How to check RAM status in Windows 10

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Therefore, if at any time we notice that our equipment no longer works as it should and performs strange behaviors and becomes unstable, it may be due to a software or hardware problem and more specifically the RAM memory. In this way, it is important to know what options we have to check the good state of our memory, something that we can do with tools incorporated in the operating system itself, as well as with third-party applications.

Problems That Can Cause RAM Failure

In the event that the RAM of our computer is failing, it is something that we will notice in many ways. Starting with milder behaviors such as an exaggerated slowness when executing any application or performing tasks, or inconveniences when decompressing files. But it can also cause problems that will make us perceive that it is something with a certain severity, such as unexpected reboots, system crashes or the appearance of the dreaded blue screenshots, so characteristic of Windows.

In the case of blue screens, it is usually accompanied by a “Memory Management” error message, which is not indicating that the RAM is not in good condition or has a problem that should be solved. This can be due to faulty hardware or poor memory timing or frequency.

In the event that we suffer from some of the problems mentioned above, we must know that it will be necessary for us to carry out the relevant tests to verify what is causing the problem and determine with the results, if it will be necessary to change it or not.

Use Windows memory diagnostics

To help us know if the RAM on our computer is damaged and to be able to solve any problem that it may have caused on our computer, Windows 10 has its own specialized tool called Windows Memory Diagnosis. To be able to execute it, just press the keyboard shortcut “Windows + R”, which will open the “Execute” command, where we must write mdsched.exe. Later we press «Enter» or the «Accept» button to execute it.

Run Windows Memory Diagnostic

Then a window opens with two options available to check for computer problems. We can choose between “Check if there are problems the next time we restart the computer” or if we want to “Restart now and check if there are problems.” This option is recommended and before clicking on it it will be necessary for us to save all our work and close all open programs. It’s fundamental restart the computer to check the health of the RAM, since it must be or more downloaded as possible. To achieve this, nothing better than running this diagnostic tool before the operating system and programs are loaded into memory.

Use Windows Memory Diagnostics

Once the computer restarts, the Windows memory diagnostic tool will run, and a screen will appear where it will begin to carry out the verification process. During this process, we will see a bar with your progress and any message will appear in case a problem is detected. When finished, it will restart the computer again and we will return to the Windows desktop where the results of the tests will appear.

Memory Diagnostic Tool

In the event that the results do not appear automatically, we must open the «Windows Event Viewer». To do this, we press the shortcut “Windows + R”, we write “eventvwr.msc” and we press “Enter”. Later we click on “Windows Registry” and “System”, located in the central part. Next, in the column «Origin» we look for any result corresponding to «MemoryDiagnostics-Results» and we will check the errors found.

Windows 10 Event Viewer

Do a RAM diagnosis with these programs

Along with the Windows System Diagnostic tool, we can also use applications developed by third parties to help us detect any problem or failure in our RAM memory, and that will also allow us to carry out this task without having to restart the system.

TechPowerUp Memtest64, performs RAM diagnostics

This light and free program will allow us check the status of our memory looking for hardware-level problems. It is compatible with all versions of Windows from XP to Windows 10, although only on 64-bit systems. Supports all modern processors from both Intel and AMD. Memory is tested using various detection algorithms and errors are detected automatically. No reboot or DOS mode is required for its use, as well as no administrator privileges or installation or registry modification. We can download it for free from here.

Once its main menu appears, we can enter the text from memory, which by default is set to maximum. We can also set the test to last indefinitely or set it to stop once a number of loops have been performed, after a specified number of hours or in case of detecting an error.

TechPowerUp Memtest64 Begin test

By default the program tests memory an indefinite number of times, but we can also limit its use. The longer it runs, the more accurate its error detection will be. Once ready, click on the “Benin” test button to start the tests.

TechPowerUp Memtest64 checking RAM

Aida64, with RAM performance and stress tests

This program has been developed to be able to test our entire PC. Among the tests that it incorporates for all the components of our equipment, we find both stress and performance tests for the RAM memory. In addition, it has a complete set of benchmars that will help us to know the performance of our equipment with certain applications. Its main problem is that we are talking about a payment tool, which at least allows the download and use of a free version for 30 days. We can download it from this link.

The program is portable and does not require installation, so once downloaded we will only have to run it. Once its main menu appears, completely in Spanish, we visualize a column on the left with all the components of the equipment that it is capable of analyzing. Here we go to the “Performance” tab, which is the one that interests us. From here we can do memory read, write, copy and latency test, in order to check its status.

Aida64

The memory test carried out by this software is responsible for providing one more load of the RAM, being a great option with which to evaluate the stability of a memory overclock or to perform other tests combined with other workloads