Apple Hardware Test. This is the recommended way by Apple to test your memory using their diagnostic tool. If you have an installation disc, insert the disc, restart your Mac, press and hold the C key. Select the language for the Apple Hardware Test and click the Test button to start testing. Sample applications to set up the BurnInTest environment, plugin tests for specialized hardware and post test processing. Users can write their own tests as a Plugin test. This package contains a guide, sample applications and Microsoft Visual Studio 2013 C sample projects. Simply download and open the app, select your target drive if your Mac has more than one hard drive (this is done by clicking the gear cog) and click start to begin the benchmark. USB 3.0 Loopback Test Plugs. For Troubleshooting and Testing USB 3.0 ports. Quickest way to verify that your USB 3.0 ports are working correctly Diagnose, troubleshoot and load test the USB functionality of your PC.
I recently had a problem with the battery in my Macbook Air. I was following the instructions provided by Apple, but when pressing the D key upon startup, I was still being booted into Mac OS X instead of the hardware diagnostics.
The knowledge base had no solution for me but, after some looking around, I found the problem.
Your Mac will not boot into diagnostics if you have a firmware password set. In order to run the Apple Hardware Test, you’ll need to temporarily disable your firmware password. Here’s how you do it.
Are you not sure if this is what’s causing the problem? Luckily, this is easy to check.
- Shut down your Mac (Apple -> Shut Down…)
- Locate the Option key on your keyboard
- Press the Power button and then immediately press and hold the Option key
You will now either see a screen with two hard disk images (your disk and a recovery disk), or a large lock icon with a password entry. If you see the password entry, this is issue preventing you from loading the Apple Hardware Test.
Apple Hardware Test Online
Since you’ve determined that you have a firmware password, we’ll need to temporarily disable it.
- Follow the steps above (Shut Down, Hold Option until you see the password entry)
- Enter the firmware password
- Select the recovery disk using the arrow keys and enter
- Click Utilities -> Firmware Password Utility
- Click “Turn off firmware password”
- Enter the previous firmware password
- Shut down your Mac (Apple -> Shut Down…)
Mac Hardware Check
Now you should be good-to-go! Follow the instructions provided by Apple and run the tests. Remember to reset your firmware password when you’re done.