How to test new RAM?

[Shohan]

okay for some reason i ran both memtests86 and memtest86+, but they both do not work on my MBP 2011 2.3 Ghz i7.

The both freeze and don't do anything...

Is this happening to anyone else?

Currently happening for me too. I get an 'Unexpected Interrupt - Halting' error after 7% of the first test. This was after installing 8GB of G.Skill memory that I bought. I'm running the Apple Hardware Test now and downloading the latest Ubuntu ISO to try MemTest on there.

 

[redsteven]

and another tip for everyone.

if u don't wanna pay for memtest86, you can just download a ISO of the latest Ubuntu OS from http://www.ubuntu.com/download/ubuntu/download

the ISO contains memtest and u can run it by booting up from the ISO

So can I just burn the iso to a DVD or use Disk Utility to "restore" the iso to a DVD or a drive partition?

 

[relm1200]

Thanks

This was very helpful to me
Thanks

 

[2499723]

okay for some reason i ran both memtests86 and memtest86+, but they both do not work on my MBP 2011 2.3 Ghz i7.

The both freeze and don't do anything...

Is this happening to anyone else?

I'm having the same problem. If I run version 4 of memtest86, it only shows 2GBs of RAM (System Profiler shows 8) and freezes before getting anywhere in the test. If I run version 3.5, it still only sees 2 GBs of RAM, and also thinks I have an i7 processor, not an i5. Very strange. These are brand new Crucial 2x 4GB modules and there are no discernible problems with the operation of the computer. I think memtest86 is at fault here. Any suggestions?

 

[head honcho 123]

So can I just burn the iso to a DVD or use Disk Utility to "restore" the iso to a DVD or a drive partition?

sorry i should've mentioned this earlier.

The Memtest on the ubuntu ISO is also not working on the latest i7 MBP 2011...

 

[ohla313]

I've been running the 8GB of RAM lately and it hasn't caused any problems but I don't notice any difference in speed. Is the RAM faulty? What can I look in activity monitor to make sure the RAM is fine?

 

[head honcho 123]

Currently happening for me too. I get an 'Unexpected Interrupt - Halting' error after 7% of the first test. This was after installing 8GB of G.Skill memory that I bought. I'm running the Apple Hardware Test now and downloading the latest Ubuntu ISO to try MemTest on there.

i don't remember 100% but seems like that was the error i was getting too. at 7%. how weird.

i'm on kingston ram (see sig).

i ran AHT but AHT is not that great for memory test. not as thorough as memtest. (AHT found no problems btw)

i wonder what the issue is... i'm guessing either version of memtest hasn't been updated to accommodate the latest processors/memory controllers...

 

[head honcho 123]

I've been running the 8GB of RAM lately and it hasn't caused any problems but I don't notice any difference in speed. Is the RAM faulty? What can I look in activity monitor to make sure the RAM is fine?

if ur not getting kernel panics... u should be okay... if u get kernel panics, then u most likely have bad ram.

there's no active way to monitor how ur ram is doing (besides how much ur ram is using via activity monitor)... the best way to is to test the ram with ramtest.

 

[head honcho 123]

I'm having the same problem. If I run version 4 of memtest86, it only shows 2GBs of RAM (System Profiler shows 8) and freezes before getting anywhere in the test. If I run version 3.5, it still only sees 2 GBs of RAM, and also thinks I have an i7 processor, not an i5. Very strange. These are brand new Crucial 2x 4GB modules and there are no discernible problems with the operation of the computer. I think memtest86 is at fault here. Any suggestions?

i agree with ur conclusion... no suggestions so far since the developers have to update memtest

 

[thermodynamic]

okay for some reason i ran both memtests86 and memtest86+, but they both do not work on my MBP 2011 2.3 Ghz i7.

The both freeze and don't do anything...

Is this happening to anyone else?

Same here (2.2Ghz early-2011).

Running Apple's AHT is revealing no problems with the 16GB Corsair RAM I bought @ NewEgg - even after 1.03 hours of testing... but MemText86+ v4.20 gives a "unexpected interrupt" error. Memtest86 4.0a simply reboots (at the same point). (Usually, bad RAM would show up with a red bar... not throw an error with the app halting...)

Given the amount of other people reporting the identical problem, I'm positive it's Memtest being the problem. Given how quickly it errors out, RAM errors are typically random and not specific to the identical test being performed... (or, rather, the probability that it's the RAM is low.)

 

[head honcho 123]

Same here (2.2Ghz early-2011).

Running Apple's AHT is revealing no problems with the 16GB Corsair RAM I bought @ NewEgg - even after 1.03 hours of testing... but MemText86+ v4.20 gives a "unexpected interrupt" error. Memtest86 4.0a simply reboots (at the same point). (Usually, bad RAM would show up with a red bar... not throw an error with the app halting...)

Given the amount of other people reporting the identical problem, I'm positive it's Memtest being the problem. Given how quickly it errors out, RAM errors are typically random and not specific to the identical test being performed... (or, rather, the probability that it's the RAM is low.)

i agree with u. they really need to update memtest!

 

[michiganitis]

Same here (2.2Ghz early-2011).

Running Apple's AHT is revealing no problems with the 16GB Corsair RAM I bought @ NewEgg - even after 1.03 hours of testing... but MemText86+ v4.20 gives a "unexpected interrupt" error. Memtest86 4.0a simply reboots (at the same point). (Usually, bad RAM would show up with a red bar... not throw an error with the app halting...)

Given the amount of other people reporting the identical problem, I'm positive it's Memtest being the problem. Given how quickly it errors out, RAM errors are typically random and not specific to the identical test being performed... (or, rather, the probability that it's the RAM is low.)

Glad I found this thread! This is exactly what is occurring with my MacBook Pro! Interrupt error with memtest86+ and reboot with memtest86. AHT and memtest show no errors.

Any fixes yet?

Thanks!

 

[slapple]

I am having the same problems with my late 2011 15" MBP and newly installed 16GB of RAM. Memtest86+ 4.20 showed that interrupted halt error almost immediately, and then Memtest86 4.0a just reboots the system after a few seconds.

 

[NewishMacGuy]

Bad RAM can also cause reboots in MemTest. Had one bad stick of G-Skill when I upgraded last week that did just that.

 

[richnyc]

I feel like Apple stores are becoming less useful and full of nerdy fanboys, who know ***** about computers and actually problems...

That is sooooo true!!!

 

[Rhinoevans]

Check you have seated both RAM modules properly and that the clips have engaged to hold them in place.

Most common Ram error!