Guys I'm new to this forum, please bear with me.


I ran memtest for one hour and got 0 errors, then I ran it for another hour the next day and got 6 errors. The next day I run it for 5 hours and get 0 errors. I dont know wheter the the ram is faulty or whether the 6 errors were flukes.

Next question: On my other computer whenever I put in any ram into it, I always get an error before windows boots up saying "memory read failure" with a lone number. When i take the stick out it boots up fine, but this happens will all sticks that I've tried so far.

From a new guy to a new guy, welcome to the forum!

Please fill out your computer specs in your profile first.

k i put it in my profile but ill list it here,

Its a Dell Inspiron 9300 (a notebook):

1.73 ghz Penitum M
1 gig transcend + 256 mb samsung memory
geforce go 6800 256 mb video card
17" true life wuxga display
60 gig 5400 rpm hitachi hard drive
NEC DVD burner

i think thats all thats really important, please help.

Not all errors on memtest are actual errors, and if you are clearing the test more often than you are getting errors, probably nothing to worry about. Athlon systems tend to get more errors than Pentium (which is why I wanted your specs).

If you are really concerned about it, next time it produces errors, hit c, then get the error report and post it here so we know what kind of errors it is reporting.

Now, as for your other computer producing a "memory read error".... that is odd. What is that computers specs? It is likely because you are using two different types of memory. What are the specs on those memory sticks?

k, the 256 mb stick that came with my laptop is Samsung and it is ddr2. The one I purchased from newegg is a 1 gig transcend ddr2 533 mhz notebook memory. Im gonna run it again tonight, how long should i run it? (How many tests?)

bumpety bump

I'd say not to worry unless your system is hanging on you. Like I said the memtest can produce random errors sometimes. If you are getting a no error result most of the time, I'd say there is no problem with your memory. But if you are having some problems with your current system, then you know what is probably causing it.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

yea i think ur right cuz i just ran an extended test of windows memory diagnostic overnight and it passed every test. so it prolly is a good idea to just ignore the other errors right?

memory must be of the same speed as that already existing.
don't try to mix 100us with 133us.
Also, PC memory is 8bit, without parity (Mac and big systems always use parity).
It is recommended that multiple memory cards be of the same size,
eg: both of 128mb, not one of 128 and the other of 512

so if i use two 1 gig sticks of the same make it should run smoother? in that case ill buy another stick.

before you invest in more memory, make sure your motherboard will support
2gig! Two Gig of memory would be great for a server system, but most
client systems don't really benefit from more than 768meg-1gig. you have
to have a LOT of programs running concurrently to use that kind of memory
(aka a server). I would imagine that some gamers might stress a client system
by loading, starting and then minimizing several games and then toggling
between them - - but what's the point?

yea my mobo supports 2 gigs, ive been really into bf2 and since when i alt tab i see its mem usage is like 1.2 gigs, i really think i should up my ram.

With bf, 2g is good. I would do two matched stix for best reliablility and performance.