• Welcome to Overclockers Forums! Join us to reply in threads, receive reduced ads, and to customize your site experience!

noob needs help to run memtest

Overclockers is supported by our readers. When you click a link to make a purchase, we may earn a commission. Learn More.
Evil T C

Evil T C

Member
​
Joined
Jan 15, 2004
Location
scotland
help!

i dont have a clue bout dos programs,i'v tried to find a guide for running memtest but came up with nothing.

if one of you many kind people could give me directions it would be most appretiated

TIA
 
How far along are you in the process? In other words, have you already gone to the site and downloaded the program and have it in a floppy or are you totally at "step #1" of the process and needing to know where to go and what to do?
 
I'll just cover the bases. The following links would be good places to start.

By the way, there are two "versions" of this program, one is called Memtest86 and the other is Memtest86+ (Note the "+"). This latter one in an updated one which displays some additional information on the main screen, such as your mobo's chipset and the ram's latencies. The first link below is to the original, the second to the newer. They are so close in how they operate that you can consider them identical and in fact, may be. There probably are differences, I just couldn't tell you what they are.

Hope this helps answer some of your questions.

http://memtest86.com

http://www.memtest.org/

http://www.bleedinedge.com/forum/showthread.php?t=442&page=1&pp=15

http://www.abxzone.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=50588
 
Last edited:
Actually, memtest 86+ is much more intense.. I noticed with "+" that with anything other than stock settings and very mild OC, I would error out, whereas regular memtest AND PRIME would run error free up to 241 fsb with relatively tight timings for my ram... It may have been a problem with my particular setup, but I have read similar things from others... Just be sure it is the latest ver of memtest 86 regular you are getting..Here
Here's how to do it..
Get a blank floppy and format it creating a bootable floppy disk
1 DL memtest
2 Extract it to the bootable floppy... you will not be able to read the floppy
from windows/my computer once this is done...
3 leave the floppy in the drive and reboot
4 the test should begin by itself
 
I can't seem to get this one to work with a CD can someone run me through on how to do so? I've made a bootable CD with the original memtest, but for some reason I can't do so with this one...
 
There is also an ISO image of memtest86+ that you can just burn to cd and it will run automatically.
 
I've never gone the CD route, but I was under the impression that the steps were the same for either version.
 
That's exactly what I did. I dl'ed the ISO, unzipped files to desktop, placed file onto disk, burnt it and BLOAH doesn't work T_T
 
Aren't you supposed to burn this specifically as an ISO image file or something like that? I am working off memory here so I am not positive. I am thinking that is one of the options you have to select, in NERO, for example.

You may have done that but since you didn't state it, I thought I would just ask the question.

I know there are some people out there that have done this, so please feel free to add your comments.
 
Memtest86 3.1a came with a BOOT folder that contained files that you would burn onto a disk. This Memtest does not come with it, I open up the zip file to see another zip file that contains nothing in it. Download both to see what I'm talking about.
 
Catalan said:
That's exactly what I did. I dl'ed the ISO, unzipped files to desktop, placed file onto disk, burnt it and BLOAH doesn't work T_T
Click to expand...

Heres your problem then. You extracted the files from the ISO. Dont do that. Just right click the ISO, open with, then use nero or some burning program and it will burn it as a boot disk. GL
 
moz_21 said:
Heres your problem then. You extracted the files from the ISO. Dont do that. Just right click the ISO, open with, then use nero or some burning program and it will burn it as a boot disk. GL
Click to expand...

I thought that might be his problem as well, so I downloaded the .iso file as he suggested and have recorded the steps I took to burn a working copy. It was tested and it works correctly. The steps I took are as follows:

1) Downloaded .ISO version
2) Unzip/expand zipped file to a temp folder that you can easily locate
3) Open up Nero (Express in my case)
4) Select the option to burn a "Disc image or saved project"
5) Locate your .ISO file and select it, it will then show this file as the Source
6) Select your burn speed and # of copies and Burn, Baby, Burn

This worked for me without a hitch. For those not familiar with using the CD, be sure to change the Boot order in BIOS to boot first from CD.

The link below is to a site which shows how to burn ISO images, in general.

http://www.weethet.nl/english/cdrw_usingnero_iso.php
 
sQUiRLy said:
That's probably the solution to Catalan's problem. I found that Microsoft makes a memory tester program that has a more simplified approach to making a boot disk: http://oca.microsoft.com/en/windiag.asp#top Just thought I'd throw that in.
Click to expand...

I read about that Memory Diagnostic program in some forum, but when I tried to link to it, the link was broken and I could not locate it. I'm glad to shared that link. Its bookmarked now.
 
Catalan said:
Alright! It works, thanks Reefa.
Click to expand...

Glad to hear it worked for you.

Actually, I should thank you. Remember that I stated earlier that I had never done it this way? I had on many occassions, however, told myself that I wanted to try it. This got me off my rear and I finally tried it and now I know how to do it as well, so it really helped me as much as it helped you.
 
i had already downloaded 86 but wasnt sure if i needed to use a bootable disk first then have memtest on another disk. also do i write the whole folder onto the disk or just selected files?
im guessing here but i have to make sure that my floppy driveis first in the boot order in bios yes?
 
Evil T C said:
i had already downloaded 86 but wasnt sure if i needed to use a bootable disk first then have memtest on another disk. also do i write the whole folder onto the disk or just selected files?
im guessing here but i have to make sure that my floppy driveis first in the boot order in bios yes?
Click to expand...

With the floppy version you just make sure you have a formatted floppy available. Unzip the download and then you execute the install file. It will ask you what drive letter to copy the files to and it does it all on its own. That is just an overview, as I haven't had to do it in a while. If you have troubles, post here and I'll do one and write the steps like I did with the CD method.

And yes, make sure that the system will look to the floppy first.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

M
How difficult is it to run 24 GB of fast RAM on X58? (X58 / Socket 1366 / Westmere)
Replies
9
Views
202
freeagent
freeagent
dfonda
Looking forward to playing Starfield again.(Can't)
Replies
10
Views
548
dfonda
dfonda
K
Please help me to get my B-die to run better! *SOLVED*
2
Replies
26
Views
3K
kevintuna
K
Niku-Sama
Suggestions? Non-standard case for retro system
Replies
7
Views
1K
Niku-Sama
Niku-Sama
R
1998 Compaq Deskpro Help!
Replies
2
Views
649
Niku-Sama
Niku-Sama
Back