windows3-8  Exercise 3: A MemTest86 Plan
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Verification: Level 3 (planning only: nothing was run).

Prediction (work this out before running the script):

  Before reading the solution: list the runs you would do and what each possible outcome would point at.

This is a planning exercise: nothing here was run (MemTest86 needs a bootable USB stick and hours of downtime).

Plan:

:: Planning only: nothing below was run on this PC.
:: Before: finish work, power off, unplug the power lead, touch bare metal to discharge static.
:: Test the two sticks together first, then each stick alone in the same slot.
::   Run 1: both sticks      -> MemTest86, let it finish the default passes
::   Run 2: stick A alone    -> same slot, same settings
::   Run 3: stick B alone    -> same slot, same settings
:: Undo: put both sticks back in their original slots; boot Windows; confirm 32 GB shows in Task Manager.

  Reading the outcomes:
    Errors in Run 1 and in only one stick's solo run -> that stick.
    Errors in every run, whichever stick is fitted    -> the slot, the board or the processor's memory controller.
    Errors in Run 1 but neither solo run              -> the combination (speed, voltage, or two sticks together).
    No errors in any run                              -> memory is not proven good (a pass is not proof); go to drivers (chapter 9).
  Download MemTest86 only from PassMark Software's own site; writing its image erases the spare USB stick used.

Output:

  No output exists: this was not run. What can be said now is what the plan would decide, as above.

WHY THIS WORKS AS AN ANSWER
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  Why this order works: testing both sticks first costs one run and, if it fails, you then isolate which; testing
  each alone in the SAME slot separates a bad stick from a bad slot. The undo step puts the PC back as you found it
  and the 32 GB check confirms both sticks are seated. A pass proves little: errors that appear only under heat or
  long runs can be missed, so the next step after a pass is another suspect, not the all-clear.
  Common mistakes: moving sticks between slots during the test; stopping after one pass; opening the PC without
  unplugging it; and using Windows Memory Diagnostic's pass as if it were MemTest86's.