How can I check my RAM and hard drive for errors?

What tools can I use to check that my memory and hard drive are still working correctly?

Solution 1:

Boot with Ubuntu Live CD/USB stick (or press & hold Shift before the splash screen, to enter GRUB menu), and select TEST MEMORY with memtest86+! See this illustration, don't wait for graphical UI!

Illustration:

test image

To test HDD, you can use S.M.A.R.T. data reader, palimpsest disk utility, press Super/Dash button, start typing Disk Utility (for Gnome: System > Administration > Disk utility), and check your S.M.A.R.T. data (YOU MUST UNMOUNT THAT DISK FIRST, YOU WANT TO CHECK ITS FILESYSTEM - that's why, use a Live CD/USB stick - for S.M.A.R.T. reading, the disk could be mounted/used)!

Illustration: S.M.A.R.T. DATA

Solution 2:

For HDD, you can use badblocks program which is installed with the e2fsprogs program. It's a command-line program and a read-only scan can be performed with:

sudo badblocks -v /dev/sda

-v causes verbose information to be displayed, /dev/sda is the device name of the disk.

For RAM, you can find memtest86+ on any live CD or USB. It'll prompt you if there's something wrong with your RAM.

Solution 3:

Hard disk:

open up a command line, (Applications → Accessories → Terminal) and type
```
sudo touch /forcefsck
```
then reboot your computer. The operating system will perform a hard disk check (fsck) for you during the boot.

Ram:

When the system is booting, just after the POST (power-on self test) screen, hit the ESC key a few times until you see the GRUB boot menu.

You should see a list of different Linux kernels. Right at the bottom, there's an option captioned somethimg like Memtest86, this will thoroughly test your memory for corruption (also, it will take ages).

Solution 4:

My solution for 10.04 (That works for me):

To test RAM I'm using Live CD 10.04:

I reboot my computer with it in cd drive;
then I choose my language;
then I choose Test Ram.

For testing HDD works:

sudo touch /forcefsck

Found also this tutorial on youtube with additional information.

Solution 5:

Boot from an install CD, press Esc while it's booting, and you should have the option to check both memory and the hard disk. You can do this whether or not you have Ubuntu already installed.

If you do have it installed, you can run memcheck from the grub menu.