How to check for Bad Memory
Most Windows user become frustrated when some application or Windows itself crashes. One of the reasons can be software programmed badly, even though most users usually think that the culprit is Windows itself! What most users (especially novices) don’t realise is that these crashes might occur because of malfunctioning hardware, especially bad memory.
The best way to check for bad memory is to replace the memory sticks one by one and look out for any further crashes. However, this might not always be possible especially for the total newbies who lack technical skills.
Another way to check if your system has bad memory is by using software utilities which have been designed for this purpose.
If you have Windows Vista there is already a built-in tool which can do this. In fact the Windows Memory Diagnostics Tool can be accessed from Control Panel -> Administrative Tools -> Memory Diagnostics Tool.
If you have any other operating system you can download another free tool (also from Microsoft). This is called Windows Memory Diagnostic and can be downloaded from here:
http://oca.microsoft.com/en/windiag.asp
Do not let the name mislead you. This tool is O/S independent because it needs to be burnt to a CD and afterwards you boot the computer from the CD itself. Hence, it can even be used on newly built computers that do not contain any operating system.
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