Microsoft Windows Memory Diagnostic
Microsoft's freeware Windows Memory Diagnostic is a misnomer with limited usefulness. But, I'm mentioning here since I actually used it yesterday to help figure out a problem. Its name is a misnomer since it doesn't run under Windows at all (which makes sense for a hardware memory diagnostic app). The EXE you download asks if you want to create a floppy image (what PC comes with floppies these days?) or a CD-ROM image. I opted to create the ISO file and burned to a CD-R disc. Booting it brings up a DOS screen with the running diagnostic. The diagnostic is of limited use since it takes quite a while (many minutes) and requires you to actually sit in front of the display since it doesn't appear to keep any history or flag alerts. Once an error scrolls up and away you have no indication of any error that might have been listed. That said, I did sit in front of the screen for many many minutes and saw the error (red line in the screen shot above). The error message is actually pretty vague and nearly useless for most people. But, at least it indicates something is wrong. And, with a bit of head scratching and detective work, I figured out the problem.
Someone didn't bother to read
Someone didn't bother to read the whole QuickStart guide...lol. This is one the best tools out and can actually tell you which slot & memory module had the errors. You have plenty of options, just take the time to read the guide first. As techies, we sometimes forget to do the obvious.
If you press pause (P), then
If you press pause (P), then you can scroll up and down the list of tests to see any errors. You can also look at a menu for more information.
How do I get rid of this
How do I get rid of this program?????? It starts every time I boot up, and I can't find it anywhere to delete it. I am using Vista Home Basic
Take the CD (or floppy) out
Take the CD (or floppy) out of the drive...
Apparently from reading
Apparently from reading another link on this subject, you press 'X' on the keyboard to come out of the loop for the Vista Windows Memory Diagnostic Tool. I'll try it tonight. I have been stuck in this loop for the last week. Microsoft should get their act together on this software to ensure it comes out of its loop after clear memory test results.
LOL! "..from reading another
LOL! "..from reading another link on this subject.."
Right at the bottom of the diagnostic screen it reads, "The memory diagnostic will continue running until the (x) key is pressed or the machine is powered off."
I back up the guy who replied, "take the cd-rom out of the drive."
Also, Todd:
I believe the history of errors detected is kept at the bottom of the screen. Looks like you had a lot of errors detected at the first pass. Time to replace that RAM.