Memtest mystery

[fred smith]

On Sun, Mar 13, 2011 at 03:38:10PM +0000, Timothy Murphy wrote:
> compdoc wrote:
> 
> >> Can memtest86 actually throw up errors on good modules?
> > 
> > 
> > I run memtest86+ on every computer I service. Memory errors are rare, but
> > they do happen and the computer tends to crash, etc. when they are
> > happening.
> > 
> > If memtest was finding errors on good modules, which are installed in
> > computers that don't have crashing problems, I think I would be seeing
> > that.
> 
> OK, thanks.
> That is indeed exactly what I would have expected.
> 
> I've only run this machine for a couple of hours
> since sorting out the problem, but it seems to be running OK.
> 
> Also, Fedora-14/KDE Live CD seemed to run fine, as did Knoppix-6.
> 
> Could this happen if there was faulty memory?

Sure!

It all depends on the nature of the error, and where in the address
range the error falls.

Memtest86 is a lot more thorough than the builtin diagnostics in most
machines. I'd tend to trust it if it said there are flaws.

> 
> I was wondering if memtest86+ could run at a faster speed than desired,
> or something like that?
> 
> However, I'm following your experienced advice,
> and ordering a new memory module.
> 
> -- 
> Timothy Murphy  
> e-mail: gayleard /at/ eircom.net
> tel: +353-86-2336090, +353-1-2842366
> s-mail: School of Mathematics, Trinity College, Dublin 2, Ireland
> 
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