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Originally Added to
Website: 14 Sep 2009
Last
updated: 13 Aug 2014
Added off-site link to Furmark due to bloatware concerns
Top
of the list
Memory
diag (bootable)
Hard
Drive diag (bootable)
AntiMalware
tests
Rescue
disks (bootable)
Video
1 (Furmark)
Prime95
Video
2 (5 tests)
CPU
Stress tests
[quote]
I
suggest starting all troubleshooting with the following
diagnostic
tests (also located at this link: http://www.carrona.org/initdiag.html
). They'll save you a lot of time and heartache if there
is a
hardware failure, and you'll have the disks on hand in case you need
them in the future:
H/W
Diagnostics:
Please start by running these bootable
hardware
diagnostics:
http://www.carrona.org/memdiag.html
(read the details at the link)
http://www.carrona.org/hddiag.html
(read the details at the link) - Test ALL
of the hard drives.
Also,
please run one of these free, independent online malware scans to
ensure that your current protection hasn't been compromised:
http://www.carrona.org/malware.html
(read the details at the link)
There are also free, bootable
antivirus disks at this link:
http://www.carrona.org/malware.html#rescue
Additional free diagnostics here: http://www.carrona.org/addldiag.html
Full list of free diagnostics here: http://www.carrona.org/hwdiag.html
[/quote]
Then,
if the above tests pass (and you're able to get into Windows), I'd try
these free stress tests:
I strongly suggest using a temperature monitoring program. I
picked this
free one because it was the first one I found that also shows GPU
temps: http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/hwmonitor.html
I also suggest this one: http://www.hwinfo.com
[quote]
FurMark download
site: http://www.ozone3d.net/benchmarks/fur/
(appears to be bundled w/bloatware now - 12 Aug 2014)
Try downloading from one of the major download sites. Here's a link to it at Major Geeks (as of 12 Aug 2014): http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/furmark.html
FurMark
Setup:
- If you have more than one GPU, select Multi-GPU during setup
- In the Run mode box, select "Stability Test" and "Log GPU Temperature"
Click "Go" to start the test (Looks like it's "BURN-IN test"
now)
- Run the test until the GPU temperature maxes out - or until you start
having problems (whichever
comes first).
NOTE:
Set the alarm
to go
off at 90ºC. Then watch the system from that point
on. If
the system doesn't display a temperature, watch it constantly and turn
it off at the first sign of video problems. DO NOT leave
it it
unmonitored, it can DAMAGE
your video card!!!
If the temperature gets above 100ºC, quit
the
test - the video card is overheating.
- Click "Quit" to exit
[/quote]
What you are looking for:
- excessive heat from the GPU (report back with anything
over 90ºC)
- problems with the video display (picture is distorted or jumbled,
picture turns black, etc)
- problems reported by the program (I haven't seen this, but "just in
case")
Dual
Video Cards:
Some tips for dual (or more) video cards:
[TIPS] How to Enable
SLI and CrossFire Support for OpenGL Applications | Geeks3D
(Tips) How To Enable
SLI and CrossFire Support for MSI Kombustor 2.0 | Geeks3D
If it still doesn't work, test the cards individually. [/quote]
[quote]
Prime95 download
site: http://www.mersenne.org/freesoft/
Prime95
Setup:
- extract the contents of the zip file to a location of your choice
- double click on the executable file
- select "Just stress testing"
-
select the "Blend" test. If you've already run MemTest
overnight please run the "Small FFTs" test instead. (run all 3 if you
find a problem and note how long it takes to error out with each)
- "Number of torture test threads to run" should equal the number of
CPU's times 2 (if you're using hyperthreading).
The
easiest way to figure this out is to go to Task Manager...Performance
tab - and see the number of boxes under CPU Usage History
Then run the test for 6 to 24 hours - or until you get errors (whichever comes first).
Monitor the CPU temperature and DON'T let it exceed
85ºC. If it does, then you probably have a CPU cooling
problem.
- CPU temps exceeding 90ºC can cause errors in Prime95. Fix
the cooling solution first, then run Prime95 again.
This won't necessarily crash the system - but check the output in the
test window for errors.
The Test selection box and the stress.txt file describes what
components that the program stresses.
NOTE:
Errors should be considered when:
- the system BSOD's during Prime95
-
the system freezes during Prime95 (this is different than the extreme
slowness caused by the program using all your RAM and CPU)
- the Prime95 program crashes
- the Prime95 program shows errors in it's display
- there are errors in the Prime95 results file
More details on the use of this test: http://www.playtool.com/pages/prime95/prime95.html
[/quote]
[quote]
More
Video Stress Tests:
1. Thanks to VirGnarus for finding this video memory
test: https://simtk.org/home/memtest
Alternate download link (w/o registration) located here: http://folding.stanford.edu/English/DownloadUtils
2. Two other video stress tests (may be more stressful than
FurMark):
NOTE: I
have had reports that
some ISP's will block this website
Video
Memory stress Test - http://nvworld.ru/utilities/vmt/
Download the memory test from this link: http://nvworld.ru/files/downloads/utils/vmt.zip
(be sure to scan anything downloaded from the internetwith an antivirus
BEFORE opening it)
Extract it and double click on the vmt.eng.bat file in order to run the
English version.
Artifact
Locator - http://nvworld.ru/utilities/alocator/
Sorry, but I don't read the language that this website is made
in.
3. Another interesting test that came to my attention (in
English): http://www.ocbase.com/perestroika_en/index.php?Download
USE AT YOUR OWN RISK - the program doesn't have a whole bunch of safety
features to protect you from yourself![/quote]
4. Dunno if this is a duplicate of one of the above tests -
but try this bootable Video Memory Stress Test: http://mikelab.kiev.ua/index_en.php?page=PROGRAMS/vmt_en
[/quote]
[quote]
CPU
Stress Tests:
Only need to run 1 or 2 of the tests under most
circumstances. I
haven't used any of the tests myself, so I listed all that I was able
to find.
- Intel Processor
Diagnostic Tool (works in Windows)
x64 - http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Detail_Desc.aspx?agr=Y&DwnldID=19792&keyword=%22cpu+stress+test%22&DownloadType=Utilities%2c+Tools+and+Examples&lang=eng
x86 - http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Detail_Desc.aspx?agr=Y&DwnldID=19791&keyword=%22cpu+stress+test%22&DownloadType=Utilities%2c+Tools+and+Examples&lang=eng
Burn Test - http://downloads.guru3d.com/IntelBurnTest-v2.3-download-2047.html
- AMD OverDrive
is the recommended solution from AMD - BUT
I've seen issues with this program causing BSOD's.
Use at your own risk!!!
http://sites.amd.com/us/game/downloads/amd-overdrive/pages/overview.aspx
- Other
Stress Tests:
- http://7byte.com/index.php?page=hotcpu
- http://www.7byte.com/index.php?page=burnin64
- http://www.overclock.net/general-processor-discussions/657486-cpu-stress-test.html
- http://www.fossiltoys.com/cpuload.html
- http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/file/fid,7146-order,1-page,1-c,alldownloads/description.html
- http://www.overclock.net/general-processor-discussions/657486-cpu-stress-test.html
- http://majorgeeks.com/CPU_Stability_Test_d215.html
- http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=201670
- the test(s) suggested at this link are bootable: http://www.techsupportforum.com/forums/f15/headless-cpu-stress-testing-393435.html#post2232929
[/quote]