Using the memory diagnostics and what benefits it brings to you

You may experience a time when your computer may not run as smoothly as it once did.

File corruption, a virus, spyware, malware, or a hardware failure could cause this issue.

Using the memory diagnostic test helps identify if there is a hardware failure.

Before you run the diagnostics on the memory, it is recommended that you ensure you have the latest version of the BIOS available is installed for your computer.

See the Dell Knowledge Base article BIOS Update Guide for information about downloading and installing the latest version of BIOS available for your computer.

There are two methods to run diagnostics on the memory.

Option one, using the Preboot Diagnostics

To run the Preboot Diagnostics, see Dell Knowledge Base article How to Run a Preboot Diagnostic Test on a Dell Computer.

Option two, using the Dell Online Diagnostic Test

To run the Preboot Diagnostics, see Dell Knowledge Base article How to Run a Dell Online Diagnostic Test.

Option three, using the SupportAssist tool

To run the Preboot Diagnostics, see Dell Knowledge Base article How to Run a Diagnostic Test Using SupportAssist.

For more information about memory diagnostics, see these Dell Knowledge Base articles:

• How to Diagnose and Resolve Common Memory Issues on a Dell Desktop
• How to Diagnose and Resolve Common Memory Issues on a Dell Laptop
• How to Identify and Resolve memory issues on Precision Desktop Workstations