Re: memtest86

["Alexander V. Makartsev" <avbetev@gmail.com>]

On 14.09.2023 00:42, gene heskett wrote:

> On
>       9/13/23 12:40, Alexander V. Makartsev wrote:
>       
> > On 13.09.2023 19:10, Tom Browder wrote:
> >         
> > > Here I am again seeking help. I have
> > >           used memtest86 long ago when I burned it on a CDROM disk.
> > >           
> > >           
> > >           I see that it's a Debian package, and  I installed it. Now I
> > >           see memtest86 on my boot choice screen, but selecting
> > >           memtest86 does nothing.
> > >           
> > >           
> > >         
> >         That's weird.
> >         
> >         It works for me, although I use back-ported version 6.20 of
> >         "memtest86+" from Testing with a cosmetic patch. I like my grub
> >         menu tidy. :)
> >         
> >         I've now noticed you've wrote "memtest86", did you meant it to
> >         be "memtest86+"?
> >         
> >         
> >       
>       memtest86 has its roots in 8086 16 bit code, and its been quite a
>       party for the coders to first bring it up to 32 bit, and finally
>       to 64 bit. That last version I downloaded and burned was memtest86
>       V9.4 which works on my 6 core i5 as well as it did on 8086's but
>       of course a bit faster.
>       
>       A google search should get you a link to burn to a new cd/dvd, and
>       it Just Works.
>       
>     
    I know "memtest86" was before "memtest86+", but memtest86+ is a
    successor [1] and up-to-date version should work for an old and
    modern hardware.
    This is probably the reason why "memtest86" wasn't included to
    Stable repos:
> $ rmadison memtest86
>       memtest86  | 4.3.7-3       | oldoldstable |
>         source, amd64, i386
>       memtest86  | 4.3.7-3       | oldstable    |
>         source
>       memtest86  | 4.3.7-3+b1    | oldstable    |
>         amd64, i386
>     
> $ rmadison memtest86+
>       memtest86+ | 5.01-3         |
>         oldoldstable       | source, amd64, i386
>       memtest86+ | 5.01-3.1       |
>         oldstable          | source, amd64, i386
>       memtest86+ | 6.10-2~bpo11+1 |
>         bullseye-backports | source, amd64, i386
>       memtest86+ | 6.10-4         |
>         stable             | source, amd64, i386
>       memtest86+ | 6.20-3         |
>         testing            | source, amd64, i386
>       memtest86+ | 6.20-3         |
>         unstable           | source, amd64, i386
>     
    The other reason is that "memtest86" was sold to PassMark [2] and
    became closed source since version 4.3.
    Anyway, I'd consider "memtest86+" the only reliable OSS option,
    which I've used successfully for many years with Legacy BIOS/UEFI
    and PXE.
    
    
    [1] https://www.memtest.org/
    [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memtest86

--
With kindest regards, Alexander.

⢀⣴⠾⠻⢶⣦⠀
⣾⠁⢠⠒⠀⣿⡁ Debian - The universal operating system
⢿⡄⠘⠷⠚⠋⠀ https://www.debian.org
⠈⠳⣄⠀⠀⠀⠀