-
Notifications
You must be signed in to change notification settings - Fork 0
Expand file tree
/
Copy pathRAM_TESTING_QUICKREF.txt
More file actions
212 lines (190 loc) · 19.1 KB
/
RAM_TESTING_QUICKREF.txt
File metadata and controls
212 lines (190 loc) · 19.1 KB
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ RAM TESTING QUICK REFERENCE CARD │
│ Print this and take with you to the computer │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
┌─ YOUR SYSTEM SPECS ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ │
│ CPU: Intel Xeon E5-2680 v4 │
│ RAM Type: DDR4 RDIMM ECC Registered │
│ RAM Speed: PC4-2400 (2400 MT/s) │
│ Capacity: 96GB (6x 16GB) │
│ Slots: 8 total, 6 populated │
│ │
│ REPLACE WITH: 16GB DDR4-2400 RDIMM ECC Registered (1.2V) │
│ │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
┌─ STEP 1: RUN MEMTEST86+ ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ │
│ 1. Reboot computer │
│ 2. At GRUB menu, select: "Memory test (memtest86+x64.bin)" │
│ 3. Wait 4+ complete passes (2-6 hours) │
│ 4. ⚠️ TAKE PHOTO of error screen if errors appear │
│ 5. Note which tests fail (Test #) │
│ 6. Note failing addresses (0x______) │
│ │
│ Expected: │
│ ✅ No errors = RAM passed basic test │
│ ❌ Errors = Proceed to Step 2 │
│ │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
┌─ STEP 2: FIND BAD DIMM(S) ───────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ │
│ ⚠️ POWER OFF COMPLETELY before touching RAM │
│ ⚠️ Touch metal case to discharge static │
│ │
│ Binary Search Method (Fastest - 3 tests): │
│ ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ │
│ TEST 1: │
│ → Remove 3 DIMMs (keep slots 1, 3, 5) │
│ → Run Memtest86+ for 30 minutes │
│ → Errors? = Bad DIMM in installed group │
│ → No errors? = Bad DIMM in removed group │
│ │
│ TEST 2: │
│ → Split the failing group in half │
│ → Test 2 DIMMs for 30 minutes │
│ → Identify which group has bad DIMM │
│ │
│ TEST 3: │
│ → Test each DIMM individually (15 min each) │
│ → Found the bad one! │
│ │
│ Alternative: Test all 6 DIMMs one-by-one (thorough but slow) │
│ │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
┌─ SLOT LAYOUT DIAGRAM ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ │
│ Channel A Channel B Channel C Channel D │
│ ───────── ───────── ───────── ───────── │
│ │
│ ┌─────┐ ┌─────┐ ┌─────┐ ┌─────┐ │
│ │ A1 │ │ B1 │ │ C1 │ │ D1 │ ← Slots │
│ │ A2 │ │ B2 │ │ C2 │ │ D2 │ │
│ └─────┘ └─────┘ └─────┘ └─────┘ │
│ │
│ Likely config: A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C2 populated │
│ (Your 6 DIMMs) │
│ │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
┌─ TESTING RECORD SHEET ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ │
│ Slot | Label | Test 1 | Test 2 | Test 3 | FINAL │
│ ─────┼──────┼────────┼────────┼────────┼──────── │
│ 1 | A1 │ │ │ │ │
│ 2 | A2 │ │ │ │ │
│ 3 | B1 │ │ │ │ │
│ 4 | B2 │ │ │ │ │
│ 5 | C1 │ │ │ │ │
│ 6 | C2 │ │ │ │ │
│ 7 | D1 │ EMPTY │ - │ - │ │
│ 8 | D2 │ EMPTY │ - │ - │ │
│ │
│ Mark: ✅ = No errors ❌ = Errors found ⏭️ = Not tested │
│ │
│ BAD DIMM(S) IDENTIFIED: Slot _____ Label _____ │
│ │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
┌─ BUYING REPLACEMENT ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ │
│ SEARCH TERMS: │
│ • "16GB DDR4-2400 RDIMM ECC" │
│ • "16GB PC4-2400 Registered ECC RAM" │
│ │
│ MUST BE: │
│ ✓ RDIMM (Registered) │
│ ✓ ECC │
│ ✓ DDR4 (not DDR3 or DDR5) │
│ ✓ 288-pin │
│ ✓ 1.2V │
│ │
│ DO NOT BUY: │
│ ✗ UDIMM (Unbuffered) │
│ ✗ LRDIMM (Load-Reduced) │
│ ✗ Non-ECC │
│ ✗ Desktop/gaming RAM │
│ ✗ SO-DIMM (laptop) │
│ │
│ ESTIMATED COST: $25-50 per 16GB module (new) │
│ $15-30 per 16GB module (used) │
│ │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
┌─ INSTALLATION CHECKLIST ────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ │
│ PREPARATION: │
│ [ ] Back up important data │
│ [ ] Document which DIMM is bad │
│ [ ] Purchase correct replacement RAM │
│ [ ] Gather screwdriver, flashlight │
│ │
│ REMOVAL: │
│ [ ] Power off completely │
│ [ ] Unplug power cable (recommended) │
│ [ ] Open case side panel │
│ [ ] Touch metal case (anti-static) │
│ [ ] Push clips on both ends of bad DIMM │
│ [ ] Pull bad DIMM straight out │
│ [ ] Store in anti-static bag │
│ │
│ INSTALLATION: │
│ [ ] Align notch in new DIMM with slot notch │
│ [ ] Push firmly until clips snap shut │
│ [ ] Verify BOTH clips are locked │
│ [ ] Check DIMM is fully seated (not at angle) │
│ [ ] Close case side panel │
│ [ ] Reconnect power cable │
│ [ ] Power on │
│ │
│ VERIFICATION: │
│ [ ] Enter BIOS (Delete/F2/F10) │
│ [ ] Verify 96GB detected │
│ [ ] Save & exit BIOS │
│ [ ] System boots to Linux │
│ [ ] Run: free -h (should show ~91GB) │
│ [ ] Reboot & run Memtest86+ (4 passes, 0 errors) │
│ [ ] Monitor dmesg for 24 hours (no new errors) │
│ │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
┌─ CRITICAL COMMANDS ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ │
│ Check memory: free -h │
│ Check for errors: dmesg | grep -i "memory failure" │
│ Monitor errors live: dmesg -w | grep -i "memory\|hardware error" │
│ Stop Gradle daemons: gradle --stop │
│ Reboot to Memtest86+: sudo reboot │
│ │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
┌─ TROUBLESHOOTING ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ │
│ System won't boot after new RAM: │
│ → Reseat the DIMM (remove and reinstall) │
│ → Try different slot │
│ → Verify it's RDIMM, not UDIMM/LRDIMM │
│ → May have received bad RAM (try another module) │
│ │
│ BIOS shows less than 96GB: │
│ → One DIMM not seated properly │
│ → Reseat all DIMMs │
│ → Check both clips are locked on each │
│ │
│ Still getting memory errors: │
│ → Could be motherboard issue │
│ → Test with only 2 DIMMs installed │
│ → Check motherboard for damage (bulging capacitors) │
│ → Consider professional diagnostics │
│ │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
┌─ SUCCESS CRITERIA ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ │
│ ✅ System boots normally │
│ ✅ BIOS detects 96GB │
│ ✅ free -h shows ~91GB total │
│ ✅ Memtest86+ completes 4+ passes with 0 errors │
│ ✅ No memory errors in dmesg for 24 hours │
│ ✅ System stable under normal use │
│ │
│ If ALL checked: 🎉 SUCCESS! RAM replaced successfully! │
│ │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Print this sheet and keep it with you while testing!
Full guide: /home/joao/RAM_TESTING_GUIDE.md