Memtest86+ 9.00 brings Arm machines into a more traceable memory-testing workflow

Memtest86+ 9.00, released on 15 October, expands the open-source memory tester to Arm64 and adds ways to retain diagnostic results. For an engineering team, the important combination is broader hardware coverage and a more durable record of what was actually tested. A support claim and a clean test result still answer different questions.

The project's release notes say Arm support has been tested on Snapdragon X hardware and Raspberry Pi 4 and 5. The official website adds a significant qualification: supported Arm platforms need UEFI and ACPI, and its Raspberry Pi examples use community UEFI firmware. This is not a promise of support for every Arm board, phone or operating-system installation.

Preserve a result that can be compared

The release can save text reports to a FAT32 USB drive. According to the project, those reports include system information, memory-module details and test results; individually numbered files avoid replacing earlier reports. The updated serial logging can also emit machine-readable events, while a pass-count option supports bounded automated runs.

BijliCoin's interpretation is that these features make a diagnostic procedure easier to audit. A useful record would pair each result with the exact tester version, firmware configuration, memory settings and the reason for the test. That gives a technician a basis for comparing a replacement module or a later firmware update, rather than relying on a photograph of an unexplained pass screen.

Check the boot boundary before planning a run

The release is signed using the project's own certificate authority. Its notes do not claim Microsoft signing. On a managed computer, check the organization's firmware trust policy and approved diagnostic procedure before attempting to boot a new image. An individual troubleshooting article cannot authorize changes to an employer's device policy.

Version 9.00 also includes a new bus stress test and a RowHammer test that the release notes identify as disabled by default. Their presence is not a certification that a machine is secure, nor does enabling additional tests establish a universal test duration. Select a procedure appropriate to the actual problem and preserve its scope alongside the result.

For maintainers of development machines and small server fleets, the immediate decision is whether the supported boot environment and report format fit an existing maintenance process. Schedule testing where an interruption is acceptable and keep ordinary backups independent of hardware diagnostics. A test report can document the run; it cannot substitute for recovery planning.

BijliCoin has not booted this release or verified its failure-detection performance.