MemTest86 7.0
Free Version
Publisher Description
There are many good approaches for testing memory. However, many tests simply throw some patterns at memory without much thought or knowledge of memory architecture or how errors can best be detected. This works fine for hard memory failures but does little to find intermittent errors. BIOS based memory tests are useless for finding intermittent memory errors. RAM chips consist of a large array of tightly packed memory cells, one for each bit of data. The vast majority of the intermittent failures are a result of interaction between these memory cells. Often writing a memory cell can cause one of the adjacent cells to be written with the same data. An effective memory test attempts to test for this condition. Therefore, an ideal strategy for testing memory would be the following:
Write a cell with a zero.
Write all of the adjacent cells with a one, one or more times.
Check that the first cell still has a zero.
It should be obvious that this strategy requires an exact knowledge of how the memory cells are laid out on the chip. In addition there are a never ending number of possible chip layouts for different chip types and manufacturers making this strategy impractical. However, there are testing algorithms that can approximate this ideal and MemTest86 does just this.
MemTest86 was originally developed by Chris Brady with a first release in 1994. Since then there has been more than a dozen new versions being released. Support for 64bit, new CPU types, symmetrical multiprocessors and many other features have been added during this period. In Feb 2013, PassMark Software took over the maintenance of the project from Chris. We have recently added an option to purchase a pre-made USB flash drive and also created a support forum where users can discuss issues. The MemTest86 code remains open source.
About MemTest86
MemTest86 is a free software published in the Benchmarking list of programs, part of System Utilities.
This Benchmarking program is available in English. It was last updated on 19 March, 2024. MemTest86 is compatible with the following operating systems: Mac, Windows.
The company that develops MemTest86 is PassMark Software. The latest version released by its developer is 7.0. This version was rated by 2 users of our site and has an average rating of 4.0.
The download we have available for MemTest86 has a file size of 4.19 MB. Just click the green Download button above to start the downloading process. The program is listed on our website since 2016-07-22 and was downloaded 223 times. We have already checked if the download link is safe, however for your own protection we recommend that you scan the downloaded software with your antivirus. Your antivirus may detect the MemTest86 as malware if the download link is broken.
How to install MemTest86 on your Windows device:
- Click on the Download button on our website. This will start the download from the website of the developer.
- Once the MemTest86 is downloaded click on it to start the setup process (assuming you are on a desktop computer).
- When the installation is finished you should be able to see and run the program.
