Why does everyone keep saying memtest?

johndoe2009doejohndoe2009doe
edited August 2011 in Hardware
Most replies here are based on memtest why is this? It makes no sense.....to me at least.....it's funny actually .....when you don't know the answer you start by saying memtest ......hahahaha lmfao no offence its funny...dont you think...

Comments

  • miragemirage
    edited May 2009
    Because, that is usually the first and easiest step of diagnosing the computer problems. You would not directly recommend replacing the motherboard or PSU before eliminating memory and CPU problems.

    It is like when you go to see a doctor, a nurse first takes the blood pressure, body temperature, and weight, regardless of your complaint. Would you rather go to the surgery room at first? :D
  • GnomeWizarddGnomeWizardd Member 4 Life Akron, PA Icrontian
    edited May 2009
    mirage wrote:
    Because, that is usually the first and easiest step of diagnosing the computer problems. You would not directly recommend replacing the motherboard or PSU before eliminating memory and CPU problems.

    It is like when you go to see a doctor, a nurse first takes the blood pressure, body temperature, and weight, regardless of your complaint. Would you rather go to the surgery room at first? :D



    BEST analogy EVER This should be posted in EVERY thread when someone complains about Memtest being suggested first
  • Mt_GoatMt_Goat Head Cheezy Knob Pflugerville (north of Austin) Icrontian
    edited May 2009
    Ditto!


    ....and stickied
  • GldmGldm New York, NY
    edited June 2009
    1. Memtest.
    2. Reseat RAM.
    3. Replace drive cables (you laugh but it's surprisingly common even with SATA).
    4. Reapply thermal paste (especially on older machines).
    5. Try another power supply (especially older machines).
  • miragemirage
    edited June 2009
    It is true, those SATA cables get loose. But the symptoms are much more severe than unstable memory; computer usually can not complete booting. Attempting to boot repeatedly with a loose SATA cable can easily lead to file system corruption :hair:
  • GldmGldm New York, NY
    edited June 2009
    I've seen damaged (not loose) SATA and IDE cables produce errors that can look like memory issues at first glance. Typically CRC failures on file copies or file decompression. Also really slow windows installs can be caused by a bad cable that produces lots of i/o retries. A cable that just has damaged insulation or shielding can produce intermittent problems that may not be obvious.
  • mew905mew905 Saskatchewan
    edited October 2009
    I built a computer for a friend out of spare parts I had lying around, too old for SATA but new enough that youtube didnt lag. It refused to install windows after the BIOS-looking screen for some reason, replaced the CD DRIVE cable (IDE) with a newer one (thinner wires, I think 80-wire? versus 40-wire from before), after that, it installed the rest just fine.
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited October 2009
    Good thread! That's something I almost never do during troubleshooting operations - check/swap out the cables. I need to remember this.
  • Nibiru2012Nibiru2012 Austin, TX
    edited September 2010
    mew905 wrote:
    I built a computer for a friend out of spare parts I had lying around, too old for SATA but new enough that youtube didnt lag. It refused to install windows after the BIOS-looking screen for some reason, replaced the CD DRIVE cable (IDE) with a newer one (thinner wires, I think 80-wire? versus 40-wire from before), after that, it installed the rest just fine.

    Most modern CD/DVD drives run at an ATA 66 speed or higher if they're an IDE drive. (Some do, some don't, depend on the maker and the age of the drive).

    ATA 66 or higher needs the 80 conductor cable to avoid what's called "channel crosstalk". Which means there's a ground wire between each signal wire, therefore the end result is the 80 conductor cabling.
  • ins4n17yins4n17y Cabanatuan City, Philippines Icrontian
    edited August 2011
    who here still uses ide?
  • TushonTushon I'm scared, Coach Alexandria, VA Icrontian
    edited August 2011
    People keep posting in the old ass monitor thread, so I assume that people still use it.
  • Mt_GoatMt_Goat Head Cheezy Knob Pflugerville (north of Austin) Icrontian
    edited August 2011
    ins4n17y wrote:
    who here still uses ide?

    Actually a lot of people who don't see any reason to replace older legacy optical drives still use it for just that reason. This also saves more open SATA headers for HD's
  • TushonTushon I'm scared, Coach Alexandria, VA Icrontian
    edited August 2011
    Mt_Goat wrote:
    How is this relevant to the subject of the thread?

    He was replying to the necroposts just above him, I presume.
  • Mt_GoatMt_Goat Head Cheezy Knob Pflugerville (north of Austin) Icrontian
    edited August 2011
    Tushon wrote:
    He was replying to the necroposts just above him, I presume.

    Look above, as I caught myself right ater posting. :cool:
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