RAM issues can be a real pain. Sometimes, your system runs into random crashes, weird graphics glitches, or even that dreaded Blue Screen of Death. Honestly, it’s annoying not knowing if your RAM is the culprit or if it’s just some dodgy driver messing around. The thing is, RAM misconfigurations or faults often slip under the radar until they cause serious trouble, including data loss. That’s why running a quick health check can save a lot of headaches. Luckily, Windows has a built-in tool called the Memory Diagnostic Utility that does a decent job of checking if your RAM is acting up.
Here’s the deal: if your PC starts crashing more often than usual, or you notice weird glitches, it’s worth investigating the RAM. This guide will walk through the steps on how to run the test and interpret the results, so you’re not blindly guessing. Just a heads-up—the process can take some time, and sometimes the tests are a bit basic, so if issues persist, might be worth exploring other hardware diagnoses or RAM replacements.
How to Check RAM Issues in Windows 10
Open the Windows Memory Diagnostic Tool
- First, find your way to Start and type
Windows Memory Diagnosticin the search box or just start typing “Memory Diagnostic” directly. It should pop up pretty quick. - Click on it — you’ll see a small window that asks if you want to check immediately or the next time you restart. On one setup it worked fine to click Restart now and check for problems, but honestly, some folks report that the tool throws errors or doesn’t run properly if you don’t do it at boot. So, if you can, do it now.
Running the Test & What to Expect
- This restarts your PC into a sort of bare-bones interface that looks like MS-DOS, but it’s Windows’s way of doing a hardware check. The test by default is fairly quick, but if you want more thorough results, hit F1 before it starts and select the Extended or Standard test.
- While it runs, you’ll see some progress, and it’s kinda weird — on some machines, it feels like it stalls, but just sit tight. Don’t try to interrupt it unless it’s been running for hours—I’ve seen a few flaky setups where it just hangs if you do that.
Once the test finishes, your system will reboot, and Windows will usually notify you with a pop-up or a notification panel in the bottom right corner about the results. Fair warning: sometimes the notifications are sneaky, or you might miss them entirely if you’re not looking. So, it’s good to follow up with checking logs if needed.
Check Your RAM Test Results in Windows 10
- After rebooting, head to Start and search for “Event Viewer”. Alternatively, hit Windows Key + R, type
eventvwr.msc, and press Enter. - In Event Viewer, expand Windows Logs and click on System.
- Press Ctrl + F or use the Find feature (bottom left or via the menu), and type
MemoryDiagnostic— this will filter out the relevant logs. - Click through the entries, and you should see the outcome of the RAM test. If it reports issues, time to start suspecting your RAM or testing it further with tools like MemTest86.
Not sure why it works, but on some setups, you might need to run the diagnostic more than once or even try swapping RAM modules if errors keep showing up. Hardware can be a pain like that.