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U S E R S' M A N U A L R A M T E S T V E R S I O N 2 . 0 Copyright (C) Brown Bag Software 1987 2155 South Bascom Ave Campbell Ca 95008 U. S. A. Tel: (408) 559 4545 RamTest Version 2.0 Copyright 1987, Brown Bag Software THE SHAREWARE CONCEPT Copyright 1987 Telemarketing Resources DBA Brown Bag Software. All rights reserved world wide. Both the RamTest program and documentation is copyrighted. It can not be disassembled or modified without our express written consent. RamTest is distributed on a ShareWare basis. You may use RamTest without charge for the purposes of evaluating it's suitability for your use. We suggest that this evaluation period be limited to 30 days of actual use. If you find that RamTest is worth continuing to use, then you are required to pay for it. We call the payment a "Registration Fee". Simply complete the registration form and mail it in to use with your payment. If your company requires an invoice, we suggest that you use a copy of this registration as the pro forma invoice. When you register your copy of RamTest, you'll receive the latest version of the program, along with a comprehensive printed user manual and free unlimited technical support for one year. We aggressively develop our products, and as a registered user you'll be entitled to upgrades to the newest versions as they are released, at a greatly reduced price. Most importantly though, by registering your copy of RamTest (or any ShareWare product), you'll ensure the survival of the convenient and risk free distribution method that brought you RamTest in the first place. If you have received this copy from a Users' Group, "Software Library" or "SIG", and have paid a small fee (usually $3 to $10), you have NOT acquired the registered rights or continued right to use RamTest. This fee was for the convenience of obtaining the diskette with RamTest on it. The fee does NOT apply to the registration fee. If you have obtained a "ShareWare" copy of RamTest from Brown Bag Software, and have paid a small fee, this fee IS applicable towards registration if you register your copy within 90 days. If you don't know whether or not your copy of RamTest is registered or not, then look for an original diskette with a printed Brown Bag Software diskette label. If in doubt, just call us or write us. As of October 1987, Brown Bag Software has offices in London, Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Cologne and Zurich. Our products are available locally in these cities with local technical support, payable in local currency and shipped from within the EEC without duty. If this version of RamTest does NOT support the European keyboard, then you will receive a version that DOES support the keyboard WHEN YOU REGISTER. You may freely copy RamTest for distribution under the ShareWare concept, without charge. You may NOT charge any fee for the RamTest program or documentation without our WRITTEN APPROVAL (usually granted). You may NOT distribute RamTest or it's documentation in connection with ANY commercial venture, product, publication or service without our written approval. 1 RamTest Version 2.0 Copyright 1987, Brown Bag Software RAMTEST IMPORTANT NOTE: Executing this program WILL destroy the data in memory, including data located on RAM disks. You will find this program useful, not only in identifying an existing fault but also as part of a periodic maintenance program. This program has been developed as an exhaustive test of the memory in a PC, XT, AT or any of their clones. It is much more comprehensive than the Power On Self Test and delivers diagnostic messages which are much easier to understand. In addition to system or base memory, RamTest will also test Expanded Memory on all machines and Extended Memory on AT type machines. RUNNING RAMTEST WE SUGGEST THAT YOU DO NOT RUN ANY OTHER PROGRAM (including memory resident programs) while using RamTest. To start the program place the disk in the default drive and type: RAMTEST [Enter] The test is best run from a floppy disk which has been formatted using the /S option from IBM or MS DOS ver 3.1 or lower (so that you can boot directly from it) and contains no RAM-based utilities. Many commonly used RAM resident programs and utilities "take command" of portions of the system and may cause RamTest to crash. AN IMPORTANT EXCEPTION to this is if your system uses Expanded Memory, you MUST then have the Expanded Memory Manager included in your CONFIG.SYS file in order to test Expanded Memory. When RamTest first starts, it computes the Relative Performance Index. This number approximates the factor by which the computer's performance exceeds that of a 4.77MHz 8088. The number generated will probably be different than that generated on the same machine by the Norton Utilities. The difference arises from the different methods used to compute the processor speed. After the startup command is executed, the program determines the RAM configuration of your system and displays the RamTest menu. 2 RamTest Version 2.0 Copyright 1987, Brown Bag Software MAIN MENU OPTIONS All RamTest options can also be specified from the RamTest Main Menu. P The P option disables parity checking for Eagle computers and other machines without parity checked RAM and also to merely disable checking of the RAM chips. This option should also be used with computers which have parity detection circuitry which is noticeably different from IBM (PC Limited and other clones included). If RamTest consistently indicates parity errors in a computer which does not fail otherwise, you should use the P option. E Cycles the echo option through the possible settings. The ECHO option causes RamTest to echo error messages to a printer or other output device. In this mode, the error message will be output to the indicated port and then testing will continue without pause. The allowable choices for ECHO are COM1, COM2, LPT1, LPT2. If COM1 or COM2 is chosen, the baud rate parameters must be set using the DOS MODE command prior to running RamTest. For example, to run RamTest with the error messages going to a printer at 9600 baud, use the following sequence of commands: MODE COM1 9600 RAMTEST COM1 *** Note that you may also specify the required port as a command line parameter. C If you can tell the program what size memory chips your computer has then the diagnostics can be even more precise as to the location of any errors. S Toggles "Sound on Error". Q Toggles "Quit on Error". As with all Brown Bag products, pressing the F1 key brings context-sensitive help. Pressing the Esc key terminates the program. TYPES OF MEMORY The difference between base, expanded and extended memory is fairly simple. Base Memory is that computer memory below the 640k DOS limit. This is generally where programs are loaded and run. 3 RamTest Version 2.0 Copyright 1987, Brown Bag Software Expanded Memory is memory which is contained on an expansion board which conforms to the Lotus-Intel-Microsoft Expanded Memory Specification (EMS). It can actually be many megabytes but is accessed in 16k chunks which are mapped into an unused space in memory, often segment D000. Extended Memory is only used on AT type computers and is related to the 80286 protected mode of operation. The Menu The menu allows you to choose any combination of the memory sections of your computer for testing. Each menu item is related to one or more types of memory but only they appear if your particular machine has the type of memory in question. The complete menu (seen only on an AT type system) is: 1. Set Repeat Count (1) 2. Base Memory 3. Expanded Memory 4. Extended Memory 5. Base and Expanded Memory 6. Base and Extended Memory 7. Base, Expanded and Extended Memory 8. Expanded and Extended Memory 9. Exit RamTest If your machine does not have Expanded or Extended Memory, you would just see: 1. Set Repeat Count (1) 2. Base Memory 9. Exit RamTest On a system with Expanded Memory, the menu will appear as: 1. Set Repeat Count (1) 2. Base Memory 3. Expanded Memory 5. Base and Expanded Memory 9. Exit RamTest NOTE: In order to detect and test Expanded Memory, the Expanded Memory Manager required for your system must be installed, usually as a device driver in the CONFIG.SYS file. Once base memory has been tested, the Expanded Memory Manager no longer exists and menu items 3 and 5 will not appear. Moral: Test Expanded Memory first. 4 RamTest Version 2.0 Copyright 1987, Brown Bag Software At any point, pressing F1 will cause a help screen to appear. Further information can then be obtained regarding any of the menu choices. Press Esc to return to the Test Menu. THE OPTIONS Repeat Count Sets the number of times a test or set of tests will execute. Range is 1 to 65535, with 0 meaning continuous. Pressing Esc during testing will cause the program to halt at the end of the current cycle. Base Memory Tests Base Memory. In the process all device drivers, interrupt handlers, RAM disks, spoolers and DOS itself will be erased. Once Base Memory has been tested, therefore, the program cannot return you to DOS without rebooting. This will be reflected in Menu-item 9. It is possible that an intermittent problem in Base Memory could cause the test program itself to crash. Even in such a case repeated runs should identify the problem. Expanded Memory Expanded Memory can only be tested if base memory has not yet been tested and the Expanded Memory Manager has been loaded. Any board which conforms to the Lotus-Intel-Microsoft EMS can be tested. Extended Memory Extended Memory only appears on AT type systems. No software driver is required but the SETUP program must have been run to tell the system that extended memory exists. DIAGNOSTICS Should a memory error be detected, the test will stop and the diagnostic message(s) displayed. In most cases, the failing address will be displayed and the row of memory causing the failure will be identified. The bad row is identified in more than one way so that most users can pinpoint the failure. On the lines that follow, the bad data bits are pointed out by bit number. Using the row number, bit information and your manufacturer's documentation, you should be able to locate the offending chip and replace it. If you have specified the size of your memory chips then even more specific details are given. 5 RamTest Version 2.0 Copyright 1987, Brown Bag Software In the event of a parity error, only the offending row of chips will be identified. Again, using the manufacturer's documentation you should be able to identify the parity chip and replace it. If more than one bit is declared bad, or if the problem persists after replacing chips, the problem with the system may be more than just bad RAM chips. In this situation, you might want to take the machine to a qualified service facility. 6 RamTest Version 2.0 Copyright 1987, Brown Bag Software SITE LICENSES AND BUNDLING ARRANGEMENTS --------------------------------------- Corporate site licenses and bundling arrangements are available direct from Brown Bag Software. Site licenses can be used to distribute large quantities of RamTest and its documentation within a specific organization at very reasonable prices (hundreds of dollars less per copy than competing products). All users under a site license can become registered users at no extra fee and are automatically notified of updates. Bundling arrangements can be used to distribute copies of RamTest in order to promote some other product or service. Note that neither of these activities is permitted under the limited license granted to all users of RamTest without the expressed written consent of Brown Bag Software. 7