Copyright: BurnInTest V2.3


Overview
BurnInTest by PassMark Software - Overview

 Passmark’s BurnInTest is a software tool that allows all the major sub-systems of a computer to be simultaneously tested for reliability and stability. Anyone who has used computers for any period of time knows the importance of having a stable system. The cost of a hardware failure can be enormous. If you are lucky your data will only become inaccessible while faulty components are replaced. If you’re unlucky you can lose your files completely or have them permanently corrupted. Even if you have good backups, you can still lose days of work returning the PC to its pre-failure state. In many cases the lost data can never be replaced and businesses can be brought to their knees, with the loss of documentation, customer details and financial records.

What BurnInTest does is thoroughly exercise the hardware in a PC in a short period of time, in the same way as normal applications use a PC over a long period of time. This takes advantage of the fact that computer hardware tends to fail either very early in its life or after many thousands of hours of use.

Typically BurnInTest should be used before a PC is put into service, as a failure of a computer that isn’t being used for a critical application and doesn’t have any critical data is much less damaging, (especially if it is still under warranty).

BurnInTest will bring to the surface intermittent or hidden problems so that after a successfully run the computer can be used with a much higher level of confidence.

BurnInTest tests the CPU via mathematical operations and MMX calculations, Hard drives, CD ROMs, Sound cards, 2D graphics, 3D graphics, Printers, Memory & Network connection. (BurnInTest Pro additionally tests Tape drives, Serial ports and Parallel ports with loop back connectors). All these tests can be done simultaneously as the application is multithreaded.

•	The best value professional Burn In tool on the market !!

•	Avoid delivering D.O.A. (Dead on Arrival) hardware to your customers.

•	Dramatically reduce your burn in times with multithreaded simultaneous testing of components.

•	Build your image as a supplier of quality systems.

•	Avoid costly downtime, system rebuilds and lost data.

•	Test the stability of a system after configuration changes or hardware upgrades (critical for overclocking).

•	Interfaces for logging temperature and laptop battery charge levels (additional software required).

For more information..

To get started quickly see the Quickstart page

See Test Descriptions for information about each test

Learn how to interpret the results

Have a look at what each menu option does

Get the answers to Frequently Ask Questions.

Find out how to register the software


Getting started
Quickstart – How to start testing

Here’s a summary of the steps to go through to start testing.

1. Use the Configuration, Test Duty Cycles window to select the type of tests you wish to perform.

2. Use the Configuration, Test Preferenceswindow to set any parameters that you wish to use, e.g  which hard drive to use.

3. Put paper in the printer, a data CD in the CD-ROM and a floppy disk in the disk drive. (if you selected these tests)

4. Click on the Go button

That’s it.


Test descriptions

Several tests are built into the software. Each of these tests contains one or more sub-tests designed to exercise different aspects of your computer system. These tests can be run concurrently, with each test having it’s own window and using it’s own CPU thread or as individual tests. It is also possible to vary the load mix by increasing or decreasing the duty cycle for a particular test.

Each test keeps an error counter, a cycle counter and an operations counter. The significance of each of these counters is detailed with each test.

The following tests are currently available.

Maths tests

Integer & floating point mathematical operations

2D Graphics tests

Tests of standard two dimensional graphical functions

Hard Disk and floppy disk tests

Reading, writing files

CPU MMX & SSE tests

Tests of the MMX (multimedia extensions) and SSE extensions within newer CPU’s

3D Graphics test

Tests the DirectX 3D graphics system

Printer test

Tests the default printer

CD ROM test

Tests the CDROM and optionally the sound card

Network test

Tests the Network connection

Memory (RAM) test

Tests the Memory in the computer

Serial port test

Tests the serial ports connected to the computer

Parallel port test

Tests the parallel port connected to the computer

Tape drive test

Tests the tape drive on Windows NT, 2000 and XP machines


Interpreting the results

This part of the main window displays a summary of all the results of all the tests that are currently running.

Test Name

The name of the test. Thirteen different tests are currently available. Only those tests actually running are displayed.

Cycle

The number of test cycles that have been executed for a particular test. The meaning of a ‘test cycle’ varies from test to test. For example for the Printer test it is the number of full pages printed, for the Hard disk test it is the number of file write / verify cycles that have occurred. See the test description for more details about the significance of this field.

Ops (Operations)

The number of test operations that have been executed for a particular test. The meaning of a ‘Operation’ varies from test to test. For example, for the Printer test it is the number of characters printed, for the Hard disk test it is the number of bytes that have been written or verified. See the test description for more details about the significance of this field.

Errors

The number of errors that have been encountered while the test has been executing. This value should normally stay at zero. A value of greater than zero indicates there has been a serious error in the hardware or the software controlling the hardware. In some cases it is possible for the computer to self-detect an error. (such as the math’s and disk tests). In other cases the user must check themselves that no error has occurred (eg. Is there sound coming from the speakers? Are printouts complete, clear and legible? ).

Last error description

This is the description of the last error that occurred. This will give some indication as to the cause of the error. See Common Errors for a description of the errors that may be encountered.

Additional details (errorlog.txt)

For some errors additional debugging information is available in the error log file. The location of this file will depend on where the software was installed but can normally be found here,

C:\Program Files\BurnInTest\ErrorLog.txt

The contents of this file are fairly cryptic as it was designed to help with the debugging of the BurnInTest application. None the less it may help in diagnosing some faults.

This file is cleared at the start of each test run, and can hold up to 500 records before looping and overwriting itself. (Thus the file size is limited).


Menus
Menu Options

File

Save test log

Save the current results as a binary log file (with a .BIT file name extension), a text file or an HTML file. Binary files can then be re-opened using the Open test log menu option.

Open test log

Opens a binary log file (with a .BIT file name extension) that was previously created by BurnInTest. The results contained within the file will be displayed in the main window. Binary log files saved with previous versions of BurnInTest can also be opened. They will be converted automatically in memory before being displayed.

Save as Image

Allows the main window (or it’s contents) to be saved in one of 3 different graphics file formats. Bitmap (BMP), GIF and Enhanced Meta file format (EMF). See the save as image dialog box for more information.

Print

Allows the contents of the main window to be printed. The standard Print dialog window will be displayed allowing the user to select a printer, etc..

Exit

Exits from the application.

Edit

Copy

Allows the contents of the main window to be copied to the clipboard in an Enhanced MetaFile. Format (EMF). The results can then be pasted as a graphical image into other documents that support this format, eg. Microsoft Word

Some applications may not accept a pasted EMF format image. In this case it is better to use the Save as Image menu option (above) to create an image file, which can then be imported into another application.

Clear

Clear the results produced so far, resetting all values to zero. This is done automatically each time a new test run is started.

Machine ID and Notes

Displays the machine identity and notes window.

Configuration

Test duty cycles

Displays the test setup dialog which allows a subset of tests to be selected for execution and a duty cycle to be set for each test.

Test Preferences

This option allows the user to customize some aspects of the way BurnInTest works. See the description of the preferences dialog box for more details.

Load Config

A test configuration that has been previously saved to disk can be loaded using this menu option. The loaded configuration will set all the parameters available in the ‘test duty cycles’ and ‘test preferences’ windows (see above) to the values contained within the file. Using this menu option in conjunction with the ‘Save Config as’ function it is possible to create a number of standard test configurations. See Maintaining multiple test configurations, for more information.

Save Config as

This option allows the current configuration settings to be stored in a file for later use. All the values available in the ‘test duty cycles’ and ‘test preferences’ windows (see above) will be saved into a file, whose name is selected by the user. Using this menu option in conjunction with the ‘Load config’ function it is possible to create a number of standard test configurations. See Maintaining multiple test configurations, for more information. Saved configuration files can also be loaded automatically by including them on the command line. See Command line arguments for more details.

Test

Start test run

Runs the tests selected in the ‘Test duty cycles’ window. Each test will be run in it’s own window using it’s own execution thread. This allows multiple tests to be executed simultaneously. The results from each test are summarized in the main window. Depending on what tests are being started, the speed of the machine and the selected duty cycles; the tests may take several seconds to start.

After tests have been started the menu’s and buttons are ‘Greyed’ out, and no another actions can take place until the tests are stopped manually or automatically.

Stop test run

Stops all the tests that are currently running. It may take several seconds to stop all the tests, remove test files from the disk and de-allocate system resources. If one of the test windows is the active window, Alt-F4 can also be used to stop all the tests. Individual tests can not be stopped after they have been started, as all tests will be stopped at the same time.

Help

A series of options that allow access to this Online help file and to the PassMark home page.


Contacting PassMark
Contacting PassMark Software

On the Web

You can contact PassMark on the web at

http://www.passmark.com

E-Mail

For technical support questions, suggestions

support@passmark.com

For sales & commercial issues

sales@passmark.com

See also, the Ordering information page.

For any other issues

info@passmark.com

FAQ

You may also want to check out the list of Frequently Asked Questions .


System Requirements

Windows 95, 98, NT4, 2000, ME, XP (*)

16Meg RAM

2 Meg of free hard disk space (plus an additional 10Meg to run the Disk test)

DirectX software for 3D graphics test (plus working DirectX drivers for your video card)

MMX compatible CPU for MMX tests

A printer to run the printer test, setup as the default printer in Windows.

A CD ROM + 1 Music CD or Data CD to run the CD test.

A network connection and the TCP/IP networking software installed for the Network Tests

A serial port loop back plug for the serial port test. (Pro version only)

A parallel port loop back plug for the parallel port test. (Pro version only)

(*) – Windows95 does not support the Network Test. Windows 95, Windows98 and WindowsMe do not support the Tape drive test. WindowNT4 must have service pack 4 installed to have DirectX3 support enabled. Users must have administrator privileges in NT, 2000 and XP.


Ordering and License
Ordering information

Price

US Dollars:	$49  (Professional version, single user)
US Dollars:	$22  (Standard version, single user)

See the PassMark website http://www.passmark.com/sales to order the software and for details of special offers, multiuser pricing, site licenses and pricing on loopback plugs.

What happens when you order

After the order is accepted a License Key will be returned (via E-Mail). This Key is then entered with the User Name into the initial, ‘Welcome’ window. At this point the program then changes permanently into the full licensed version. Keys are normally returned within 12 hours or less.

What you get when you register

•	Free Technical support via the Web and E-Mail

http://www.passmark.com/support

•	Free minor upgrades & bug fixes as they become available

http://www.passmark.com/download

•	The removal of the initial shareware startup window

•	The removal of the 15minute burn per run time restriction and 30day evaluation period associated with the evaluation version.

How to order Online and Offline

If you would like to register BurnInTest, you can do the registration online using a credit card via a secure connection on the Internet at.

http://www.passmark.com/sales

You can also order over the phone, via Purchase Order, or fax, see our web page for details

http://www.passmark.com/sales

Other information

Confidentiality

All personal details supplied when placing an order will be strictly confidential. Online orders will only be accepted over a secure, encrypted connection.

Multi-user & Site Licenses

Contact PassMark software, asking about our attractive rates for Multi-user and site licenses.

http://www.passmark.com/sales

sales@passmark.com

Questions & more information

If you have any questions we would be happy to hear about them. Contact

sales@passmark.com


Copyright and License
Copyright & License information

Ordering information

See the information on the Ordering information page for details about the different options available for purchasing a license.

Copyright & End User license

This End-User License Agreement (“EULA”) is for the PassMark BurnInTest software.

EULA is a legal agreement between you (either an individual or a single entity) and PassMark Corporation for the PassMark software product identified above, which includes computer software and may include associated media, printed materials, and “online” or electronic documentation (“SOFTWARE PRODUCT”).  By installing, copying, or otherwise using the SOFTWARE PRODUCT, you agree to be bound by the terms of this EULA.  If you do not agree to the terms of this EULA, do not install or use the SOFTWARE PRODUCT.

1. GRANT OF LICENSE. This EULA grants you the following rights:

•	A license is granted only after the payment of the license fee.

•	If no license fee has been paid the product can be used for evaluation purposes for a maximum period of 30 days.

•	After the license fee has been paid, you may install and use one copy of the SOFTWARE PRODUCT, or any prior version on a single computer, or on a single removable disk. The SOFTWARE PRODUCT must NOT be installed on a network where it could be used by more than a single computer.

•	The primary user of the computer on which the licensed SOFTWARE PRODUCT is installed may make a second copy for his or her exclusive use on a portable computer.

2. DESCRIPTION OF OTHER RIGHTS AND LIMITATIONS.

•	Limitations on Reverse Engineering, Decompilation, and Disassembly.

•	You may not reverse engineer, decompile, or disassemble the SOFTWARE PRODUCT.

•	The shareware version of the software may be freely distributed provided that no fee is charged and the product is distributed complete and intact.

3. COPYRIGHT.

All title and copyrights in and to the SOFTWARE PRODUCT (including but not limited to any images, photographs, animations, video, audio, music, text, and “applets” incorporated into the SOFTWARE PRODUCT), the accompanying printed materials, and any copies of the SOFTWARE PRODUCT are owned by PassMark or its suppliers. The SOFTWARE PRODUCT is protected by copyright laws and international treaty provisions. Therefore, you must treat the SOFTWARE PRODUCT like any other copyrighted material except that you may install the licensed SOFTWARE PRODUCT on a single computer provided you keep the original solely for backup or archival purposes.

LIMITED WARRANTY.

PassMark warrants that (a) the licensed SOFTWARE PRODUCT will perform substantially in accordance with the accompanying written materials for a period of ninety (90) days from the date of receipt, and (b) any Support Services provided by PassMark shall be substantially as described in applicable written materials provided to you by PassMark, and PassMark support engineers will make commercially reasonable efforts to solve any problem issues. Some states and jurisdictions do not allow limitations on duration of an implied warranty, so the above limitation may not apply to you. To the extent allowed by applicable law, implied warranties on the SOFTWARE PRODUCT, if any, are limited to ninety (90) days.

No warranty of any sort of offered on the evaluation version of the software, until a license fee is paid.

Additional information

For questions regarding the copyright, end user license contact, multi-user licenses and site licenses, contact.

info@passmark.com


Precautions
Precautions for thorough and careful testing

For a hardware test to be useful several precautions need to be taken. Failure to take into account these factors may result in tests being misleading or other unwanted results.

-	Stop all other applications before running BurnInTest. BurnInTest can be run in the background but it just doesn’t seem prudent to do any important work when you’re testing a computer to see if it will fail. In any case BurnInTest will place such a load on the system that any other applications will run at a snails pace. Not having other applications running also frees up more RAM that can be used by the Memory test.

-	Back-up any important files before you start. BurnInTest can simulate many days of typical office PC use in a few hours, this increases the risk of hardware failure. Note that the testing process itself doesn’t touch any existing files on the hard disk or floppy disk. It does however overwrite the contents of tapes used in the tape drive test (Pro version only)

-	When testing multiple disk drives at the same time you may not want to test multiple partitions that are on the same physical drive at the same time. Doing this can result in an enormous amount of seeking between partitions and not as much reading and writing.

-	PassMark recommends running BurnInTest just after you install a PC for the first time, as this is the ideal time to find a problem. The PC will be still under warranty and you can’t lose any of your data (because you haven’t loaded any). Any disruption caused by a failure will be minimal.

-	Remember that BurnInTest does not create problems in your hardware, it just helps you find them in a controlled manner. BurnInTest doesn’t use any nasty programming tricks to try and make your hardware fail. It uses the same functions and procedures that standard Windows applications and file servers use. If your computer fails when running BurnInTest, it was going to fail in the near future anyway !

-	If you only want to test a particular component of the computer, turn the other tests off. There’s no point using the CD-Drive when you only wanted to test the new hard drive.

-	Doing a successful test run doesn’t mean that the computer will never fail. Software problems, viruses, and the fact that no computer component has an unlimited life span means that precautions need to be taken. Having good BurnInTest results is NOT a substitute for making good file backups in the future.

-	Because BurnInTest doesn’t delete any of the existing files from a disk, this occupied portion of the disk will not be tested. Thus the more free space that the disk has before the test, the larger the portion of the disk that will be tested.

-	For the Printer test, inspect printed pages by hand. Check the text is complete and legible.

-	When using the CD test with a music CD verify that the music is being played clearly though the PC’s sound system.

-	On some new computers, the warranty may be voided if you open up the case. Check your warranty before you start poking around in the case.

-	Old computers tend to fill up with dust over the period of many years. This dust layer can cause heat build up and even short circuits. Check for dust buildup in old computers before you start.

-	Check the computer has adequate ventilation & check all the fans are in good working order.

-	Check that the computer isn’t full of bugs. (i.e. the insect type). Depending on where you live, insects can be a real problem. The term ‘Computer Bug’ was coined after a dead moth was found to have shorted out one of the first computers build. In Australia, cockroaches are the most common cause of failure in microwave ovens. Recent studies have even suggested that some insects are attracted to electro-magnetic fields. So watch out !

-	There are many cases where a software bug may appear to be a problem with the hardware. Knowing who or what to blame isn’t easy. Check with your hardware manufacturer(s) from time to time in case they have released new software that fixes some problems they may have found. The hardware components that in general have the most problems with their, ‘Driver’ software are, Video cards (especially the 3D functions), Sound cards and CD ROMs.

-	By using the Network test you can test both your computer and the network it is connected to. If an error does occur it may be difficult to determine the location of the error. If you are using an Internet address then it is very likely that any transient errors are the result of problems on the Internet. The best compromise is probably to set the test address to the address of a machine on your local area network, (if you have one).

-	(Pro version only) When selecting a Serial or Parallel port to use for loopback testing, ensure that the port selected is not already in use by the system. (e.g. by a mouse or printer).

-	Because of limitations in the memory test, faulty RAM errors may not be picked up by the test and faulty RAM can often manifest itself in different ways. These include disk I/O errors, system crashes and lockups.


Problems and FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

See the Passmark web site www.passmark.com for the most up to date version of this FAQ

Q. The test run stops after 15minutes, why ?

With the shareware version the tests will only run for 15minutes at a time. After the software has been purchased, the time is unlimited. Note that you can still get a much longer test run in the shareware version by clicking on the Go button each 15minutes. After the software has been purchased the test duration can be increased from the, ‘Auto Stop’ field in the ‘Test preferences’ window.

Q. My License key doesn’t seem to work

Both the User Name and Registration Key must be correctly entered before the software turns itself into the registered version. Be careful because the Key is case sensitive (upper case characters must be entered in upper case and lower case characters must be entered in lower case). The user name must be exactly the same name as when the software was registered. There must also be no space or tab characters before the User name or Key. The best way to avoid typing errors is to Copy and Paste the User name and key from the registration E-Mail. This can be done using the mouse to highlight the text and the keyboard shortcuts, CTRL-C for Copy and CTRL-V for paste.

The User Name and Key should be kept in a safe place in case the software ever needs to be reinstalled (and for upgrades).

Q. Does BurnInTest run from a floppy disk under DOS ?

Yes and No, BurnInTest will run from a floppy disk but only under Windows. There is no version of BurnInTest that runs under DOS. While there are some advantages of running tests under DOS, there also plenty of disadvantages. Not all devices are supported under DOS, DOS is not multithreaded and the user interface is poor.

Q. How can I setup BurnInTest to run from a floppy disk under Windows ?

•	Install BurnInTest on any PC using the normal setup program.

•	Run BurnInTest and enter the License Key and User name associated with the license. (if you don't have a license then the floppy version will only work for 30days)

•	Exit BurnInTest.

•	Copy all the files from the BurnInTest installation directory to an empty floppy disk. Depending on the version of BurnInTest, normally the installation directory is C:\Program Files\BurnInTest

•	That's it, you're finished. Using the Windows Start / Run menu option you can for example enter the following 'a:\bit.exe' to start BurnInTest from the floppy disk.

You can now uninstall BurnInTest from the PC harddisk and use the floppy in the future on other machines. When running BurnInTest this way, there will be no files left on the PC after BurnInTest has finished. The floppy disk must be left writeable however. You can also get more sophisticated by having multiple test configurations, there is some information about this in the online help file. NOTE: If you are using the unlicensed evaluation version you need to be careful that the date and time is set correctly on all the PC's.

Q. How does BurnInTest work? Doesn't it just wear my computer out ?

Societies’ reliance on computers means that the cost of hardware failure can be enormous (and embarrassing). BurnInTest thoroughly exercises PC hardware in the shortest period of time so intermittent or hidden problems are found before they turn into a disaster. The typical life span of the main moving component in a PC, the hard drive, is quoted at around 300,000 hours by manufacturers such as Seagate. The use of BurnInTest for a 6 to 12 hour period would thus have a no significant impact on the life of the drive. On the other hand, it would allow manufacturing faults and intermittent faults to be detected in a controlled manner when to consequences of failure are minimal.

Q. BurnInTest crashes (with rubbish on the screen or a black screen) when the monitor powersave feature turns on after X minutes of running.

Some video cards' device drivers seem to have a bug that causes this crash when the monitor goes into powersave mode. If you disable the monitor powersave feature (from the Power Management window in the Windows Control panel) this resolves the problem.

Q. I have a dual CPU system, does BurnInTest test both CPU's ?

Yes. Process scheduling in Windows 2000, NT and XP shares the load between the two processors. Window98 and 95 don't support multiple CPU's. In the Pro version of the software it is also possible to target just one of the CPU’s installed. The same principles apply for systems with more than 2 CPU’s.

Q. My system is unstable. What can I do ?

See general instructions for tracking down a fault.

Q. I get the error, “No permission to open RAW network socket” with the Network test.

If you don’t have administrator privileges and are logged onto a Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000 or XP system you will get this error with the Network test. You need to have administrator privileges to run this test. In Windows 2000, there is no way to disable this security check. Access to Raw Sockets is granted on a per-transport basis. For the address family AF_INET, only administrators have the access necessary to create Raw Sockets. To work around this problem in Windows NT 4.0, you can disable the security check on RAW sockets by creating the following registry variable and setting its value to DWORD 1

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Afd\Parameters\

DisableRawSecurity

Editing the registry can be dangerous, so don’t touch it unless you know what you’re doing. A better solution is to run the test while logged in as the ‘administrator’.

Q. When I click on the Preferences & Duration toolbar button (or menu item) nothing happens

Your comctl32.dll library is out of date. The version of Windows that you are using is old and needs to be updated before all the functionality of BurnInTest can be used. If you are using Windows95 or WindowsNT4, you can install Internet Explorer 4.0 or later to update the comctl32.dll library and fix this problem.

Q. Why aren’t the MMX, SSE, or 3DNow! tests available on my computer

These three sets of new CPU instructions only became available in later model Processors (e.g. The Pentium II). If you don’t have one of these CPU’s then the test can not be run. 3DNow! is only available on AMD processors.

Q. A message like “DDRAW.DLL could not be found” appears when I try and start the program

The 3D tests rely on having the full version of DirectX installed. (versions above 5 are recommended). Note that currently only version 3 is available for Windows NT4 (you must have service pack 4 installed). This still seems to work OK however. Windows 98, 2000, ME and XP have a good version of DirectX included.

This means that most problems will be experienced in early Windows 95 versions and early Windows NT versions.

The latest DirectX drivers are available free from Microsoft.

http://www.microsoft.com

Q. I've downloaded and installed DirectX and BurnInTest now starts but the 3D test still doesn't work.

As the 3D graphics test is running in a window (and not full screen) BurnIntest attempts to find 3D hardware that supports the current color depth used by Windows. (eg. 16, 24 or 32bits). If your 3D hardware doesn't support the current color depth an error may appear. This is normally only a problem in 32 color. The solution is to change the Window's display mode back to 16bit color and try again. This can be done from the Window's Control panel, Display Properties dialog box.

Q. I have a probem with the 3D tests. Just as the 3D test starts up, my computer crashes and I'm forced to reboot.

There are a small number of video card drivers that don't support hardware accelerated DirectX correctly or have bugs. What you should do is.

•	Check that you are using the latest certified video driver for your video card. (ask your computer / video card supplier or check their web page)

•	If you are using DirectX 7 then use the "DxDiag" program to verify your drivers and test Direct3D. You should find "DxDiag" in c:\windows\system or in c:\program files\directx\setup

A number of hardware manufactures produce video cards have very poor software support for 3D graphics (DirectX). This is especially the case for the cheaper, bottom of the range video cards. Poor drivers can result in strange visual artefacts appearing on the screen, poor 3D performance and system crashes. The old saying of, “you get what you pay for”, seems especially true for video cards, Beware.

Q. Clicking on the help menu option “PassMark Homepage” doesn’t work.

Possible problems are

Early versions (prior to OSR2) on Windows 95 don’t support a default browser. You will need to start a browser manually and point it to http://www.passmark.com

Your browser is not correctly installed

Q. The colors on the toolbar look strange as do the objects in the 3D test?

Your computer may be set-up only to use a 256 color display. Changing the display depth from the Windows control panel to a higher value will fix the problem.

Q. I don’t need to do any more tests, how do I uninstall BurnInTest

Use the “add / remove programs” icon in the Windows control panel.

Q. I’ve lost my registration key, how can I get it back

Mail us at support@passmark.com telling us the name that was used to register the software, your E-Mail address, the name of the product (BurnInTest), and roughly the date when the software was purchased. We will mail your key back out to you.

Q. My system crashes from time to time, any idea why?

Here are some general comments about occasional system crashes.

Problems can occur if your computer runs out of system resources because there is some process or driver that doesn't release memory, handles, semaphores, etc.. back to the operating system. After a long period of uptime Windows runs out of resources and dies a terrible death. What can you do about this? Identify the offending software, if you can, and disable it. This can even be a bug in the Operating system however.

Computer can have a Random Crash. What do we mean by this? Many things can bring down a computer. Typical things would be a spike on the power line, a strong burst of Electromagnetic interference (eg Mobile phones, electric motors, etc..). If your system is running at it's limits due to overclocking or your components are running at the top of their temperature range, small external influences can push your system over the edge, resulting in a terrible death. If you believe in Chaos theory (and most scientists now do), then you also have to believe that computers will just crash unexpected from time to time, how often would depend on the design tolerances built into your hardware. What can you do about this?
- Do as the military do. Buy military specification computer hardware that has higher tolerances.
- Do what NASA does. Run 3 computers at the same time, expecting one to give the wrong answer or crash.
- Do what most big banks do. Run a hot standby system, that can takeover the job of the main computer in a few seconds.
- Do what the Telecommunications industry does. Buy equipment with N+1 redundancy and switch traffic off the faulty hardware. Almost all Telecommunications hardware also has a built in Auto-reboot function. Why? Because they know it will eventually fail.

Timing issue. Some software / hardware bugs only show up in very very rare occasions. Classic examples of this are Hardware or Software Interrupts occurring in a critical section of code. What can you do about these types of bugs? Almost nothing as a user. They have plagued software since the first line of code was written they are very difficult problems to find and are almost never picked up during software testing. Problems can occur in Drivers, the operating system, your hardware, everywhere. As everyone is always on a tight deadline, endurance testing often doesn't make it into a software developers test plan.

Also Window 98 just is not designed to run for a long period without the whole system crashing. Windows NT is better and some versions of Unix are even better again (in this authors humble opinion).

Mundane program bugs are also a major cause of failure.

Q. How long should I run BurnInTest for?

Not an easy question. In our opinion, the chances or finding a problem in the first hour are relatively high, (the system gets hot, it's the first run across the disk / CD and the first use of the of some of the drivers). Then every hour after that, the chance of finding a hardware problem drops significantly. The extra benefit of doing 12hours compared to 6hours is thus probably not great. Other nice technique is temperature cycling. All major manufactures of electronic equipment do this, they have large ovens and fridges in which they test equipment. The expansion and contraction of components and solder joins brings to light many problems. You could do 6 hours On, 6 hours Off, then 6 hours On, to get some limited temperature variation like this. NASA and the Army load their equipment on to vibration machines, but this may be going to far home / office use :-)


Maths Tests
Maths test

This test contains two sub categories (integer and floating point) that contain 8 different tests in total.

For each of the integer tests, a large array of random 32Bit integers are processed using the particular mathematical operations list below.

For the floating point test single precision floating point numbers are used.

The following tests make up the suite.

Addition

Subtraction

Multiplication

Division

Floating Point Addition

Floating Point Subtraction

Floating Point Multiplication

Floating Point Division

Each mathematical calculation is performed twice and the results compared to each other. If the results obtained from the two calculations are different then this is flagged as an error. The numbers displayed in the window for this test represent how many millions of mathematical operations have been performed and verified. Each different math’s test is run for half a second. After all 8 tests have been run the cycle count is incremented. The duty cycle and the CPU speed determine how many operations can be processed during the half second period.


Graphics Tests suite
2D Graphics test

This suite contains a number of tests that exercise the standard Windows graphics functions and the video card.

Line Drawing

Lines are drawn into window. The color is changed every 500 lines to enable the lines to been seen in the test window.

Painting Bitmaps

A bitmap is painted into a window as quickly as possible.

Outline shapes

Two different shapes are drawn into a window

-	An ellipse

-	A square with rounded corners

The color is changed every 64 shapes to enable the shapes to be seen in the test window.

For each graphical operation the Windows return code is checked to verify that the operation was successful. The numbers displayed at the top of the window for this test represent how many millions of graphical operations have been performed. Each different math’s test is run for half a second. After all 3 tests have been run the cycle count is incremented. The duty cycle, the CPU speed and the video card speed, determine how many operations can be processed during the half second period.

The codes used at the top of the windows are,

LI = Millions of lines drawn

SH = Millions of shapes drawn

RE = Millions of rectangles (Bitmaps) drawn

The total of these three values is displayed in the main window.


Disk Tests suite
Disk test (Floppy and hard)

This suite contains a number of tests that exercise the mass storage units (Hard disk or otherwise) connected to the computer. By default drive C: is used for the hard disk and drive A: for the floppy disk but this can be changed from the Preferences Dialog.  and up to 5 drives can be selected for simultaneous testing. (1 floppy and 4 hard)

During each test cycle a file is created and verified on the disk. For the hard disk the file size is equal to 1% of the free space on the disk. For the floppy it is 2%. Each test file is filled with a coded number sequence (a Pattern) that is used to verify the correct operation of the disk when the file is verified (read). Files are created in the free space on the disk until the disk is 94% full. When the disk has reached this limit, all the test files are deleted and the test starts again. A limit of 94% is used to ensure that some space is kept for use by other applications (including the windows swap file).

The pattern used will change automatically from one sweep of the disk to the next. Possible patterns are,

Sequence (0,1,2...255)

Binary 1 (10101010)

Binary 2 (01010101)

Zeros (00000000)

Ones (11111111)

If an error is detected in the coded number sequence then the error count is incremented. The number of bytes written and read from the disk are displayed in the test window. The addition of these two values is displayed in the main window.

Graphical progress bars indicate if the test is currently writing or verifying (reading) information, the percentage complete for the particular file and the space remaining on the disk.

The speed of the hard disk and the duty cycle determine how quickly test files are created.

There are a few issues to aware of when interpreting the results of the disk test. These are covered in the precautions section.


MMX, SSE, 3DNow! Test suite
MMX / SSE / 3DNow! Test

First some definitions

MMX = Multimedia Extensions

SSE = Streaming SIMD extensions

SIMD = Single Instruction Multiple Data

3DNow! = The name that chip maker AMD, gave to their new CPU instructions.

MMX, SSE & 3DNow! are all sets of new CPU instructions that have been introduced into recent CPU’s to enable blocks of data to be processed at higher speeds. At the moment only AMD chips support 3DNow! and only Intel chips support SSE. This may change in the future.

MMX allows 64bit Integer mathematical and logical operations. SSE allows 128bit floating point mathematical and logical operations. 3DNow! allows 64bit floating point mathematical and logical operations.

For each test a large array of random numbers are processed using the particular mathematical operations list below.

MMX Addition (64bits)

MMX Subtraction (64bits)

MMX Multiplication (64bits)

SSE Addition (128bits)

SSE Multiplication (128bits)

3DNow! Maths (64bits, floating point addition, multiplication and subtraction)

Each mathematical calculation is performed several times and the results compared to each other. If the results obtained are different from each other then this is flagged as an error. The numbers displayed in the window for this test represent how many millions of calculations have been performed and verified. Each different test is run for half a second. After all tests have been run the cycle count is incremented. The duty cycle and the CPU speed determine how many operations can be processed during the half second period.


3D Graphics Test suite
3D Graphics Test

This test creates and animates a 3D image to test the 3D functions of the video card and it’s associated software.

The test creates 4 texture mapped spheres. Each sphere contains 296 vertices and 588 triangular polygons. The total number of polygons for the scene is therefore 2352.

For the 3D test a cycle is defined to be 2 seconds of 3D animation. The ‘operations’ count represents the number of polygons displayed.

The test makes use of the Windows DirectX 3D interface. If DirectX is not installed on your PC you will not be able to run this test (in fact you may not even be able to start BurnInTest). DirectX can be downloaded from Microsoft and comes standard with all new versions of Windows.

Some video cards don’t support hardware acceleration at high color depths and you may have to reduce the color depth to 16bit color to get the test to run.

Warning: A number of manufactures produce video cards have very poor software support for 3D graphics (DirectX). This is especially the case for the cheaper, bottom of the range video cards. Poor drivers can result in strange visual artifacts appearing on the screen, poor 3D performance and system crashes. The old saying of, “you get what you pay for”, seems especially true for video cards.


Network Test

The Network test, tests your networking hardware and software. This is done by sending special ICMP_ECHO message using the Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP). The ICMP_ECHO message is more commonly known as a ‘ping’. This message is echoed but to your computer by a remote host. This allows the reliability of the network connection to be determined. Up to 4 remote hosts can be selected by setting the Destination Network address in the Test Preferences window. These values are used for the Network test. Each one must be a URL or an IP address (or left blank).

A URL is the name of a network host, eg. www.hostname.com

An IP address is a sequence of 4 numbers that correspond to a network host. eg. 169.192.0.1

The host selected must be accessible from the computer and capable of responding to the ‘ping’ command. PassMark recommends the selection of a local host to minimize data link problems, which are fairly common on the Internet. The IP address 127.0.0.1 can also be used for local loop back testing.

The packet sent to the remote host contains a data payload and a checksum. Every time a packet is echoed from the remote host the checksum is verified and the data payload is compared byte by byte with the data that was sent. Any differences in the payload or an incorrect checksum will result in an error. The data payload is 64 bytes in length.

To use this test the TCP/IP Internet protocol must be installed on your computer. This can be determined from the Windows Control Panel, Network Window. If you try and use this test without the Internet protocol being installed, you will get a message like, “Could not create a Network Socket”.

The amount of time BurnInTest will spend waiting for a packet can also be set in the Test Preferences window

The meaning of the information displayed in the network test window is given below.

Packets Sent

The number of packets sent to the remote host

Packets Received

The number of packets received back from the remote host. This should remain at the same level as the Packets Sent counter. If after 2 second a sent packet is not echoed, this causes a timeout error and Packets Sent will be greater than Packets received.

Average Delay

The average round trip time in milliseconds for a packet.

Max Delay

The maximum round trip time in milliseconds for a packet. The maximum values often happen at the very start of the test session. This is because Windows is still loading and caching the required networking software.

Current delay

The round trip time in milliseconds for the last packet sent.

Bytes sent

The total number of bytes transmitted to the network.

Flow rate

The number of packets being set per second. The duty cycle set for the Network Test determines how many packets are being sent per second.

T.S.T (Theoretical serial throughput)

This is the theoretical maximum throughput that could be achieved by sending a new packet immediately after the previous packet has been echoed. If there is a short round trip delay to the remote host then this value will be high. This value is not always proportional to your Internet connection speed.

Compatibility issues

WinSock2.2 (ws2_32.dll) is required for this test. This means that the Network Test will not work with early versions of Windows95.

If you are running Windows NT, 2000 or XP, you need to have administrator privileges to run this test.


Memory (RAM) test
Memory Test

The Memory test, tests the reliability of the RAM installed in the computer. As BurnInTest runs within windows some of the available RAM is being used by windows and any other applications running. Any memory that is not already in active use will be grabbed by the Memory test.

The memory test works by writing a pattern numbers in the RAM, then verifying the numbers read from the RAM match this sequence. The pattern used will change automatically from one cycle to the next. Possible patterns are,

Sequence (0,1,2...255)

Binary 1 (10101010)

Binary 2 (01010101)

Zeros (00000000)

Ones (11111111)

There are 3 sequences that the test goes through,

1/ Memory allocation. The test will dynamically grab and release memory depending on how much is currently available. The amount that has been grabbed and is under test is displayed in the Test Ram Field.

2/ Writing the number sequence.

3/ Verifying the number sequence.

The total amount of free RAM is displayed in the Memory Test Window. This number should always be bigger than the Test Ram number. Some memory is always left available to avoid Out of Memory Errors, and disk thrashing caused by Windows swapping to disk.

For the Memory test a cycle is defined to be the number of times the above 3 step sequence is completed. The ‘operations’ count represents the number of bytes read or written.

It should be noted that not all RAM faults will be detected by this test. This is especially the case if Windows or the Windows cache is using a large proportion of the available RAM. RAM faults may show up as system crashes or disk errors however.


Printer Test

This test verifies the correct operation of the printer. The test sends pages of text to the default Windows printer. (See Start, Settings Printers in Windows to define a default printer). The pages printed by the printer should be a page of solid text in a fixed point font filling the printable area of the page. There should be a small margin (usually under 1cm) around the block of text.

The number of pages printed during a period of time depends on the print duty cycle. For each duty cycle increment there will be an additional 20second delay between each page. This means that a Duty Cycle of 1 corresponds to a delay of 33minutes between pages. A duty cycle of 50 corresponds to a delay of about 16minutes between pages

The pages printed should be visually inspected to check if they are complete.

The cycle count for the printer test corresponds to the number of pages printed. The ‘ops’ count corresponds to the number of characters printed.


CD ROM Test

This test can be used with either a music CD or a data CD. The type of CD being used must be set in the CD preferences window however. If multiple CD players are installed in your system, a particular one to test can be selected from the Preferences window.

For a music CD, the test verifies the operation of the CD ROM and the PC’s sound system by repeatedly playing a music CD. The number of cycles corresponds to the number of tracks played from the CD. The number of ‘ops’ corresponds to the number of bytes read from the CD in order to generate the sound. The duty cycle affects the time spent waiting between tracks. Choose a band you like and turn the volume up loud.

For a data CD, the CD is scanned with each file being read in turn. A 32bit checksum is created for each file as it is read from the CD. The CD is then re-read and the checksums verified to complete the cycle. The best data CD’s to use are those, which are full and contain a good variety of files. Some large ones and some small ones. If the CD has more than 10,000 files only the 1st 10,000 will be scanned.

For a data CD the following information is displayed in the test window.

Phase

Can be one of the following values

Starting

Checksum creation

Verifying checksums

Files scanned

This is the number of files that have been scanned during the current cycle

Current file

This is the name of the file that is currently being scanned

Bytes read

This is the total number of bytes read from the CD

Throughput (Current and Average)

This is read speed from the CD in MegaBytes per second and a conversion to standard CD Drive speed (eg. 4x). It should be noted that this measurement includes the seek and rotational latency time, so that the speed reported will always be lower than the maximum drive speed. This is especially the case for a CD with many small files. Also most drive manufacturers quote the maximum speed for their drives, the actual transfer rate is usually significantly lower than the quoted maximum. E.g. It is not unusual for a 32x speed drive to only reach a speed of 2MB/Sec, 13x.

Errors

The number of errors detected. See Common Errors for a description of the errors that may be encountered.


Serial port test

(Applicable to BurnInTest Pro version only)

Tests the serial communications ports connected to the PC. Up to 12 serial ports may be tested simultaneously. The serial ports and test speed can be selected from the Test Preferences window.

A serial port loop back plug per port is required to run this test. These can be purchased from the PassMark web site (www.passmark.com) or you can make them yourself.

Each test cycle corresponds to about 10 seconds of data transmission. The number of ‘ops’ corresponds to the number of bytes sent and received. The duty cycle affects the time spent waiting between cycles.

The serial port selected must not already be in use by Windows (for example by the mouse or an active modem), for the test to be carried out.

The speed that the serial port operates at is independent from the modem speeds. Even if you have a 56Kbit/s modem your serial port may operate at a higher speed. The maximum serial port speed depends on the type of chip installed on your motherboard. Most PC’s will only do up to 115Kbit/s, so don’t be alarmed if the test fails at 128Kbit/s or above.

The following information is displayed for each port being tested.

Serial Port

This is the Windows name for the serial port being tested. The port can be selected from the Test Preferences window. Any port between COM1 and COM12 is supported.

Speed

This is speed that the serial port is configured for. The speed can be selected from the Test Preferences window.

Bytes Sent

This is the number of bytes that have been sent to the serial port.

Bytes Received

This is the number of bytes that have received from the serial port.

Errors

This is the number of errors detected.

Throughput

This is the real measured throughput for the port. This will generally be less than the Speed (see above) as there is some overhead in the code and in the data transmission itself (e.g. Stop bits).


Serial port test
Parallel port test

(Applicable to BurnInTest Pro version only)

Tests the parallel communications port connected to the PC. The parallel port to be tested can be selected from the Test Preferences window.

A parallel port loop back plug is required to run this test. These can be purchased from the PassMark web site (www.passmark.com) or you can make them yourself.

Each test cycle corresponds to 500,000 bytes of data transmission. The number of ‘ops’ corresponds to the number of bytes sent and received. The duty cycle affects the time spent waiting between cycles.

The parallel port selected must not already be in use by Windows (for example by the printer or other external device), for the test to be carried out.  Port1 always corresponds to the physical IO memory address 0378. Port2 always corresponds to the physical IO memory address 0278. You many need to check your Windows device manager settings or BIOS in order to select the correct port. The device manager can be accessed from the Windows control panel. If neither of these two settings are suitable then they can be overwritten by creating a file called “ioports.dat” and placing new values into this file. Contact support@passmark.com if you need help to do this.

In Windows NT, 2000 and XP you need to be the administrator to run this test.

Parallel Port

This is the port name for the parallel port being tested. The port can be selected from the Test Preferences window. Warning: This value may not always correspond to the Windows LPT1, 2 device names

Bytes Sent

This is the number of bytes that have been sent to the parallel port.

Bytes Received

This is the number of bytes that have received from the parallel port.

Errors

This is the number of errors detected.

Throughput

This is the measured throughput for the port.


Tape drive test

(Applicable to BurnInTest Pro version while running on Windows NT, 2000 or XP only)

Tests the tape drive connected to the PC. Drives can be connected via the SCSI bus, IDE bus or any other method supported by WindowsNT/2000/XP. Note that Windows 2000 and later operating systems no longer supports tape drives that use the floppy disk interface. The tape drive to be tested can be selected from the Test Preferences window.

A blank tape (media) is required to run this test. If the tape is not blank any existing data will be overwritten and permanently lost.

There are three optional steps that can be included as part of each test cycle. See the the Test Preferences window.for more details.

Test description

The test is carried out by writing a number of files onto the tape, rewinding the tape and then verifying the files were correctly written by re-reading them from the tape. A progress bar shows the percentage complete for the current test cycle. The contents of the files will correspond to a particular data pattern. The following patterns will be used in a cyclic manner in the following order.

Sequence (0,1,2...255)

Binary 1 (10101010)

Binary 2 (01010101)

Zeros (00000000)

Ones (11111111)

The number of files created and the size of each file can be set in the Preferences window. The tape needs to be large enough to contain the number of files selected plus a small amount of overhead for file marks.

A test cycle is completed each time all the files have been written and re-read. A cycle may end prematurely for some errors conditions. The number of ‘Ops’ reported in the main window is the total of the bytes read and bytes written.

Pattern

The current data pattern that is being used to fill the test files. (see the list above)

Bytes Written

This is the total number of bytes that have written to the tape

Bytes Read

This is the total number of bytes that have read from the tape

Errors

This is the number of errors detected.

Throughput (R/W)

This is the measured throughput for the tape drive. Measured in MB/Sec. A separate value is maintained for reading and writing. A few large test files will result in better throughput compared to many small ones.


Preferences dialog box
Test Preferences

Disk and CD preferences

Logging preferences

Error handling preferences

Network preferences

Temperature and Battery monitoring preferences

Timer and test duration preferences

Tape preferences

CPU preferences

Serial port preferences

Parallel port preferences


Baseline information dialog box
Test Selection and Duty cycles

From this window it is possible to select the tests to be performed and the level of load placed on the system. The options for Tape, Serial and Parallel port testing will only be displayed in the professional version.

Test Check boxes

Each test has an associated check box that can be used to turn the test on or off. Your CPU must support MMX in order for the MMX check box to be activated.

Slide bars & Duty cycle

Each test has a slide bar and an associated edit box. The slide bar allows the user to determine the “duty cycle” for each test. A low duty cycle means that a delay will be inserted during the execution of the test, reducing the load on the system and reducing the number of operations performed during any particular period of time. A high duty cycle corresponds to higher load.

A value can also be directly entered into the edit box. The background color of the edit box will vary from dark red to white to bright green depending on the duty cycle selected.

Buttons

The buttons at the bottom of the window allow all tests to be activated or deactivated with a single click. The default values can also be restored. The settings selected are saved when the OK button is clicked.

Selecting which tests to run

In order to help select which tests to run, here are some general guidelines.

Only select tests that match your hardware

The tests you select should correspond to the hardware installed in the PC. For example, if your computer doesn’t have a tape drive installed, there is no point having the tape drive test enabled. This will only result in a lot of errors being generated.

Selecting tests for specific testing

If you suspect a problem with a particular device, (eg the RAM), leave the other tests turned off and just run this particular test at 100%. This will maximize the load on this element.

Selecting tests for general burn in testing

For a general burn in, select a variety of different tests. The RAM and Disk tests are the most important. Select the other tests based on how you plan to use the computer. For example if the machine is to be used as a server, then the Network test, Tape drive test, CPU tests and CD test should also be enabled. In general it is better to test those elements that will receive the most usage once the machine is put into active use. For example the floppy drive test could be left off, (or tested at a low duty cycle), if the floppy drive is not critical for the machines intended use.

Optimise the load

As all the tests run at the same time in different threads. Some care should be taken to ensure that important tests are not starved of the CPU and run too slowly. Thus it can be advantages to initially leave the CPU tests off and run with the other tests. Then add in the CPU tests but adjust the duty cycle down until the CPU load just hits 100%.

For example, assuming that the CD and disk drive are critical parts of your system, run just these tests at 100% duty cycle, then note the load on the CPU. Then add in the RAM and CPU tests at a lower duty cycle in order to fully load the CPU.

Note that there is no point trying load up the CPU to more than 100%. Adding more load once the CPU is running at 100% doesn’t result in any more processing being done. The CPUs available processing time is just redistributed and all the running processes run more slowly.

Experiment

As just about everyone has different requirements don’t hesitate to experiment with the settings to obtain the best result in your environment.


Example ASCII Log file
Example ASCII text Log file

ASCII (Text) log files can be created using the Automatic logging option in the Test preferences dialog. The ASCII text logfile contains all the information that is in the main test window plus some additional information such as the amount of RAM in the system, the current color depth (in bits), and the level 2 cache size for the CPU(s).

PassMark BurnInTest Log file  -  http://www.passmark.com

========================================================

Machine type: Compaq 4870

Machine serial #: 1234-4567-ABCD

Date: 04/02/00

Time: 15:42:53

Operating system: Windows NT

Number of CPU: 2

CPU manufacturer: GenuineIntel

CPU type: Celeron

CPU features: MMX

CPU Serial #: Not available or disabled

CPU1 speed: 467.5 MHz

CPU2 speed: 467.7 MHz

CPU Level 2 Cache: 128KB

RAM: 133615616 Bytes

Color Depth: 32

Test Start time: Sun Apr 02 15:30:50 2000

Test Stop time: Sun Apr 02 15:36:48 2000

Test Duration: 000h 05m 58s

Temperature CPU1 (Min / Current / Max): 41.8 / 43.3 / 44.9

Temperature CPU2 (Min / Current / Max): 43.5 / 49.8 / 49.8

Test Name            Cycles   Operations      Errors   Last Error

             Maths   86       4171021930      0        No errors

  MMX Instructions   224      5621127480      0        No errors

      Memory (RAM)   27       4133853184      0        No errors

       2D Graphics   112      6686748         0        No errors

       3D Graphics   0        0               0        No errors

         Hard Disk   2        48780288        0        No errors

       Floppy Disk   0        0               0        No errors

           Network   0        0               0        No errors

            CD ROM   0        0               0        No errors

           Printer   0        0               0        No errors

     Serial port 1   0        0               0        No errors

     Serial port 2   0        0               0        No errors

     Parallel port   0        0               0        No errors

Notes:

Tested by J. Smith


Save as Image

This dialog allows the main window (or it’s contents) to be saved as an image file which can then be imported into other application or placed on a Web page.

Image format

One of 3 different graphics file formats can be selected.

•	BMP. Stores the image in Bitmap format. Many applications support Bitmaps but as no compression is used the file size is very large.

•	GIF Stores the image in GIF87a format. Fewer applications support GIF’s and only 256 colors can be used. Powerful compression gives small file sizes and it is one of the standard image formats used on the Internet.

•	EMF (Enhanced Meta file format). Saves a scalable vector image that can be resized within other applications. File size is very small but only limited support is available in other applications.

Option – Visible section only

If this option is selected, the Window (including menu bar, button bar, border, etc) will be saved.

If this option is not selected, only the contents of the window will be saved. This option will also save any part of the window contents that is not currently displayed in the Window.


Fault finding procedure
Fault finding

What follows is some hints on how go about finding the cause of a particular system instability. (ie. The system locks up, you get the windows blue screen, etc..). We don’t want to try and explain the steps involved in each of these processes, they are just points that may warrant future investigation.

Check you don’t have any viruses.

Check the drive for errors using the built in Window error checker.

Check that space is available on the disk for the windows swap file

Have a look through the issues in the precautions section of this help file.

Don’t run all the BurnInTest tests at once. Run just the 2D graphics, then run just the 3D graphics, then just the disk, etc..  This will allow the problem to be isolated to one area.

Boot Windows up in Safe Mode and see if the system is more stable. The Windows98, ‘msconfig’ tool may also help here.

If you suspect hardware, and you know what you’re doing, pull out all the “optional hardware”, eg LAN cards, I/O cards and see if the system is more stable.

Once again, if you know what you’re doing, start swapping out components of the system to see if the fault can be localized. Obviously you’ll need some spare hardware to do this.

If you suspect DirectX 3D problems consider using the dxdiag.exe tool that comes with DirectX.

Faulty RAM may not always be detected by the memory test. It may manifest itself as a disk fault of system crash.

If you’re really stuck you may want to try a reinstallation of Windows on a reformatted disk. Think carefully about this option before you attempt it, there are lots of good reasons why you don’t want to reformat your hard disk.

Make sure you’ve got the most up to date software drivers for your hardware. Drivers are a never-ending source of problems.

Check that you haven’t ended up with an overclocked CPU and don’t know about it.

Check that you haven’t purchased the cheapest and nastiest hardware in the hope of saving a couple of dollars (or pounds, francs, etc). Often it may not be the cheap hardware that causes problems but the quality and support of the software drivers that come with the hardware that are a problem. Don’t shop on price alone, check out the support and product reviews.


Common Error messages
Common Test Error Messages

When BurnInTest encounters an error during a test run a short description of the error is displayed in the main window. What follows is an explanation of the common errors that may be encountered.

Incorrect mathematical addition / subtraction / division / multiply

The execution of a mathematical operation came up with the wrong result (e.g. 1 + 1 = 3). This is a very serious error for a computer as it means the computer is incapable of execution the same sequence of instructions to get the same result. Possible reasons are faulty RAM, System bus, CPU or overheating. There is a strong chance that your computer will crash or lock up just after an error like this because if the computer can’t add two numbers correctly, there is a good chance that it can’t continue to run a program either.

Incorrect MMX addition / subtraction / multiplication
Incorrect 128bit (SIMD-SSE) floating point addition
Incorrect 128bit (SIMD-SSE) floating point multiply
Incorrect 64bit 3DNow! floating point result

Similar to the above, mathematical faults except that the error occurred while using the extended CPU instructions. (Rather than the standard 32bit Maths)

Failed Windows call - Line Drawing / Bitmaps / Shapes

The Windows operating system has failed to correctly complete the graphical operation that was requested by BurnInTest. This could indicate that Windows is running low on internal resources or that there is a problem with the software drivers for the video card.

No free memory for buffer

Windows does not have enough free memory to allow the allocation of a buffer.

Not enough free disk space

There is not enough free space on the disk to create a test file for the Disk tests.

Test file could not be created

BurnInTest was unable to create a file on the disk in order for it to be able to run the disk tests. Check that you have access to the disk with Windows explorer, Check file write and create permissions in the root directory of the disk under test.

Error while writing to the disk

The test file could not be completely written to the disk. This could indicate a hardware error or a sudden lack of free disk space

Error while reading from the disk

The test file created on the disk can no longer be read. This could indicate a hardware error or a problem within windows.

Data Verify failure

This is a serious error that indicates that the data read from the disk is NOT the same as the data that was written to the disk. This could indicate a hardware error.

Could not set CD Time format
Could not get number of audio tracks
Could not play the audio track
CD-ROM failed to return status information
Can not detect audio information on CD
No audio media in CD-ROM

These errors relate to one of the following problems.
There is not a CD in the first CD-ROM connected to the computer.
The CD in the CD-ROM is not a Music CD.
The CD is already in use by another application.
The CD has an error on it and is unreadable.
The CD is dirty, dusty or scratched and can not be read
The CD Software drivers are not correctly installed.
The CD-ROM has a hardware error.

Checksum failure for CD file

This indicates that the file read from the data CD being tested failed the checksum verification. This means that the CD Drive is unable to accurately read data from the CD being tested.

Could not open file on CD for reading

The CD drive selected could not be opened for reading as a data CD.

Error while reading file from CD

A full block of data could not be read from the data CD.

Error while searching for files on data CD

An error occurred while searching for files on a data CD. This can be the result of a corrupted (Error code 1117) or blank CD (Error code 21).

Error initializing DirectX
Error querying DirectX
Error enumerating DirectX
Error creating DirectX objects
Error reading DirectX textures

These errors relate to one of the following problems.
DirectX is not installed correctly.
There are corrupt files within BurnInTest
Could not find the default printer

Could not open the default printer
Could not send page to printer

These errors relate to one of the following problems.
There is no printer defined in the Windows setup.
There is no default printer selected.
The default printer is not connected to the printer.
There is no paper / ink / toner in the printer.
There was a communications problem to the printer. e.g. The parallel port may not be functioning correctly.

Error verifying data in RAM

The data written to memory is not the same as the information read from memory. This is a very serious error, much like the “Incorrect mathematical…”, error above. It’s highly likely that your computer is about to crash or lock up.

Error allocating RAM from Windows

The Windows operating system was not able to allocate the amount of RAM requested by BurnInTest for the memory test. As the RAM must be allocated in a continuous block, this error can sometimes be seen as a result of free memory fragmentation.

Error connecting to network
Could not create a network socket
Could not set socket timeouts

During the establishment of a network connection an error was encountered. The Network address selected has no effect on if these errors occur. They can be the result of the following problems.
– There is no network connection configured for the computer
– The computer is physically disconnected from the network
– The Internet TCP/IP protocol is not installed on this computer

Networking functions aren't available (ws2_32.dll)

During the establishment of a network connection an error was encountered. This error indicates that the Windows Network Socket functions supplied by the library ws2_32.dll are not available on this system. This main mean that
- You are running a very old version of Windows 95 and that it’s time to upgrade to Windows 98, 2000, ME or XP
- The Internet TCP/IP protocol is not correctly installed on this computer

Could not resolve host name, check settings

The Network address selected does not seem to be correct. Try another address, or using a TCP/IP address directly. The address 127.0.0.1 is good for testing as it is an internal loop back.

No permission to open RAW network socket

If you are a non-administrator logged onto a Windows NT 4.0, 2000 or XP system you will get this error with the Network test. In Windows 2000, there is no way to disable this security check. Access to Raw Sockets is granted on a per-transport basis. For the address family AF_INET, only administrators have the access necessary to create Raw Sockets.
To work around this problem in Windows NT 4.0, you can disable the security check on RAW sockets by creating the following registry variable and setting its value to DWORD 1

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Afd\Parameters\

DisableRawSecurity

Editing the registry can be dangerous, so don’t touch it unless you know what you’re doing.
A better solution is to run the test while logged in as the ‘administrator’.

Timeout sending packet
Timeout waiting for packet
Error sending packet
Error receiving packet
Bad packet

These errors relate to one of the following problems.
The Host using the network address selected doesn’t reply to ‘ping’ messages. Try a different host.
There is a configuration problem in your network connection.
Your network card may be faulty.
The network itself is not reliably. The information send was not the same as the information echoed by the remote host.
The network is congested or faulty and the packets are not being echoed within the timeout period specified in the preferences window.

Got someone else’s packet

This is not really an error. It’s more of an information message. Don’t worry about this message.

Bad packet. Checksum incorrect

The checksum in the echoed, incoming data packet is not correct. This indicates data corruption or a fault on the remote machine. Note that this checksum is calculated by the remote machine.

Bad packet. Corrupt data

The contents of the incoming data packet are not correct. Normally this error would not been seen as the checksum should detect the incorrect data before this error occurs.

COM port is already in use by another program

The serial port selected for the test is already is use by Windows. This may be for the mouse, a modem or another serial device.

The requested COM port could not be found

The serial port selected for the test does not exist in this computer. This could happen if COM4 is selected but the computer has only 2 serial ports, COM1 and COM2.

Error while opening COM port

Windows has reported an error while trying to open the serial port selected for the test. This could be a configuration problem in Windows. This error should not normally been seen.

Error getting current COM port configuration
Error while setting new COM port configuration

Windows has reported an error while trying to configure the selected serial port. The most common cause for this error would be the selection of a speed that is not supported by the serial port chips installed in the computer (the UART). Most chips only support speeds up to 115Kbit/s.

Corruption. Data received didn't match data sent

BurnInTest has detected that the data received from the serial port doesn’t match the data sent. This could indicate that there is a hardware problem. This type of data corruption would however be a fairly rare type of event. The more common result of a hardware failure would be the total inability to send or receive data. (see below).

Error while setting current COM port timeouts

Windows has reported an error while trying to set the timeout periods for the data transmission and reception. This could be a configuration problem in Windows. This error should not normally been seen.

Error while sending data to the COM port

Error while receiving from the COM port

Windows has reported an error while trying to send / receive data through the serial port. If a device (such as a loop back plug) is not connected to the serial port then no data can be sent. If the loop back plug is connected and is not faulty, then this error may indicate a hardware fault.

Error loading Parallel port device driver

To access the Parallel port under Windows NT, 2000 and XP BurnInTest needs to load a special device driver that allows direct access to the parallel port. If this driver, “WinIo.sys”, can not be found or loaded then this is the error message. You need to be logged in as the administrator in order to load this driver. Having the wrong type of loop back plug can also provoke this error in certain circumstances.

Corruption. Data received didn't match data sent

The data sent to the Parallel port was not the same as the data received. This may indicate a hardware problem or a missing or faulty loop back connector.

Error while sending data to the parallel port
Error while receiving data to the parallel port

Windows has reported an error while trying send or receive data. This could be a configuration problem in Windows. This error should not normally been seen.

Could not detect the parallel port selected

BurnInTest was unable to find a parallel port at the location selected. Try picking another port and see the Parallel port test description for more details about port selection

Could not access the tape drive selected

The tape drive selected from the preferences window (e.g. TAPE1) could not be found connected to the computer.

Error while formatting tape partition

The tape drive reported an error while trying to format the tape in the tape drive.

Error while loading (rewinding) tape

The tape drive reported an error as a result of a request to load and position the tape for writing.

Error while locking tape in drive

The tape drive reported that it was unable to lock the tape in the drive. Some tape drives may not support this option and this art of the test can be turned off in the tape preferences window.

Tape device is not ready to start test

The tape drive is not in a state where it can accept a new command (but it should be).

No media in tape drive

The tape drive reported that there is no media in the drive.

No free memory for write buffer

There is not enough free RAM to allocate a write buffer.

Error while seeking to new position on tape

The tape drive reported an error while seeking to a new position on the tape.

Error while writing to tape

The tape drive failed to fully write the current data block to the tape.

Error while writing file marker between files

The tape drive failed to write a file marker. (A flag to indicate a new file)

Error while reading data block from tape

The tape drive failed to fully read the current data block from the tape.

Corruption. Data read didn't match data written

The data read from the tape didn’t match the data written to the tape.

Unable to get tape drive parameters

A request to get the tape drive capabilities resulted in an error.

Unable to get tape media parameters

A request to get the capabilities of the media current in the tape drive resulted in an error.

Tape is write protected

The tape media is write protected and the test can not continue.

Tape partition is too small for test files

The media is too small or the tape drive does not have the capability to fit the requested files on the tape. Select fewer files or smaller files or use a bigger tape.


Multiple test configurations
Maintaining multiple test configurations

If you are in the business to testing many different computers then you may benefit from maintaining different test configuration. By saving a particular configuration to a file, you can avoid resetting all the parameters each time BurnIntest is used with a different computer setup.

A configuration file contains all the parameters available in the test duty cycles and test preferences windows. The saving and loading of configuration files can be done from the menu options, ‘Load Config’ and ‘Save Config As’. Configuration files can also be used from the command line.

Configuration files normally end in the extension ‘cfg. For example the current configuration is stored automatically in the file ‘newcurrentbit.cfg’

Using this feature it is possible to make your own configuration for each computer setup that your business encounters / builds. eg. The heavy load situation, the Disk test only configuration.

After the configuration files have been created they can be transferred between computers where BurnInTest is installed

See also

Calling external programs via Auto stop actions

Logging faults


Command line options
Command line arguments

There are some command line parameters that can help in automating the testing process. If you are an organization testing many computers, a configuration file name can be specified on the command line.

bit.exe  <options>  <configuration_file_name>

Options

Only a single option is supported

/r	Executes the tests immediately without needing to press the go button. It also skips the pre-test warning message.

Example 1

Here is an example of a Windows batch file that could be used to start BurnIntest,

c:

cd "\program files\passmark\burnintest"

bit.exe heavyload.cfg

Example 2

Here is an example that could be placed in the Windows Startup folder to run BurnInTest automatically with the current default settings, (after Windows had booted up).

bit.exe /r

See also

Calling external programs via Auto stop actions


Serial port loop back plug

(Applicable to BurnInTest Pro version only)

You can purchase high quality molded loop back plugs from PassMark or you can make your own. A loop back plug is a small connector that plugs into the serial port on your computer in order to loop the data output line into the data input line. It also sets a few control lines to trick the computer into thinking that an external device is connected to the port. You'll find below the instructions for making your own serial port loop back plug. These plugs are designed to be plugged into the small 9 pin serial ports on your computer. In conjunction with software such as BurnInTest they allow the testing of the port.

Warning: This is the pinouts of the plug which we have made and successfully tested with our own software on our own PC's. You use this information at your own risk! It's easy to make a mistake and we take no responsibility for the potentially serious consequences.

The serial port on IBM compatible PC's conform to the RS232 electrical standard and use a male DB-9 connector. (older PC's may use a DB-25 in which case a converter will be required). The DB-9 connector as the following 9 pins.

DB9 Pin	EIA Description	Description
1	DCD	Data carrier detect
2	RXD	Receive data
3	TXD	Transmit data
4	DTR	Data terminal ready
5	GND	Signal ground
6	DSR	Data set ready
7	RTS	Request to send
8	CTS	Clear to send
9	RI	Ring Indicator

To make the loop back plug the following pins need to be connected together

•	Receive and transmit (2 & 3)

•	Request to send and Clear to send (7 & 8)

•	Data carrier detect, Data set ready and Data terminal ready (1, 6 & 4)

This diagram shows the connections that need to be made. It's the rear view of the female DB-9 connector that's required for the plug. The red lines and gray dots show the connections that need to be made on the back of the plug.

Female DB-9 connector - Rear view


Parallel port loop back plug

(Applicable to BurnInTest Pro version only)

You can purchase high quality molded loop back plugs from PassMark or you can make your own. You'll find below the instructions for making a parallel port loop back plug. These plugs are designed to be plugged into the 25 pin parallel on your computer. In conjunction with software such as BurnInTest they allow the testing of the port.

Warning: This are the pinouts of the plug which we have made and successfully tested with our own software on our own PC's. You use this information at your own risk! It's easy to make a mistake and we take no responsibility for the potentially serious consequences.

The parallel port on IBM compatible PC's have always used a DB-25 connector. However, over time several changes have taken place to the electrical interface with the introduction of enhanced and bi-directional parallel ports. We believe that this plug will work with all styles of parallel ports.

DB-25 Pin	Direction	Description
2	Out	Data bit 0 (Least significant bit)
3	Out	Data bit 1
4	Out	Data bit 2
5	Out	Data bit 3
6	Out	Data bit 4
10	In	Acknowledge status
11	In	Busy status
12	In	Paper out status
13	In	Select status
15	In	Error status

To make the loop back plug the following pins need to be connected together

•	Data 0 and Error status (Pin 2 & 15)

•	Data 1 and Select status (3 & 13)

•	Data 2 and Paper out status (4 & 12)

•	Data 3 and Acknowledge status (5 & 10)

•	Data 4 and Busy status (6 & 11)

This diagram shows the connections that need to be made. It's the rear view of the male DB-25 connector that's required for the plug. The red lines and gray dots show the connections that need to be made.

Male DB-25 connector - Rear view


Version history
What’s new

Here’s a summary of all the changes that have been made in each version of BurnInTest.

Version 2.3 build 1006 Std & Pro edition, 4/Mar/2002

-	Fixed a bug in the RAM test allocating the wrong about of RAM with machines with > 429MB of RAM.

-	Optimized RAM test to increase test speed

-	Fix a bug in the disk test. The test would not function correctly on disks > 200GB

-	Added extra error checking on incoming network test packets

Version 2.3 Build 1000 Pro & Std editions, 29/Oct/2001

-	Support for Windows XP

-	Support for LPT3 (a 3rd parallel port)

Version 2.2 Build 1006 Pro & Std editions, 21/Sept/2001

-	A floppy disk drive letter is no longer mandatory in the Preferences window

-	BatteryMon and BurnInTest integration. BurnInTest can now log battery charge statistics from PassMark BatteryMon

-	Bug fix to CPU type detection. Some early model Pentium II 300Mhz were reported as being Celerons.

Version 2.2 Build 1005 Pro & Std editions, 25/July/2001

-	Fixed bug that caused PASSED to be displayed even if there was a error in the network test.

-	Added option to call external executable file when tests have completed. (see timer preferences)

Version 2.2 Build 1004 Pro edition, 22/June/2001

-	Fixed counter display bug in SSE Multiply test.

-	Added Tape and Tape Media information windows.

-	Changed tape test block size to 64KB or maximum drive will allow if 64KB is too large. (this improves tape throughput)

-	Changed tape test to skip free space check on tape drives that can't report free space

-	New tape test option to use or not use filemarks.

Version 2.2 Build 1003 Std & Pro editions, 22/May/2001

-	Update to make BurnInTest work with latest version of HMonitor temperature monitoring software (V4.0.1).

Version 2.2 Build 1002 Std & Pro editions, 7/Apr/2001

-	Less aggressive memory grabbing

-	Serial port timeouts can now be set by the user in the preferences window

-	Extra logging info for memory allocations and serial port errors in errorlog.txt file.

Version 2.2 Build 1001 Std & Pro editions, 10/Feb/2001

-	Fixed a bug in the disk test that caused a memory leak (eventually crashing BurnInTest)

-	Added an option to skip the tape locking step in the tape drive test. (Pro version only)

Version 2.2 Build 1000 Std & Pro editions, 1/Feb/2001

-	Improved error logging to "ErrorLog.txt" file for some tests.

-	Multiple disks can now be tested simultaneously.

-	Multiple serial ports can now be tested simultaneously (Pro version only)

-	Tape drives can now be tested. (Pro version with NT, 2000 and XP only)

-	Multiple network addresses can now be tested simultaneously

-	CPU selection is now possible. Tests can now be restricted to run on a single CPU in multi CPU machines. (Pro version only)

-	Support for WindowsME

-	Support for Pentium4 and Duron CPU's

-	Detection of CPU serial number if available in CPU. The serial# is included in log files.

-	Addition of SSE 128Bit and 3DNow! maths tests

-	The preferences window was redone with multiple tabs and more options,

-	A new feature was added to the CD test, allowing data CD's or Music CD's to be used.

-	The RAM and Disk tests were improved by the addition of several test patterns. For each cycle a new test pattern is selected.

-	It is now possible to set a timeout period for the network test.

Version 2.1 Pro edition, Build 1003, 9/Oct/2000

-	Included all fixes from Standard edition 2.1 build 1001

-	Added support for loopback on COM ports 5 through 12

-	Bug fix that caused rare crash in CPU ID detection routine on startup.

-	Included Identification of AMD Duron CPU

-	Fixed a number of spelling errors

-	Fixed problem with window placement causing windows to be placed partially off screen when many are opened at the same time.

Version 2.1  Std edition, Build 1001, 30/Aug/2000

-	Bug fix with keeping selected Log format between runs of BurnInTest

-	Bug fix with handling unformatted floppy disk

-	Bug fix causing multiple PASSED/FAILED windows, when tests take a long time to clean up.

-	Bug fix with network test to avoid blocking on some error conditions.

-	Better window refresh rate in Network test window to avoid flashing

Version 2.1 Build 1000, 27/Aug/2000

-	BurnInTest was split into a standard version and a professional version. The professional version is the same as the standard version except that parallel and serial loop back tests are added.

-	A new command line parameter was added, /r. This starts tests running automatically on startup.

-	A new parallel port loop back test was added. (an additional external plug and the Pro version of the software are required for this test)

-	A new serial port loop back test was added. (an additional external plug and the Pro version of the software are required for this test)

-	New Pentium III CPU’s are now identified.

-	The “test failed” window is now displayed at the autostop time if an error occurred. Previously the “test failed” window would only be displayed if the "Stop on Error" check box was set.

-	A new option to have multiple log files with Date and time stamping in the file name has been included.

-	Machine type and serial numbers can now be entered into a new dialog box. (so an audit trail can be maintained). The information entered is stored in log files and displayed in the main window.

-	Results can be saved as text and HTML format from the Save as Log menu.

 Version 2.0 - 20/April/2000

-	A date and time stamp and CPU Level 2 cache size has been added to the ASCII log file.

-	Extensive updates to this help file

-	Dual CPU support was added for speed and temperature measurement. In V1.0 only a single CPU would be reported on.

-	Better CPU speed measurement. In some configurations, such as multiple CPU systems, V1.0 was reporting the wrong speed. The test is now much more accurate on all systems. In some cases we can even measure to 1/10th of a Mhz.

-	We went into partnership with the Hmonitor (hardware monitor) people, to do temperature monitoring. When running BurnInTest with Hmonitor, the main window and the log file will record the CPU(s) temperature.

-	The visual appearance of the main window was improved.

-	Command line parameters can now be used to specify configuration file that will be loaded at startup.

-	The menu options were rearranged into more logical groupings.

-	Allowed test configuration files to be saved and loaded. This allows multiple test configurations to be supported.

-	A large green flashing “PASSED” window now pops up when the test period ends and there were no errors.

-	A large red flashing “FAILED” window now pops up when the test period ends and there was an error. If BurnInTest is set to stop on errors, then the message will be displayed when the first error is encountered.

-	A Network connection test was added to test your networking hardware and software.

-	A Memory test was added to test the available RAM in the computer.

-	Shareware period extended to 30days (it was 15days in V1.0)

-	A registration button was added in the toolbar

-	Improved 256 color Icons for each test window and the main window. Each Icon for each test window is now unique which is a big help when using ALT-TAB to switch Windows.

-	Fixed up a problem when ALT-F4 was used to close the test windows. Now the key combination ALT-F4 can be used to stop all tests from any BurnInTest window.

-	Fixed a minor bug with the Autostop function not stopping if the main window was not visible.

-	Fixed a bug that was stopping the hard disk slide bar in duty cycle window acting independently of floppy disk setting.

-	Re-Wrote the CD Test to better detect error conditions

-	Allowed the selection of a particular CD player to test. In V1.0 the first CD Player was always used, now any available CD-Player can be selected.

Version 1.0 - 11/Sept/99

First version released to the world.


Temperature and Battery monitoring

Battery monitoring (via BatteryMon)

BurnInTest can work with another product from PassMark Software called BatteryMon.  BatteryMon allows the charge level in laptop batteries and uninterruptible power supplies UPSs to be monitored. Turning on this feature will cause BurnInTest to log the battery statistics collected by BatteryMon. Both programs need to be active and running for this feature to work. Statistics collected will appear in the HTML, Text and binary log files, where they will be broken down on a per battery basis. There is also a summary charge level displayed in the main window.

For more information about BatteryMon see the PassMark Software web site.

http://www.passmark.com/products/batmon.htm

Temperature monitoring (via HMonitor)

PassMark software has formed a partnership with the publisher of Hmonitor, Alexander Berezkin. Hmonitor is a software utility that can monitor the vital statistics of your motherboard. By using Hmonitor and BurnInTest together it is possible to Burn in your hardware while monitoring and logging the temperature of your CPU(s) within BurnInTest.

This is how you set it up

-	Check that your mainboard supports temperature monitoring. This can be done from the documentation that comes with the board / computer or from the manufacturers web page.

-	Hmonitor must be correctly installed on your computer. Hmonitor is currently available at http://www.hmonitor.com.  PassMark also maintains a Web page that can tell you where to get Hmonitor. http://www.passmark.com/products/temperature.htm

-	Check that Hmonitor supports your motherboard. Hmonitor comes with a list of supported boards.

-	Check that Hmonitor is a compatible version. Testing was done with versions 3.1.2.5 and 4.0.1.2 but any version later than this should work OK.

-	Run Hmonitor, then Run BurnInTest.

-	Make sure temperature monitoring is turned on in BurnInTest. (from the Test preferences Window) and the temperature source value is selected. Up to two sources can be selected for display and logging in BurnInTest.

-	Start testing.

BurnInTest reads the CPU temperature values from Hmonitor, displaying them on the screen and writing them to disk if logging is turned on.

About Hmonitor

This software is quite possibly the best hardware sensor monitoring program out there. Hmonitor Pro monitors and displays hardware parameters collected by the several sensor chips, installed on certain motherboards. The program can monitor voltages, CPU temperature, Motherboard temperature and cooler fans RPMs. It is fully customizable with alarms that can be set to go off when the temperature goes too high. In addition to this there is a built in "thermo control" function, that kicks in when the CPU is idle. Hmonitor can be used under Windows 95/98 or NT/2000 operating systems on Intel-based personal computers.


Machine Identity
Machine Identity and additional notes

 The fields on this screen allow the entry of information related to the identity of the machine being tested. This can be an aid to users that plan to test numerous machines and need to associate the results obtained with a particular machine at a later date. Users would typically do this in order to maintain an audit trail for quality assurance reasons.

Three free form text fields are available. The information entered into this window will be displayed in saved result files, in the main window and on printed results.

Machine Type

Typically the make and model of the machine would be entered in this field, e.g. Dell Dimension T800 XPS

Serial Number

Typically the serial number would be entered here, e.g. D345-789-YT99

Notes

This is a spare text field that users may make use of to save any additional information that needs to be associated with the machine being tested or the organization doing the testing. No more than 300 characters may be entered into this field.

Save As Defaults button

This button will save the contents of these three fields to disk. Each time BurnInTest starts the fields will automatically be reloaded. This can save retyping the same information over and over again.


Disk and CD preferences dialog box
Test Preferences – Disk & CD

Hard disk assignment

These fields allow the user to select the disks used for the hard disk test. A single character should be entered into this field, e.g. C   , for Hard Drive C: The system attempts to verify the disk is assessable when the user clicks on OK. Up to 4 drive letters can be selected for simultaneous testing. Note: The simultaneous testing of two partitions on the same physical hard drive will result in a lot of seeking between partitions and slow down the test significantly. To stop testing a particular drive, clear the field.

CD assignment and test method

These fields allow the user to select the CD drive to be used for the CD test. A single character should be entered into this field, e.g. E. To run the CD test either a music CD or a Data CD is required. The CD used should match the setting in this window. See the CD Test description for more details. Only a single CD can be selected for testing.

Floppy disk assignment

This field allows the user to select a single drive for use in the floppy disk test. A single character should be entered into this field, e.g. A

If there is no floppy drive installed in the system leave this field blank.


Logging preferences dialog box
Test Preferences – Logging

Automatic logging

BurnInTest can create log files automatically. Using the setting in the preferences dialog the user can select

•	If automatic periodic logging in on or off

•	How often a log file is created

•	The format of the log file. Plain ASCII text, binary BIT format or HTML web page.

•	If a single file is used for logging or multiple files are created by including the date and time in the file name selected.

•	The location of the log file

The log file format can be ASCII (plain text), BIT (BurnInTest Binary) or HTML (for the web). An ASCII log file can be opened by any text editor or a Word processor. The BIT format binary file can only be opened with BurnInTest. See the example ASCII log file. HTML files can be opened in a browser and posted on the web. All three formats can be attached to E-Mail messages.

A log file will be created each ‘log period’ and once again when the tests are stopped. If the “Single file” box is checked only a single file on the disk is created, this means that only the log from the last log period will be available. If the “Time stamped files” box is checked then multiple files will be created. BurnInTest will automatically modify the file name selected to include the current date and time, e.g. If you use the file c:\temp\logfile.txt as your log file then BurnInTest will create files like, c:\temp\logfile_20000725_2245.txt

20000725 is the date (YearMonthDay), the 25th of July in this case.

2245 is the time (HourMinute)

Automatic logging may be useful in your system is unstable. You could create a log file every 10 minutes, then even if the computer crashed, you would have a record of how much testing was completed before the crash. Logging can also be used as a method of keeping quality assurance records in a manufacturing environment.

See also

Calling external programs via Auto stop actions

Maintaining multiple test configurations


Error handling preferences dialog box
Test Preferences – Error handling

Action on Error

When BurnInTest detects an error, three options are available.

Continue. The error counter is incremented and testing continues.

Continue and beep. The error counter is incremented, the computer beeps and testing continues.

Stop all tests. All windows (except the main window) are closed and all the tests are stopped. The failed window is then displayed.


Network preferences dialog box
Test Preferences – Network

Network addresses

Up to 4 network addresses can be entered for the simultaneous testing of the connection to 4 different locations. These values are used for the Network test. These connections can pass via different network interface cards (NIC) or the same one. The NIC used will depend on the TCP/IP configuration setup in Windows. Each address must be a URL or an IP address.

A URL is the name of a network host, eg. www.hostname.com

An IP address is a sequence of 4 numbers that correspond to a network host. eg. 169.192.0.1

If less than 4 addresses need to be tested uncheck the active check box.

The host selected must be accessible from the computer and capable of responding to the ‘ping’ command. See the Network Test for more details. PassMark recommends the selection of a local host to minimize data link problems, which are fairly common on the Internet.

Timeout

This value determines how long BurnInTest will wait for a data packet to be sent or received before an error is reported. The value is measured in Milliseconds. 2000ms (2 seconds) is the default value.


Temperature and Battery preferences dialog box
Test Preferences – Temperature & Battery

Battery monitoring (via BatteryMon)

BurnInTest can work with another product from PassMark Software called BatteryMon.  BatteryMon allows the charge level in laptop batteries and uninterruptible power supplies UPSs to be monitored. Click the check box to turn on the feature.

See Temperature and battery monitoring for more details

Temperature monitoring

PassMark software has formed a partnership with the publisher of Hmonitor, a software utility that can monitor the vital statistics of your motherboard. By using Hmonitor and BurnInTest together it is possible to Burn in your hardware while monitoring and logging the temperature of your CPU(s) within BurnInTest. To use this facility, tick the check box.

See Temperature and battery monitoring for more details on how to set this feature up and check if your hardware can support this feature.


Timer and test duration preferences dialog box
Test Preferences – Timers

Timed test run

This option allows the user to select the period of time that tests are to run for. After the time has expired all windows (except the main window) are closed and all the tests are stopped.

A value of 0 in this field means that the tests will run until a manual Stop command is issued via the button bar or menu. The maximum test time in the unregistered shareware version is 15minutes per test. After the software is registered the maximum autostop time is 10 days. (the registered version can also run forever with manual stop).

Action after Auto Stop

To help with the process of test automation it is possible to have BurnInTest close automatically after the tests have been completed. This could be used, for example, to call an application or batch file that would clean up the hard disk after the completion of testing. The full path name of the application must be entered. E.g.

c:\temp\cleanup.bat

To close BurnInTest automatically without running an external file, select the Run external file option but leave the file name empty.


Tape preferences dialog box
Test Preferences – Tape

(Pro version only. Windows NT, 2000 or XP only)

Tape drive

The tape drive ID can be entered into this field. Windows normally assigns the name of the tape drive. Typical names are TAPE0, TAPE1, etc..

File size and Number of files

The number of test files and the size of each file can be selected here. The size of the tape must be large enough to hold the files selected.

Option: Formatting

The formatting step tries to create a new partition on the tape. The size of the partition will depend on the tape drive in use. Some tape drives may not support this option as not all media types require this formatting step to be executed before the tape media is used.

Option: Locking

The locking step attempts to physically lock the tape in the drive, so that it can not be manually ejected during the test. Some tape drives may not support this option.

Option: Writing file marks

File marks are used to separate files on a tape. Normally a file mark is a short section of blank tape. Different tape drives support file marks that are different in length and content. File marks are not required to run this test as BurnInTest knows the exact length of each file written to the tape and thus has no need to be notified when the end of a file is reached. If you get filemark errors when running the tape test, turn this option off as your tape drive probably doesn’t support the type of filemarks used by BurnInTest.

Drive info button

This window display information that has been extracted from the tape drive. It allows the user to see which features are supported by a particular tape drive. This window is really only intended for tape drive experts.

Media info button

This window display information that has been extracted from the tape drive and it’s current media. It allows the user to see some information about the media currently in the drive. This window is really only intended for tape drive experts.


CPU affinity preferences dialog box
Test Preferences – CPU

(Pro version only. Multi-CPU systems only)

CPU affinity

Normal task scheduling or CPU targeted testing can be selected here. Normal task scheduling will result in threads being dynamically scheduled on the CPU with the least load. In this way the load is spread between all available CPU’s. CPU targeted testing schedules all the threads onto a particular CPU.

Note that CPU selection is only possible if more than one CPU is installed and the user has administrator access rights.

Even if CPU targeted testing is used some load can “spill” onto other CPU’s. This is because system processes will still be allocated to other CPU’s.


Serial port preferences dialog box
Test Preferences – Serial ports

(Pro version only)

Serial port

The communications ports that will be used by the serial port test, eg COM1. Up to 12 ports can be selected for simultaneous testing. The communications speed can also be selected. Note that most serial ports do not support speeds above 115200bits/sec. In order to test the serial ports loopback plugsHID_LOOPBACK will be required.

See the serial port test for more details.


Parallel port preferences dialog box
Test Preferences – Parallel ports

(Pro version only)

Parallel port

The communications port that will be used by the parallel port test, eg Port1. Port1 always corresponds to the physical IO memory address 0378. Port2 always corresponds to the physical IO memory address 0278. You many need to check your Windows device manager settings in order to select the correct port. See the parallel port test for more details.

Only a single parallel port may be tested at one time and a loop back plug is required.


Maths preferences dialog box
Test Preferences – Maths

Select maths tests

Using the check boxes it is possible to select which maths tests will be performed and which ones will be skipped. See the maths test for more details.

Select SIMD tests

Using the check boxes it is possible to select which Single Instruction Multiple Data (SIMD) tests are performed and which ones will be skipped. See the MMX /SSE test for more details.