Is this a sign of memory going bad?

[Chuck Robey]

On Thu, 25 Nov 2004, Haulmark, Chris wrote:

> Someone broke the silence:
>
> > On Thu, Nov 25, 2004 at 04:05:53PM -0500, Lowell Gilbert wrote:
> >> Jonathon McKitrick <jcm at FreeBSD-uk.eu.org> writes:
> >>
> >>> This is what I get from make buildworld.  I've gotten signal 10,
> >>> 11, and now 5.
> >>>
> >>> Is this bad memory?
> >>
> >> That's a reasonable guess, but the only way to tell for sure is to
> >> test it.
> >
> > Is there a port to do this, or do I have to take it out and take it
> > somewhere else to get it tested?
> >
> > jm
>
> sysutils/memtest in the ports.

I don't want to embarrass anyone here, but something needs to be said.
Note this next sentence carefully: THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A WORKING
MEMORY TEST PROGRAM!!!

Anyone who tells you otherwise is no friend of yours, because they are
making your life hard.  It's very alluring to assume that programs written
to do a job actually do that job, and most especially in the case of
memory test, one would *really* **REALLY** wish that Chuck here was lying,
cause you honestly need a memory test program, but the truth is otherwise:
memory test programs don't work.  At the very best, if they spend 30
minutes carefully exercising memory, you get a factor that is maybe 10%
reliable, and 90% wishful guessing.

With that in mind, sometimes, the very best memory test programs can give
you better ideas that memory you thought was failing IS failing.  The
opposite, proving that memory is good, is just totally, totally useless,
you cannot take any data home at all about your memory being good.


>
> Chris Haulmark
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>

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Chuck Robey         | Interests include C & Java programming, FreeBSD,
chuckr at chuckr.org   | electronics, communications, and SF/Fantasy.

New Year's Resolution:  I will not sphroxify gullible people into looking up
fictitious words in the dictionary (on the wall at my old fraternity,
Signa Phi Nothing).
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