my hard drive, format it, then put everything back on that I need and use.. I run 2 hard drives so I always have everything backed up..

I am not saying you must format but is a good idea.. It's like owning a car.. You can take care of it, wash it, keep it clean, etc.. But, inevitably you are going to have to buy a new car.. Same as with your hard drive.. The best way, and easiest way to keep it clean is to format it regularly..

how would i go about formatting my hard drive ?? ive heard about people doing it but it seams like a good idea and i wanted to try it


questions first

what do i lose do i lose games programs or anything important
do i need the windows xp disc to reinstall or anything ( would be bad cuz i lost my disc and my pc is custom built so i cant get 1)

how long will it take i dont like waiting and im not very patient

When you format your harddrive it wipes the harddrive so yes you loose all your programs. But the biggest problem with formating is that people forget to burn their drivers to disc before they format so when they get windows reinstalled it doesnt work properly because you dont have the drivers for Motherboard, Video, sound or chipset. If you still realy want to format. these are the instructions. http://www.buildeasypc.com/sw/windows_xp.htm

Some computer brands (i think dell does) come with a CD with all your drivers on it so you need to use that after you have formated and reinstalled windows.

What are these glitches? If we knew we maybe able to help more constructively.

First off you have to be educated.lol
To reformat is to FDISK is to wipe your H/D clean.

you need to read ALL about it ,then make the call if you want
to go ahead and do it ! your PC will love you for it.
But first after you have read whats the correct way to prepare.

ever since the CD/RW became reality ,people with an inkling to
reformat have had the insight to BURN all there Drivers,Programs
,Prized possessions,and just all around favorite stuff,,,before they
take on FDISKing and Reformating the H/D .

Most programs that you like ,utilitys whatnot ,you burn just the
excutible,not the whole folder,program..or go onto the the net
and download the things that you would like to reload onto the
H/D after you have installed the Operating System..

When you have reinstalled the Operating system there is also
a logical order that you install things....like (in this case we will use
INTEL .I would load the Mainboard drivers(Intel(R) Chipset Software)
then (because it cause grief if you install it later on some systems)i do
Intel Application Accelerator ,thens it's DirectX 9.0c...then Nvidia or ATI
(if your using some other kind of graphics card other than what uses
those drivers ,,,well then you need to come into the 21st century) anyway ,next comes Sound drivers...and with all these so far ,as long
as you have a internet connection,,you can go online and get the most up to date drivers for all this stuff..now is when i go for my progra
and cool stuff that i've saved,that i burnt on to CD's..and just re-install
that (Music,Virus programs,utilitys, i have a ton of stuff) but it's much esier to put everything back if's it's on a BURNT CD.

I slipstream everything,but were not going to getinto that right now,
I Fdisk,and reformatt almost every 2 months( I keep my OS on one H/D
and everything else on 2 others) so it's easy for me .

you need to learn about FDISK (it's the only way ) to make a new install
of an OS ,,,FLY
FDISK :
http://www.fdisk.com/home/

http://fdisk.radified.com/

http://www.karbosguide.com/hardware/module6a6.htm

and then you need to learn about REFORMATTING
REFORMATTING :
http://www.cyberwalker.net/faqs/how-tos ... l-faq.html

http://www.computerhope.com/sfdisk1.htm


Ask questions !

Hello - I also think I might be having memory problems so will run the memory diagnostics when I get home tonight.

My computer is a 4 yr old Dell Latitude CSx H500T laptop.

My problems started with my computer hanging in startup and found it started working again when I pulled the Xircom Modem/Ethernet Card out of the cardbus slot (it used to work but it stopped sometime since I got a wireless adaptor which is plugged into my other Cardbus slot of which I have 2).

Now the bottom cardbus slot will not work at all. It recognises the card but cannot find resources to work it (both the Xircom and the Wireless adaptor in that slot). The Xircom card still works in the other slot so I don't think its a problem with the Xircom or its configuration.

I thought it might be a corrupt hard drive (as I was using the original 8GB drive the laptop came with) so I bought a new 20GB drive (as that is all the laptop can take). The new drive works great but I still have the problem with the bottom card slot.

I loaded up McAfee Antivirus software last night and received some memory errors when it tried to update the scan engine over the internet.

Anyway - if I find it is a memory problem - what's the solution? I've actually ordered an additional 128MB memory for the computer but if there is something wrong with the original 128MB RAM it came with am I just wasting my money?

First off get rid of McAfee Antivirus ,and don't use norton !
you need a nice lite Anti-virus thats low on resources,has
daily updates ,and is free(plus will always find things that
the overhyped resource hog Antivirus's won't) always remember
smaller the better . specialy with a 20Gb laptop.

http://www.majorgeeks.com/downloads29.html
you want AntiVir Personal Edition 6.27.00.03


you can make shure you are up to date,with those drivers.

you have 256mb in that ?
have you ever done a repair to XP (do have an XP,CD) ?

If you want just run this :Memtest86+ 1.25
you have to put it on a Floopy ,after you download it
to let it run,,,but if you thinks it's your memory,,this will
tell you for shure.
http://www.majorgeeks.com/download955.html

thanks for the tips.

the computer currently has 128MB of which i have ordered another 128MB to slot into the extra memory module

i'm running W2K as I understand XP is resource hungry.

I will try out Memtest+86 tonight and let you know how it goes!

sry guys, i completely forgot about this tread, the tools that JrzyCrim posted worked fine, and they said my memory was fine...

as it turns out it was my motherboard (or processor - i replaced both) that was bad... but im having absolutely no problems now, so omce again thanks all.