How do you find out whether your RAM is defective ? Are there any diagnostics programs for the Mac ?
Tuan.
How do you find out whether your RAM is defective ? Are there any diagnostics programs for the Mac ?
Tuan.
Checking RAM can be done with various testing applications, such as MicroMat Tech Tool Pro. Depending upon the computer, some check RAM at start-up, and give you a hardware error message in the event of any problems. In practice, it was tough to figure out what was going wrong when I had the RAM failures. First guess on a computer problem is that the software is causing the error, since few people expect hardware problems. Unstable operating, sudden lock-ups, sudden shutdowns, all are things that could be attributed to software, though might be hardware issues.
My last return went through Other World Computing in the Chicago area. Absolutely great people to do business with, though I think they were surprised I had a receipt from over five years ago. They tested the RAM module I sent back to them, that had a lifetime warranty; after determining it was bad they sent me a new replacement. That last particular one finally generated an error message at start-up, though it took numerous tries to even keep the computer running. After getting the replacement module, all has been fine.
Ciao!
Gordon Moat
A G Studio
on a pc you can set the BIOS to run a memory check on start up. This is nothing to do with windows. It's a function of the BIOS software which is installed on the motherboard. All machines should allow you to enter and configure the BIOS setup.
[edit]
mac or pc, the motherboard is likely made by one of the big motherboard companies. If you can get the model/part no from the board, then you should be able to find it on the makers web site where they tell you which memory brands and part nos are matched to the motherboard since not all memory is made equal. At least the good ones do...
[/edit]
Last edited by robc; 15-Aug-2006 at 17:19.
The Mac should have a system diagnostic program in Applications/Utilities.
You should also be able to boot from a DVD/CD that came with the system, and run the diagnostics from the DVD/CD.
Try these first before buying third-party diagnostic tools.
Originally Posted by QT Luong
If you're running OSX, insert the installation CD into the drive and restart the machine, holding down the system key. That'll start the system to a boot menu that allows you to choose from starting from the hard disk, starting the installation program or running the hardware diagnostics utility. Select the latter. Then you have two options; a quick test or an extended test. If you strongly suspect bad memory, use the extended test. It takes about half an hour to run the full diagnostics, but it really hammers the memory hard. If it's bad, the program will find out.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks