CleanMem and MemTest

[Alexhousek]

Could CleanMem cause the program MemTest to show errors with memory modules?

I've been having some flaky computer problems.  Odd things, like freezes, not booting into windows, etc.  On a whim, I ran MemTest for about 30 minutes.  It found the following:

"Error found with word pair #60114874 or #60114312 (either could be the source)". 

It also found the same thing with the following numbers:
60114878 or 60114316
60114882 or 60114320
60114886 or 60114324
71761688 or 71761024
71761692 or 71761028

I turned off everything I could (firewall, anti-virus, desktop background changer, etc.) before running the test for probably over 30 minutes.  The only thing I did not turn off was CleanMem (which probably runs every 30 minutes or so). 

Could CleanMem have caused these error readings?

Do the error readings mean what I think they mean?  I have bad RAM?

[Evan]

No,  CleanMem only tells windows to run it's built in tools essentially.

I looked at MemTest and that tool runs in Windows.  If you want to check your memory you need to run a memory tester from a bootable disc such as Windows Memory Diagnostic CD or Memtest86.  You can't test your memory reliably if it is being used and if you have Windows running then up to 2GB of memory is being reserved for Windows alone.

What version of Windows are you running (i.e. XP Pro 32-bit with Service Pack 3, Vista Ultimate 64-bit with Service Pack 2, Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit RC, Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit RTM)?

You should also look for viruses and/or malware.  We recommend Avira (there is also a bootable version available) for Anti-Virus and Malwarebytes for Anti-Malware.

-Evan

[Shane]

Best thing to do is disable cleanmem. Depending how memtest runs it may not like having the memory cleaned. What I would do is use this memory test instead http://oca.microsoft.com/en/windiag.asp

It boots off a cd and is tested outside of windows, this way all your memory will get tested, not just the memory not in use.
If it reports bad ram then one of your sticks is bad.

Shane

[Alexhousek]

Both of you, thanks for replying so promptly.  How do I disable CleanMem?

[Alexhousek]

Evan, I sent you an email via your contact form.  Shane, I tried to email you but I lost your email address.

You both might remember me as the editor of Gizmo's Best Free Memory Optimizer and a long time CleanMem fan....

[Alexhousek]

BTW--the version I used of MemTest is 3.2 and can be found at http://hcidesign.com/memtest/.  The newest version is 3.8.  I have downloaded the one that both of you suggested from MS.

[Shane]

I replied to your email  

Just go to the task scheduler, right click on cleanmem and click disable  

Shane

[Evan]

Oh, hey K!

Glad to see you over on the forums.  I'll give the email a read.

Also, I edited (added) a little more to my original message that you might find useful.

-Evan

[Evan]

I never did receive your message Alexhousek.  Can you try sending it to Evan at PcWinTech dot com?

-Evan

[Alexhousek]

I sent it via your contact page.  It might have gone to Shane instead.

Just an FYI.  After disabling CleanMem and running MemTest 3.2 again, I got no errors.

I've downloaded the file/program you both recommended and I've created a bootable CD.  I'm going to run it here shortly while I'm eating lunch. 

P.S.  If the memory isn't bad, which is what actually I was kind of hoping for, then I'm kind of lost as to my computer glitches.  I'm fairly computer savvy, but it might be time to take it to the "big guns" (i.e. computer repair store). 

P.S.S.  I back up every night with Mozy, backup my important documents weekly to an external hard drive, and make monthly image backups.  So, I'm pretty ok.  It's just a pain to figure out hardware glitches.  (I'm 90% sure it's hardware and not software/registry related.)

[Shane]

Keep in mind memtest can only test memory that is availbe. So memory already in use doesn't get tested, that's why the bootable cd one is better for a proper test.
I wouldn't be surprised if cleanmem is causing memtest to show an error, memtest fills the memory, and it must not be locking the memory to keep it from being free. If your test on the memory shows the memory to be fine then all you need to do is add the memtest exe to cleanmems ignore list.

Shane