When a computer does not work as we want, we always tend to blame and therefore check, rather software issues, over something related to hardware. Elements such as RAM are more difficult to know if it is working as it should or not, so today we are going to see some methods by which we will discover if this important part of the computer operates correctly.
Although it is not very normal, there are times when RAM gives us problems and verifying that it is this specific component, is not something that is intuitive.
We will always tend, because it is the most normal thing to do, to think that what is not going well within the computer is due more to a software problem than to one caused by some hardware component and less by the RAM memory.
But if we have an issue that persists no matter how much you do, you can do a RAM check in the ways that we are going to see in this article. So you will get out of doubts.
What is RAM and what is it for?
It is useless to fix something that we do not know exactly what it is and what it is for, so the first thing is to understand what the RAM is for.
This memory is the main memory of the computer and in which all the data of the programs that we are using at that precise moment is temporarily stored. RAM means Random Access Memory, Or what is the same, Random access memory.
This type of memory is not exclusive to computers and practically any medium-technological device can carry it. There is no doubt that computers have it, but also tablets, smartphones, smartwatches and even televisions.
There are two facets that this memory has that the others do not have, such as the enormous operating speed and what is volatile, that is, it is emptied every time you turn off the device and everything stored is lost.
RAM memory is what is used to manage everything that is happening during the operation of the PC and, as is evident, the more you have, the better the performance, since more data can be assumed and faster.
How to tell if your RAM is having problems
There are some symptoms that our equipment could have and that may be indicative that the RAM is not working correctly and it should be checked.
We could be things like:
- When the computer starts we hear a pair of beeps.
- The computer leaves slowing down little by little while it’s on.
- Computer crashes without any software problem.
- If we go to the information of our Windows computer, we see that it does not indicate all the RAM that we really have.
Windows RAM Diagnosis
We can do a RAM memory check with Windows 10, although it is not too deep, but it can serve as a guide.
The way to do it is as follows:
- We press the key Windows + R.
- In the window that comes out we must write mdsched.exe and click on To accept.
- We restart the computer and the diagnostic tool will start immediately.
- Click on F1 and then we choose between the tests Basic, Standard or Extended, knowing that the time it takes is greater the more intensive each test is.
- Windows will reboot automatically and when you have finished you will send us a notification indicating if you have found errors.
Use MemTest
We can use MemTest to have a much more rigorous diagnosis of the functioning of our RAM memory. We can leave it analyzing the memory for as long as we need, as if it is a day, two or several, in case we want to make sure 100% that we do not have any type of incident.
It is extremely easy to use and the steps are really simple:
- We download the program, unzip it and open it.
- We must put the amount of RAM manually, establishing it between 2 and 3.5 GB, since with putting that the verification will be totally effective.
- It is best to have all closed programsSince the test is going to use CPU and RAM intensively, we must also make sure that it has good ventilation.
- If it does not detect any problem, everything works fine, but if we read Memory error detectedThis means that something happens and it is best to physically check the memories to see that they have nothing or check the BIOS.
- As is normal, the longer we have MemTest running, the more efficient it will be, but if in an hour or more it has not detected anything, it is highly unlikely that it will do so by leaving it longer.
Another option is: MemTest86
To be even more sure, we can choose another tool that will allow us to know definitively if there is any type of problem in the RAM memory.
MemTest86 It is even more exhaustive than the previous one we have seen and the way to use it is as follows:
- The we download from its official website and we store the compressed file in our internal storage.
- Unzip the ZIP file and we execute imageUSB.exe, file that we just extracted.
- Now we must place a USB drive that we do not care if it is erased in any such port of the computer.
- Then, in the program itself, we select the USB drive in which it will be processed. Step 1 (Step 1).
- At Step 2 (Step 2) we leave it as it comes, since it is not necessary to touch anything.
- Now let’s go to Step 3 (Step 3) and we mark the location of the file memtest86-usb.img, which is in the folder where we have extracted the tool.
- To finish we go to Step 4 (step 4) and click on the button Write to UFD.
- Then we press any button and the test will start after ten seconds. We must give it time to finish, but the moment it does, we will know if there is a problem with the memory or not, in a very detailed way.
Since you already know what RAM is and what it is for, you already know the best ways to know if it works well for you, for any type of suspicion you can use what we have told right now.
It may also be a good idea to do some proof of this type, when you have a performance problem and you cannot find the reason, since as we have already seen, RAM is the last or the last thing that one imagines that it can give you any incidence.