New Mac Pro burn in and memory test

Memtest for Mac:

http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/17156

GUI for membest:

http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/24508

Open Rember package (command-I, choose Show Package Contents), localise the memtest daemon (Resources folder I think), replace with newer memtest 4.2 version - violetta!

As for burning in - audio electronics and speakers do need burning-in, but computer electronics don't. A freshly installed system probably will trigger Spotlight to index - or journal - the active volume/partition if HFX Journalled is chosen as formatting option (it probably is), so the machine will seem sluggish for the first couple of hours. Leaving it powered up overnight will let Spotlight finish its job.

You might want to consider zeroing your drives. Disk Utility > Erase > Zero-all which can map out a bad sector, loosen up the heads, and then there are some free disk benchtest utilities.

I like to give disk drives a thorough going-over for a couple days, with loading with files, cloning the system, and insuring it meets my expectations and how well it performs, especially if it will be used in a RAID at some point.

Hardware Monitor (shareware) monitors cup and hard drive temps and a few other sensors. Always handy.

Memtestosx now wants to charge for downloads. It is built into Rember and Tiger Cache Cleaner. I just bought 2GB RAM and ran multiple copies to make it easier, testing in 512MB increments.

Backups and clones. Essential and great to have, especially before any OS updates or installing software of any type you are unsure of.

Some people like to run "dnet" or something that is cpu intensive, too.

There should be a hardware test on one of the disks that came with the computer. Start while holding "D". Run Extended Test. Control-L should make it run repeatedly.

But everyone has said that AHT doesn't do a very good job and misses problems that Memtest finds.

I am trying to figure out if OWC RAM I just got should be replaced or what - keep seeing recoverable errors on one DIMM when running tests.

But everyone has said that AHT doesn't do a very good
job and misses problems that Memtest finds.

A dedicated hardware test can do some tests that can't be done by programs like Memtest, that have to run with the operating system. Standalone tests have control of the memory management hardware and can run pattern tests without interruption. They can also test areas of memory normally occupied by the operating system, and can make a copy of themselves elsewhere in memory so they can test the memory occupied by the test program. When run with the looping mode the test should give a good results. Memtest may use some patterns not used by the hardware test disk, so might catch some additional errors, but it should not be the only test.

I am trying to figure out if OWC RAM I just got
should be replaced or what - keep seeing recoverable
errors on one DIMM when running tests.

Errors (recoverable or not) should be rare, and if the memory is not defective, would not be confined to one module. If a memory module has had more than one, it is defective, and should be replaced.

Just finished running AHT. There is no looping option that I saw, but it did detect memory errors, which is a first - for me, as it never caught any but the worst errors in the past.

Let's just hope OWC doesn't pull some tricks: 15% restocking fee, or insisting otherwise. Or that I have to accept their RAM for replacement. (I have never had good RAM from OWC, always Bad RAM luck.)

The last set of results from Memtest: Parity Errors.

Oct 24 09:42:32 Raptor kernel[0]: /!\ WARNING: corrected 416804 parity error(s) in DIMM Riser A/DIMM 1 ( ferr = 00002000 nerr == 00002000 )
Oct 24 09:42:32 Raptor kernel[0]: /!\ WARNING: corrected 13 parity error(s) in DIMM Riser B/DIMM 1 ( ferr = 20000000 nerr == 00002000 )
Oct 24 09:42:34 Raptor kernel[0]: /!\ WARNING: corrected 416805 parity error(s) in DIMM Riser A/DIMM 1 ( ferr = 00002000 nerr == 00002000 )


AHT results

4Mem/45/40000001:B:1C:1R:0
froze when clicked on Restart button.
4Mem/43/40000001:B:0:C:0:R:0

Mac Pro 2GHz 4GB WD Raptor + 3x160 RAID Mac OS X (10.4.8) APC RS1500/XS1500

Just finished running AHT. There is no looping option
that I saw

If it is like G4 AHT, it doesn't show the looping option, but Control-L will turn it on or off. (It does show when it is on.)

its worth pulling the ram and reseating it if youre seeing errors, and then doing the test again. i was getting masses of ecc errors on my ram from crucial but i just took it out and put it back in again and havent had a problem with it since.

its normal that the cursor is really sluggish. personally i dont see why its a problem, since theres only one button on there anyway. i dont know the reason for the slowness but i assume its because the test app is trying to use as few resources as possible.

Hardware test programs have a very limited user interface, often just command line with no graphics. The program has to be designed to run on a machine where some of the hardware may be defective, so it tries to use as little hardware as possible apart from that currently being tested. Interrupts are disabled most of the time so as not to interfere with the testing, so the user interface will not be very responsive.

Just read about the Intel version of Applejack (beta) that was posted, and it now includes ability to install the latest Memtest and make it easier to run in Single User Mode.

Applejack was #1 essential for troubleshooting and repairs on PPC, and glad to see it updated - all the old features function as they should, the Expert Mode is new and under development but has some great features.

And yes, it is primitive, it isn't looking for the mouse or user intervention in order to run small and fast. (Disk Warrior is a great disk utility but lacks any indication of its progress OR for ANY user intervention at all).

It is not an "operating system" at all. It isn't a "system" which is how it can test hardware, and test all the RAM.