PC Trouble? How to Check for Memory Problems in Windows

Is Windows misbehaving? Maybe information technology's freezing, crashing, or just not performing up to snuff. Diagnosing a full general problem like this can be challenging. It could be software. It could be hardware. Simply 1 potential culprit you lot may not immediately think of is faulty retention.

RAM fries can go bad just like any other physical component. Fortunately, this is one piece of hardware you tin scrutinize by running a memory diagnostic. If your memory passes the examination, you can rule out this problem. If it fails, yous know one of your RAM modules likely needs to be replaced.

To scan your memory, you can use Microsoft's free Windows Memory Diagnostic, which runs a diverseness of tests on your PC's RAM to see if everything is in working order. It'southward built into all versions of Windows from the by several years, including Windows 7, Windows 8/8.1, and Windows 10. And information technology works the same in each version. Let's requite it a whirl.

First, press Win+R. At the Open field in the Run window, type mdsched.exe and click OK. Up pops the opening screen for the Windows Memory Diagnostic Tool.

The tool needs to run when your PC starts upward, so yous have ii options. You lot can restart your computer now, and the tool will execute at bootup. Or you can schedule the tool to run the side by side time you reboot your PC. Let'south cull the selection to restart your figurer now. Your PC restarts and launches the Memory Diagnostic Tool's RAM test.

Right off the bat, the tool starts checking your memory for potential problems. By default, the Windows Retentivity Diagnostic begins in Standard style, which includes eight different, successive retentivity tests, each of which uses a unique algorithm to scan for dissimilar types of errors. You tin allow the Standard tests to run until completion, after which fourth dimension Windows will restart.

Alternatively, yous tin can press F1 at any time during the test. That takes you to a different screen where you can choose the type of browse you wish to run. The tool offers three types of scans: Bones, Standard, and Extended.

Basic runs merely three tests, but information technology runs them very quickly. Standard runs the eight different tests simply takes longer to run. And Extended runs 17 different tests and takes a long fourth dimension to complete. Your all-time option is to stick with the Standard scan. If a glitch is detected, you can run the Extended browse to see if further details pop up.

At this window, you tin also enable or disable the cache. Turning off the processor'due south cache during the scan forces the tool to access data directly from RAM, ensuring more thorough testing. You can go out this at the default value, which means the cache setting for each test remains as is. Finally, you can set the Pass Count, meaning the number of times each test will run. 2 is the default value and should be sufficient to unearth whatever problems.

After each test completes, the tool displays a Succeeded or Failed message. A Failed message is followed by details well-nigh the failure and typically indicates a fault with one of your RAM modules. Depending on your PC surround, the diagnostic may be able to narrow down a memory problem to a specific module. Also, if your PC contains more than one memory module, yous should be able to remove each of the modules 1 at a fourth dimension and run the Retention Diagnostic to encounter if you lot can pinpoint the errors to a certain module.

Afterward the browse runs, your PC reboots, and you lot log dorsum into Windows, y'all'll come across a small-scale bulletin briefly pop up giving you the results of the scan. Y'all can as well cheque out the results of the memory examination in Windows using the Event Viewer. Printing Win+R. At the Open up field in the Run window, type eventvwr.exe and click OK. The Event Viewer launches.

Aggrandize the category for Windows Log. Right-click on the System setting and so click on Find from the pop-upwardly menu.

In the Discover what field, blazon MemoryDiagnostics-Results and click on Discover Next.

Click Cancel on the Find window to close information technology. In the Event window, double-click on the first highlighted entry, which should be the exam you lot simply ran. The results will provide more than details on the scans.

About Lance Whitney

Lance Whitney

Surviving a long and varied career in publishing, advertising, and IT, Lance Whitney now wears a few dissimilar technology hats. By mean solar day, he'due south a journalist, software trainer, and sometime Spider web developer. Past dark, he's asleep. These days, he writes news stories, columns, and reviews for CNET and other technology sites and publications. He's written ii books for Wiley & Sons: Windows eight Five Minutes at a Time in 2022, and Teach Yourself VISUALLY LinkedIn in 2022. Contact Lance via Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn.