Windows Memory Diagnostic Mdsched.exe Microsoft Documentation Fixed Jun 2026

In virtualized environments (like VirtualBox or VMware), mdsched.exe may fail to run correctly or return false positives because the "physical memory" is virtualized. It is generally not recommended to run this tool inside a VM.

The actual testing occurs via a separate executable named memtest.exe located in the %SystemRoot%\boot directory. This is a "Windows Boot Application." When the computer restarts:

You can access the tool in several ways across Windows 10 and 11:

Administrators can use Command Prompt or PowerShell to initiate the tool or bypass the prompt entirely.