Is there a way to test RAM on a Windows 2008 R2 x64 machine?
I have 6GB of RAM, and I suspect one of my 4 sticks may be bad.
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1What sort of machine is that? A decent server will tell you if RAM is starting to throw too many errors.– John GardeniersFeb 9, 2010 at 19:45
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The decent ones give you a nice panel error like "DIMM#3 is fried - Replace it!" (and the really nice (and expensive) ones let you do the replacement without shutting down, but I don't know any x86 ones like that, only IBM p- and i-series :-)– voretaq7Feb 9, 2010 at 20:36
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3 Answers
Unless you have a manufacturer-provided diagnostic tool (that you trust) you will probably need to take an outage window and run something like Memtest86 (http://www.memtest86.com/).
If you suspect bad RAM I would advise runing Memtest86 anyway regardless of what any manufacturer diagnostics say.
answered Feb 9, 2010 at 18:59
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2By preference I now use MemTest+ ( memtest.org ) it's got a bunch of changes that make it play better with newer hardware and doesn't bug out on some systems that give the original memtest heartburn. Looks and works the same though.– HelvickFeb 9, 2010 at 20:18
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Cool, I wasn't aware of MemTest+ -- Looks like a nice pile of enhancements :)– voretaq7Feb 9, 2010 at 20:34
Windows Server 2008 (and Vista/7) have a built in memory testing tool. It requires a reboot. Type "memory" into the start menu and it will be one of the first returns.
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1If MS is providing a tool you can avoid downloading & burning memtest86– voretaq7Feb 9, 2010 at 20:11
I think that memtest is the best choice. The latest versions run on 64bits processors and are able to manage more than 4GB as well. Note: you cannot run tests with the OS up and running: you have to shutdown your box and boot the memtest live cd / usb.
Anyway I suggest, if merely possible, to plan an outage and perform a full memetest cycle for each ram module, separately.
This way you will be able to tell not only if your problem is related to the ram but which stick is the culprit too.
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