RAM Troubleshooting How to check your Windows 10 PC for memory problems When your computer is acting up, it could be a memory problem, and in this guide, we show you how to use Windows 10's built. Download offline grammar checker for pc for free. Office Tools downloads - Grammar Check Anywhere by TG Enterprises, Inc. And many more programs are available for instant and free download.
No matter who you are, whether newbie or veteran, your Windows system will eventually run into problems that aren’t so easy to diagnose. (It happens on other operating systems too.) When that happens, what do you do?
You could hire somebody to troubleshoot the problem for you, but that should be a last resort. There’s no need to pay someone when you can easily figure out the problem on your own using tools you can download for free.
We recommend giving these tools a try first. You might be surprised by how much you can solve with these alone! If you STILL can’t fix the issue, then sure, bring in the cavalry.
Windows System Diagnostic Tools
Hardware problems can be a huge pain in the neck on Windows. They tend to occur most often when you’re using an older version of the operating system (e.g. Windows 7 or Windows 8) or a cutting edge version (e.g. Windows Insider).
But sometimes you just want to know which hardware you’re using. These are the tools you should absolutely know how to use for any of these use cases.
1. CPU-Z
CPU-Z is a nifty little program that scans your system for its internal hardware configuration. It’s indispensable if you ever want to upgrade your PC parts and want to avoid incompatibility issues.
But it’s also good for when you forget which components you have installed, especially if you built your own PC, as well as for verifying the components when buying a used PC from someone you may not trust.
2. Performance Monitor
As in older versions of the operating system, Windows 10 has a Performance Monitor, except now it exists as an app. Once launched, look at the sidebar. Under Monitoring Tools, you should see Performance Monitor.
By default, the Monitor only shows “% Processor Time” which displays how much of your CPU is used at any given time, but you can add more Counters such as disk usage, energy used, paging file size, search index size, and more.
3. Reliability Monitor
The Reliability Monitor is a hidden tool that’s been around since Windows Vista, yet so many people have never even heard of it. It’s in the Control Panel under System & Security > Security & Maintenance > Maintenance > View reliability history.
Here you’ll see a history of your system and a timeline of events and errors that occurred during a given time period. The blue line is an estimate from 1 to 10 of how stable your system is over time.
If something is crashing a lot, this is a good place to look because you can select the error and Check for a solution.
Windows Network Diagnostic Tools
Whether you’re using Wi-Fi or Ethernet, there’s a good chance you’re going to run into network problems. It’s one of the most common problems to have these days. That’s why you need these tools.
4. WiFi Analyzer
WiFi Analyzer is a free tool that does exactly what its name says: it analyzes your Wi-Fi network’s setup to see whether your wireless channel is interfering with other nearby Wi-Fi networks.
Once analyzed, it will recommend a channel setting for you. It’s not perfect, especially in crowded apartments and dense cities, but in some cases it can boost your Wi-Fi speed and reliability by a significant amountHow to Boost Your Wi-Fi Speed Up to 5x With One Quick FixHow to Boost Your Wi-Fi Speed Up to 5x With One Quick FixIf you're having trouble with your Wi-Fi speed, there's one quick fix that only takes a minute but could significantly boost performance. You should try it ASAP!Read More. It’s worth trying!
5. Angry IP Scanner
Angry IP Scanner is a nice tool to have. In a nutshell, it scans your network to see which IP addresses and ports are being used by which devices.
You can use it at home to see how many devices are connected to your network (to check if anyone is mooching off of your Internet) or to find the IP address of a specific device (such as your smartphone).
Windows Drive Diagnostic Tools
6. CrystalDiskInfo
Ever wondered if your hard disk drive or solid state drive was in good condition? It’s not easy to find out, especially with newer SSDs that can die before you even realize something’s wrong. (Learn the warning signs of a failing SSD!5 Warning Signs Your SSD Is About to Break Down and Fail5 Warning Signs Your SSD Is About to Break Down and FailWorried your SSD will malfunction and break down and take all of your data with it? Look for these warning signs.Read More)
Well, that’s where CrystalDiskInfo comes into play.
This simple program gives you a complete overview of the state of your data drives, including HDDs, SSDs, and USB drives. Details include temperature, spin-up time, uptime, error rates, and more. It also calculates an overall Health Status.
Note that it has a sister program called CrystalDiskMark, which you can use to benchmark your data drives (i.e. see how fast they can read and write data).
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7. WinDirStat
WinDirStat is a must-have application as far as I’m concerned. I’ve used it regularly for many years now and it has never disappointed me. It stands for Windows Directory Statistics and it does exactly what it says.
In short, it scans your data drives and tells you how much space is used up by various folders and files, all displayed in a neat tree-based hierarchy and a detailed graph view.
Not only is WinDirStat perfect for visualizing where your data is stored, it’s also fantastic for cleaning up lost files and recovering disk space6 Ways to Free Up Space on Your Windows Computer6 Ways to Free Up Space on Your Windows ComputerClutter can be a big downer on productivity. Over time, files get lost, programs go unused, and suddenly, your once spacious hard drive is packed with useless things and you have to clean it up..Read More.
Windows Memory Diagnostic Tools
RAM problems are another common issue for computers at home. (Learn more about RAM here.) These days, it’s way too easy to run out of physical RAM, which can lead to system slowdowns and even crashes. Fortunately, diagnoses are usually straightforward.
8. Resource Monitor
Windows has a feature called the Resource Monitor, which was implemented back in Vista. Traditionally, you’d have to launch it through the Task Manager, but it’s now a separate app in Windows 10 that you can launch through the Start Menu.
The Resource Monitor is an advanced way to view real-time data about your system and is usually used in conjunction with the Performance Monitor. However, I mainly use it for viewing process details and memory usage. Indeed, it’s one of the easiest ways to troubleshoot RAM problemsHow to Troubleshoot Low RAM or Memory Leaks in WindowsHow to Troubleshoot Low RAM or Memory Leaks in WindowsDo you have 4 or more GB of RAM and does your computer still feel sluggish? You may suffer from a memory leak or shortage. We show you how to troubleshoot all your Windows (10)..Read More.
9. Windows Memory Diagnostic
Did you know Windows actually has a built-in tool that can physically test your RAM modules to check if they’re free of errors? An app called Windows Memory Diagnostic.
Using it will restart your computer. On boot up, the tool will run several tests on your RAM, and if it encounters any errors or failures, it will do its best to let you know which module is the culprit. You should replace that module ASAP.
Windows Display Diagnostic Tools
10. JScreenFix
Look carefully at your screen. Do you see any spots that aren’t caused by flecks of dust? If so, you may have a stuck pixel5 Ways to Fix a Stuck Pixel on Your Screen5 Ways to Fix a Stuck Pixel on Your ScreenA dead or stuck pixel on your screen can be annoying. Here are the best ways to test your screen and how to fix dead pixels.Read More, which is a pixel that’s stuck on a certain color. These can be super annoying.
JScreenFix is a web tool that can help. All it does is flash the area of the screen with the stuck pixel with hundreds of different colors every second. This should unstick the pixel after about ten minutes.
Does it always work? No. Sometimes a stuck pixel will be stuck forever due to a physical defect in the screen. But JScreenFix has a success rate over 60 percent, so give it a try if you have a stuck pixel of your own.
Windows Malware Diagnostic Tools
11. AdwCleaner
Not many people know about AdwCleaner, which is a shame because it’s fantastic and deserves more recognition. It’s just a simple malware scanner, but it’s fast, efficient, and free, which is all anyone can ask for.
It’s mainly designed to target malware that comes bundled with installer files, so it detects adware, toolbars, unwanted programs, browser hijackers, etc. Scan results are sorted as services, files, DLLs, scheduled tasks, registry entries, and more.
12. MalwareBytes
MalwareBytes has been king of the malware scanners for many years now. Most people have heard of it at least once, but if you haven’t, know that a lot of folks consider this a must-have application on every computer.
Note that MalwareBytes comes in both Free and Premium versions. The Free version is great, of course, and it’s more than enough for most home users, but the Premium version has all kinds of advanced features that are awesome. Learn more about why MalwareBytes Premium is worth the money5 Reasons to Upgrade to Malwarebytes Premium: Yes, It's Worth It5 Reasons to Upgrade to Malwarebytes Premium: Yes, It's Worth ItWhile the free version of Malwarebytes is awesome, the premium version has a bunch of useful and worthwhile features.Read More.
13. ClamWin
ClamWin may look primitive, but don’t let that fool you. It’s one of the best free antivirus scanners currently available. The scans can take a while but it detects pretty much everything so the trade-off is worth it.
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Why use ClamWin? Because it’s open-source, unlike the above-mentioned alternatives, and this is important if you want to verify that a program is doing what it claims to be doing—especially if that program is a security application. You can never be too careful.
Diagnose Your PC’s Problems With These Tools
We hope you’ll find these tools useful. Will you need ALL of them? No, probably not. Just pick the ones that seem valuable to you and forget the rest, at least for now.
You can always bookmark this page and refer back to it if you ever stumble into an issue that you’ve never seen before. Just remember to reboot before troubleshootingWhy Does Rebooting Your Computer Fix So Many Issues?Why Does Rebooting Your Computer Fix So Many Issues?'Have you tried rebooting?' It's technical advice that gets thrown around a lot, but there's a reason: it works. Not just for PCs, but a wide range of devices. We explain why.Read More.
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HP provides diagnostic software you can use to test hardware components on your computer and confirm hardware failures when you suspect something is wrong.
my dell inspirion laptop with 8gb RAM,has half screen light flickering issue during playing any video for long time i.e in playing movie
OMG. THIS must be THE WORST advice to give anyone. None of these programs test ANYTHING properly or give ANY decent advice on how to fix them. A quick all-in-one for anyone wanting decent diagnostics, look at HIRENS boot disk. a collection of tools that actually test and fix things.
This article is very insightful and I found it answered a lot of my questions about windows. Think outside the box.
Thank you so much for this list! I have an old pc that perhaps might help extend its life a bit longer.
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HP provides diagnostic software you can use to test hardware components on your computer and confirm hardware failures when you suspect something is wrong.
Any comments about System Mechanic?
clamwin is a horrible anti malware program lmao
I was immediately turned off by CPU-Z. I ran it on a netbook and right off the bat it misreported the CPU speed (it claimed 2.1 GHz) and the type of memory (claimed ddr2-800 when it was actually 533) -- I know in this case it's minor, but if it can't get those two specs right, how can I trust any of the benchmarks?
I've used SiSoft Sandra in the past with some success. The later versions have a lot of unnecessary bloat, but it's still good on giving you specs and comparisons to other machine benchmarks so you can do a shopping comparison.
. [ Jason ]. try the CURRENT version of CPUId elsewhere to see how it works successfully, then you may feel confident to recognize that the report it gives you is probably accurate, and your system in question is just behaving differently than labeled or promised or than you expect.
Your CPU is running at 2.1 GHz and depends on bus speed and multiplier settings, and both Intel and AMD play labeling games to brag that their chips 'feel' faster than their GHz speeds, and each may have burst speeds that are only available for short periods below maximum temperature, if you think you are getting 3.1 GHz out of a 2.1 GHz chip, you probably are, sometimes, and it's impossible to 'feel' where speed comes from with multiple cores and multiple threads along with variable GHz speeds, but CPUId is honest and more importantly, accurate.
And chips self-identified as DDR2-800 can run at any speed, including 533 MHz depending on the chips and bus settings, see https :// en. wikipedia. org/wiki/DDR2_SDRAM for more. .