RSS Feed Subscribe to the RSS feed Originally Added to Website:  14 Sep 2009
Last updated:  13 Aug 2014
Added off-site link to Furmark due to bloatware concerns

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Memory diag (bootable)
Hard Drive diag (bootable)
AntiMalware tests
Rescue disks (bootable)

Video 1 (Furmark)
Prime95
Video 2 (5 tests)
CPU Stress tests

[quote]
I suggest starting all troubleshooting with the following diagnostic tests (also located at this link:  http://www.carrona.org/initdiag.html ).  They'll save you a lot of time and heartache if there is a hardware failure, and you'll have the disks on hand in case you need them in the future:
H/W Diagnostics:
Please start by running these bootable hardware diagnostics:
http://www.carrona.org/memdiag.html (read the details at the link)
http://www.carrona.org/hddiag.html (read the details at the link) - Test ALL of the hard drives.

Also, please run one of these free, independent online malware scans to ensure that your current protection hasn't been compromised:  http://www.carrona.org/malware.html (read the details at the link)
There are also free, bootable antivirus disks at this link: http://www.carrona.org/malware.html#rescue

Additional free diagnostics here:  http://www.carrona.org/addldiag.html
Full list of free diagnostics here:  http://www.carrona.org/hwdiag.html
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Then, if the above tests pass (and you're able to get into Windows), I'd try these free stress tests:

I strongly suggest using a temperature monitoring program.  I picked this free one because it was the first one I found that also shows GPU temps:  http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/hwmonitor.html
I also suggest this one:  http://www.hwinfo.com

[quote]
FurMark download site
http://www.ozone3d.net/benchmarks/fur/ (appears to be bundled w/bloatware now - 12 Aug 2014)
Try downloading from one of the major download sites.  Here's a link to it at Major Geeks (as of 12 Aug 2014):  http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/furmark.html
FurMark Setup:
- If you have more than one GPU, select Multi-GPU during setup
- In the Run mode box, select "Stability Test" and "Log GPU Temperature"
Click "Go" to start the test  (Looks like it's "BURN-IN test" now)
- Run the test until the GPU temperature maxes out - or until you start having problems (whichever comes first).
NOTE:  Set the alarm to go off at 90ºC.  Then watch the system from that point on.  If the system doesn't display a temperature, watch it constantly and turn it off at the first sign of video problems.  DO NOT leave it it unmonitored, it can DAMAGE your video card!!! 
If the temperature gets above 100ºC, quit the test - the video card is overheating.
- Click "Quit" to exit
[/quote]
What you are looking for:  
- excessive heat from the GPU (report back with anything over 90ºC)
- problems with the video display (picture is distorted or jumbled, picture turns black, etc)
- problems reported by the program (I haven't seen this, but "just in case")

Dual Video Cards:
Some tips for dual (or more) video cards:
[TIPS] How to Enable SLI and CrossFire Support for OpenGL Applications | Geeks3D
(Tips) How To Enable SLI and CrossFire Support for MSI Kombustor 2.0 | Geeks3D

If it still doesn't work, test the cards individually. [/quote]



[quote]
Prime95 download site:
 http://www.mersenne.org/freesoft/
Prime95 Setup:
- extract the contents of the zip file to a location of your choice
- double click on the executable file
- select "Just stress testing"
- select the "Blend" test.  If you've already run MemTest overnight please run the "Small FFTs" test instead. (run all 3 if you find a problem and note how long it takes to error out with each)
- "Number of torture test threads to run" should equal the number of CPU's times 2 (if you're using hyperthreading).
The easiest way to figure this out is to go to Task Manager...Performance tab - and see the number of boxes under CPU Usage History
Then run the test for 6 to 24 hours - or until you get errors (whichever comes first).
Monitor the CPU temperature and DON'T let it exceed 85ºC.  If it does, then you probably have a CPU cooling problem.
- CPU temps exceeding 90ºC can cause errors in Prime95.  Fix the cooling solution first, then run Prime95 again.
This won't necessarily crash the system - but check the output in the test window for errors.
The Test selection box and the stress.txt file describes what components that the program stresses.
NOTE:  Errors should be considered when:
- the system BSOD's during Prime95
- the system freezes during Prime95 (this is different than the extreme slowness caused by the program using all your RAM and CPU)
- the Prime95 program crashes
- the Prime95 program shows errors in it's display
- there are errors in the Prime95 results file
More details on the use of this test:  http://www.playtool.com/pages/prime95/prime95.html
[/quote]


[quote]
More Video Stress Tests:
1.  Thanks to VirGnarus for finding this video memory test:  https://simtk.org/home/memtest
Alternate download link (w/o registration) located here:  http://folding.stanford.edu/English/DownloadUtils
2.  Two other video stress tests (may be more stressful than FurMark):
NOTE:  I have had reports that some ISP's will block this website
Video Memory stress Test - http://nvworld.ru/utilities/vmt/  Download the memory test from this link: http://nvworld.ru/files/downloads/utils/vmt.zip (be sure to scan anything downloaded from the internetwith an antivirus BEFORE opening it)
Extract it and double click on the vmt.eng.bat file in order to run the English version.
Artifact Locator - http://nvworld.ru/utilities/alocator/
Sorry, but I don't read the language that this website is made in.
3.  Another interesting test that came to my attention (in English): http://www.ocbase.com/perestroika_en/index.php?Download
USE AT YOUR OWN RISK - the program doesn't have a whole bunch of safety features to protect you from yourself![/quote]
4.  Dunno if this is a duplicate of one of the above tests - but try this bootable Video Memory Stress Test:  http://mikelab.kiev.ua/index_en.php?page=PROGRAMS/vmt_en
[/quote]


[quote]
CPU Stress Tests:
Only need to run 1 or 2 of the tests under most circumstances.  I haven't used any of the tests myself, so I listed all that I was able to find.
- Intel Processor Diagnostic Tool (works in Windows)
    x64 - http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Detail_Desc.aspx?agr=Y&DwnldID=19792&keyword=%22cpu+stress+test%22&DownloadType=Utilities%2c+Tools+and+Examples&lang=eng
    x86 - http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Detail_Desc.aspx?agr=Y&DwnldID=19791&keyword=%22cpu+stress+test%22&DownloadType=Utilities%2c+Tools+and+Examples&lang=eng
    Burn Test - http://downloads.guru3d.com/IntelBurnTest-v2.3-download-2047.html
- AMD OverDrive is the recommended solution from AMD - BUT I've seen issues with this program causing BSOD's.  Use at your own risk!!!         http://sites.amd.com/us/game/downloads/amd-overdrive/pages/overview.aspx
-  Other Stress Tests:
- http://7byte.com/index.php?page=hotcpu
- http://www.7byte.com/index.php?page=burnin64
- http://www.overclock.net/general-processor-discussions/657486-cpu-stress-test.html
- http://www.fossiltoys.com/cpuload.html
- http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/file/fid,7146-order,1-page,1-c,alldownloads/description.html
- http://www.overclock.net/general-processor-discussions/657486-cpu-stress-test.html
- http://majorgeeks.com/CPU_Stability_Test_d215.html
- http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=201670
- the test(s) suggested at this link are bootable:  http://www.techsupportforum.com/forums/f15/headless-cpu-stress-testing-393435.html#post2232929
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