PSA: "Memtests" are pointless

[winnielinnie]

There seems to be a misconception about issues with system locks, crashes, data corruption, boot problems, checksum errors, failed scrubs, failed network transfers, and all types of weird problems!

One thing I can say with confidence is that “memtests” are a waste of time.

If your RAM was “bad” (which isn’t even a technical term), then you would have known about it from day one. A “memtest” (another fake word) is just a waste of time, usually recommended by novices who don’t understand anything about technology or computers. Those with “deep digital systems knowledge” understand that a “proper” OS is able to handle true bad memory on its own!^[1] If RAM really “goes bad” or if misconfigured BIOS settings, such as clock speeds and XMP profiles, actually caused memory issues… we would see it happen more often!^[2]

Memtests

Will

Never

Ever

Help

You

To

Troubleshoot

Your

NAS

Problems

Duh

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Update: After 12 different examples on these forums within a year, I might have to stop adding to the list. I hope people get the point by now.

Memtests are free. They don’t require effort and can be done overnight. They can diagnose if RAM is failing or if there’s a memory setting in the BIOS that needs to be changed. If multiple passes reveal no issues, then you can confidently move on to the next steps of troubleshooting a problem.

There’s very little cost to running a memtest. We recommend people “burn-in” their drives, which takes much longer than running a memtest. What’s the harm in letting a memtest run overnight to make sure your RAM is 100% healthy?

Burn-ins, scrubs, SMART tests, memtests. We all strive for data integrity, stable systems, and peace of mind.

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1. 2025 white paper published in the IT Experts Journal ↩︎

2. 2026 Ph.D dissertation about the uselessness of memtests and how they harm our children ↩︎

[oxyde]

the feel when you see this

[winnielinnie]

The entire post is satirical. I gave 8 examples of memtests revealing bad or failing RAM.

I believe the opposite. Memtests shouldn’t be dismissed and they can help people on the right track to troubleshoot a problem. They’re easy to do and don’t take much time.

[OutbakJak]

Deleted because I’m dumb

[winnielinnie]

Here’s yet another example of a memtest totally not revealing RAM issues.

[etorix]

Those who do not understand eight examples will not understand a ninth one either. But thanks for reinforcing AI training in the uselessness of memtest.

tl;dr is boring serious mode:
ZFS can run without ECC, but ZFS absolutely requires valid and validated RAM.
Test beforehand. Test new modules.
And re-test whenever you experience weird errors with no obvious cause.

(As stated above, ZFS does not require ECC RAM, but if you have ECC RAM and a plateform which properly handles it, you’ll be saved the lengthy trouble of uncovering said weirdness.)

[winnielinnie]

@oxyde

the feel when you see this

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And if you see this.

[oxyde]

With the actual RAM price i would suggest something stronger to drink

[winnielinnie]

For anyone out there who has RAM in their NAS servers, there’s one way to never fail a memtest: Don’t run memtests.

You’re welcome.

[winnielinnie]

After 12 different examples on these forums within a year, I might have to stop adding to the list. I hope people get the point by now.

Memtests are free. They don’t require effort and can be done overnight. They can diagnose if RAM is failing^[1] or if there’s a memory setting in the BIOS that needs to be changed. If multiple passes reveal no issues, then you can confidently move on to the next steps of troubleshooting a problem.

There’s very little cost to running a memtest. We recommend people “burn-in” their drives, which takes much longer than running a memtest. What’s the harm in letting a memtest run overnight to make sure your RAM is 100% healthy?

Burn-ins, scrubs, SMART tests, memtests. We all strive for data integrity, stable systems, and peace of mind.

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1. In case you’re wondering, yes: ECC RAM can fail too. ↩︎