Memtest86+ LAST VERSION : 2.01

sbrehm72255

Tech Monkey
For all you OC'ers out there that like to ensure that their memory OC is stable and not throwing random errors, MemTest has a new updated version out to fix a few bugs, speed things up a little and to support most of the new/current chip sets and memory types.

= Change Log =-

Here is all the latest change logs for memtest86+ :

*** Enhancements in v2.01 : ***

* New Features
o Added support for 45 nm Mobile Core 2 w/ 3 Mo L2
o Added support for i945GM/PM/GME & i946PL/GZ
o Added support for iGM965/iGL960/iPM965/iGME965/iGLE960
o Added detection for SiS 649/656/671/672
o Added detection for i430MX/i430TX
o Added an optional beep mode (pass completed w/o error)
o Pass duration 20% reduced
o Removed the blinking cursor
o Reverted Test #0 to cached

* Bug Fixes
o Solved a major bug in Memory Address Errors Reporting
o Patched for Intel-Powered Mac
o Corrected Intel 3-Series (P35/X38) chipset init
o Corrected a bug with SPD Display and ESB6300
o Correct a detection bug on P965/G965 C-Stepping
o Solved a incoherency with pass progress indicator
o Patched Makefile to compile on x86_64
o Bootable Memtest86+ ISO more compatible

http://www.memtest.org/
 

Rob Williams

Editor-in-Chief
Staff member
Moderator
Nice to see this has been updated, finally. I prefer to use MemTest for Windows, though. From previous experiences, I have found it is more strict and will cause errors to occur faster than with the MemTest for DOS. That... and it runs in Windows, so it's a little prettier to look at.

http://hcidesign.com/memtest/

I might download this MemTest86+ though and give it a test. It might come in handy for some upcoming DDR3 reviews I want to do.
 

sbrehm72255

Tech Monkey
I'll have to give that one a try, I've always used the boring DOS version in the past.

At least with the Windows version maybe I could play a game of cards or something while waiting.............:)
 

Rob Williams

Editor-in-Chief
Staff member
Moderator
LOL, that's the thing. The problem is that if it's not a stable overclock, it could crash. If it's a borderline stable overclock, it will just show errors, which means you can finish up your game of cards (most likely).
 

sbrehm72255

Tech Monkey
What I really would like to find is some good utilities that work well under Linux so I can stay on one drive/OS most of the time.................;)

I really haven't looked around all that much for Linux utilities yet, mainly cause I'm still learning the OS, but the time will come.
 

werty316

Partition Master
I've never used a windows based memory testing app but I'll give this a try. Great finds guys.
 

Kougar

Techgage Staff
Staff member
Never knew there was a in-Windows based utility. Will have to give it a try as well... thanks for the update! :)
 

Rob Williams

Editor-in-Chief
Staff member
Moderator
What I really would like to find is some good utilities that work well under Linux so I can stay on one drive/OS most of the time.................;)

I am not sure of a GUI memory tester for Linux, but nothing stops you from installing MemTest86+ manually and being able to access it through GRUB. Most distros include it in their repository.

Essentially, you need to copy the memtest.bin file to you /boot folder and then add it to the GRUB configuration file. This way, you could access MemTest86+ anytime you boot up your computer. Instead of going into Linux or Windows, you'd select MemTest from the menu.
title=Memtest86 2.01
root (hd0,7)
kernel /boot/memtest86_201/memtest.bin
The above entry is just an example. It would vary depending on the real location of /boot.
 

sbrehm72255

Tech Monkey
Ubuntu 7.10 comes pre configured already with MemTest 1.70 installed in GRUB......;) I just need to figure out how to update it to the current version.............I guess I have a little reading ahead of me.

With any luck maybe the new version of Ubuntu comimng out next month will have the newest MemTest already installed as well.
 

Rob Williams

Editor-in-Chief
Staff member
Moderator
If you have MemTest86+ burned to a CD already, just pop it into your PC when you are in there and see if there is a memtest.bin on it. It should be as easy as overwriting the copy that's already installed.
 

sbrehm72255

Tech Monkey
I just checked on the Memtest site and there's this ;

Download - Pre-Compiled Bootable Binary (.gz)

would what I need be in that DL??
 

Rob Williams

Editor-in-Chief
Staff member
Moderator
Yup, it sure does. I downloaded it and extracted it, and it is indeed a .bin file:

memtest86+-2.01.bin

You could probably just overwrite the installed version of MemTest with this one, or install it as a second version. Finding out where memtest.bin is first would be a good idea. If you have slocate installed, you could just run that.
rwilliams@techgage ~ $ locate memtest.bin
/boot/memtest86plus/memtest.bin
You'd then want to copy the new version to the same spot.
techgage Desktop # cp memtest86+-2.01.bin /boot/memtest86plus/memtest_201.bin
I believe Ubuntu uses menu.1st for its boot loader, which is probably under /boot/grub/menu.1st. You could just edit that file, find the other MemTest entry, copy/paste it, and change the new entry to reflect the second copy (changing memtest.bin to memtest_201.bin and also the title to reflect the change).

OR, the new version might be available in the repository, but just hidden since it's unsafe. I am not sure how Ubuntu's repository works, though. Sorry if you are already aware how to edit GRUB, I'm just noting it in case you weren't.
 

Rob Williams

Editor-in-Chief
Staff member
Moderator
I should have mentioned, sudo would be required for that since it's a sensitive system folder.

sudo cp memtest86+-2.01.bin /boot/memtest/memtest201.bin

That would do it. Again, sorry if you know how to do that, but I am not sure by your post, haha.
 

sbrehm72255

Tech Monkey
I'm not any good at all with the command line stuff, still trying to learn that as I go.

I found MemTest in the repository and installed it, but I'm not sure of the version, I guess I should reboot and check it out.............;)
 

sbrehm72255

Tech Monkey
Got it all figured out..........;)

Now I have memtest 2.01 on my GRUB boot screen.............:)

Thanks for the help.
 

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Rob Williams

Editor-in-Chief
Staff member
Moderator
Woo hoo!

Is that seriously the default GRUB Ubuntu uses? It doesn't even have a background graphic! Talk about living in the stone age.
 

sbrehm72255

Tech Monkey
Yup, that's the way it comes, I wouldn't mind trying to change it somehow, but seeing as the new version is coming out next month and the beta this week, I may just wate to see what they look like.
 

Rob Williams

Editor-in-Chief
Staff member
Moderator
Implementing one is simple. You just need to download a splashscreen graphic... here is a good site.

The graphic file itself will be either a .xpm or inside of an archive (xpm.gz). Once copied to your /boot or somewhere else, you could edit your menu.1st to include it. Here's an example from my file:
timeout 15
default 0
splashimage=(hd0,4)/boot/grub/splash.xpm.gz

title Gentoo Linux (2.6.24.2)
root (hd0,4)
kernel /2.6.24.2 root=/dev/sda9
 
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