Upgrading RAM help

Sgian Dubh · 03-02-07, 09:02 PM

Hi all,

I wanted to bring my RAM up to 2 Gigs on my Asus P4PE-based system.

I had two 512/266 pC2100 chips (there are three slots on the motherboard).

I purchased, upon recommendation, a PC2700 1GIG ship that is supposed to support 266.

The motherboard supports all of the types of RAM.

If I put in the 2 512, it boots dine.

If I put in the 1Gig stick, it boots fine.

If I put in the 2 512s and the 1 gig stick, the computer wont' boot, I get no video signal and then hardraive light comes on and stays on.

This should work from what I've read, but there is something I am missing. Hoping a guru can give me some ideas to try.

Thanks!

gdogghenrikson · 03-02-07, 09:37 PM

You could try upgrading the bios

gdogghenrikson · 03-02-07, 09:39 PM

also...make sure your ram is firmly locked in

Sgian Dubh · 03-03-07, 12:08 AM

Well, so far no luck.

There are newer versions of the Bios for the P4PE, but they only add new CPU support. The Motherboard is supposed to support 2 Gigs (Max)

The RAM all seems to be fully inserted into the slots.

I guess I will have to purchase another Gig and then toss out the old 512s. It is a shame as there should not be a problem doing this.

What is odd is that I dont' get any kind of error - not even a beep-command indicating a memory fault. The hardrive light comes on, and nothing more ever happens.

Really strange.

If anyone has another idea, I'd love to hear it.

Thanks.

mookiemookie · 03-03-07, 12:12 AM

Just a shot in the dark (computer geeks, correct me if I'm wrong) but are you sure all your memory sticks are the same type of RAM? I've heard that it can cause problems if you try mixing them.

Sgian Dubh · 03-03-07, 12:47 AM

All of the RAM sticks are DDR type. I pulled the 512s before I went to the store so I could match specs.

03-03-07, 12:55 AM

have you tried this , put the 2xpc2100 speed modules in to the first 2 mem slots and the pc2700 into the 3rd slot - youve got slower modules and a faster 1 - if you put the slower ones in first then the mobo will throttle down the speed of the faster 1 to that of the slower ones, which is ok, but if youve got the faster 1 in the first slot then the whole thing will fall over as it trys to make the slow ram run faster.

Jimbuna · 03-03-07, 06:25 AM

I'm gonna presume your OS is XP Pro (as is mine)....I upgraded nearly 2 years ago from 1GB to 2GB and experienced identical problems

XP Pro is a pig with RAM it is so tempramental at times....I tried 7 (seven) different sticks before I could get them to accept each other

The only quick fix is to replace the lot with the same manufacturers brand I'm afraid...unless lady luck eventually smiles on you and finds two brands that 'like' each other

leeclose · 03-03-07, 06:28 AM

I expierenced a similiar prob with my system trying swapping the sticks about into diffrent slots thats how i overcame my prob and mines are diffrent manufacturers i know ur not supposed to do that but it works trust me. So for instance you could put a stick of 256 ram then a 1 gigg then a 256 try that.

leeclose · 03-03-07, 06:55 AM

Yup mines was but what i found out is my system is a heavily modded Dell system apparently most dells have this ram fault where you have to play tic-tac-toe with the ram.

JSLTIGER · 03-03-07, 10:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sgian Dubh

Well, so far no luck.

There are newer versions of the Bios for the P4PE, but they only add new CPU support. The Motherboard is supposed to support 2 Gigs (Max)

The RAM all seems to be fully inserted into the slots.

I guess I will have to purchase another Gig and then toss out the old 512s. It is a shame as there should not be a problem doing this.

What is odd is that I dont' get any kind of error - not even a beep-command indicating a memory fault. The hardrive light comes on, and nothing more ever happens.

Really strange.

If anyone has another idea, I'd love to hear it.

Thanks.

The board may be configured for dual channel RAM, which depending on how its configured either needs a layout of 512, 1GB, 512 or 512, 512, 1GB. It's only going to run on single channel regardless, but try slotting them up that way and seeing if that solves the issue.

leeclose · 03-03-07, 12:45 PM

Yup that could work welcome to the wonderfull world of pc upgrading

Sgian Dubh · 03-03-07, 01:53 PM

So it turns out that in the small print for my motherboard it is not recommended to use single-side and double-side RAM together.

*sigh*.

Fortunately, I found two 1 GIG RAM sticks on sale for 50% off. So I will get 2 Gigs for the price I paid for the original (and now returned) stick of 1 Gig RAM.

Thanks for all of the help!!!!

leeclose · 03-03-07, 02:10 PM

ah well there you go all's well that ends well mate happy new ram

SUBMAN1 · 03-03-07, 03:16 PM

I hope you don't mind if I chime in here, but make sure your RAM for this board has 64mx8 chips on it. The use of higher density chips I can guarantee is the cause of your problems. Most 1 GB modules use higher density chips, so it is harder to find lower density 1 GB modules. The problem arrises in that your motherboard can only address so much, and the higher density chips is making it try and address more than it is capable of.

I saw this problem on an Abit NForce 2 board again not too long ago. Friend bought OCZ 1 GB RAM modules, and when he pluggen them in, he had similar problems. I told him to buy 64x8's and he is happily computing at 2 GB now.

Mushkin makes a lot of 64x8's. These will solve your problem:

http://www.mushkin.com/doc/products/...ail.asp?id=193

Notice the chip size on those modules. Most manufacturers don't list chip sizes and they almost always us higher density since it is cheaper, but Mushkin always will tell you. By the way, 1 GB modules with lower density sizes will overclock better, but the negative is that they will cost more.

You might browse their site too since they will clear up a lot of the timing confusions that surround RAM modules.

-S

03-02-07, 09:02 PM	#1
Sgian Dubh Officer Join Date: Sep 2002 Posts: 245 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	Upgrading RAM help Hi all, I wanted to bring my RAM up to 2 Gigs on my Asus P4PE-based system. I had two 512/266 pC2100 chips (there are three slots on the motherboard). I purchased, upon recommendation, a PC2700 1GIG ship that is supposed to support 266. The motherboard supports all of the types of RAM. If I put in the 2 512, it boots dine. If I put in the 1Gig stick, it boots fine. If I put in the 2 512s and the 1 gig stick, the computer wont' boot, I get no video signal and then hardraive light comes on and stays on. This should work from what I've read, but there is something I am missing. Hoping a guru can give me some ideas to try. Thanks! __________________ \"One ping to find them all, One ping to link them; One ping to promote them all, and in the darkness sink them.\" with apologies to J.R.R. Tolkien

03-02-07, 09:37 PM	#2
gdogghenrikson Grey Wolf Join Date: May 2005 Location: USA Posts: 978 Downloads: 5 Uploads: 0	You could try upgrading the bios __________________ And when you loose control, you'll reap the harvest you have sown.

03-02-07, 09:39 PM	#3
gdogghenrikson Grey Wolf Join Date: May 2005 Location: USA Posts: 978 Downloads: 5 Uploads: 0	also...make sure your ram is firmly locked in __________________ And when you loose control, you'll reap the harvest you have sown.

03-03-07, 12:08 AM	#4
Sgian Dubh Officer Join Date: Sep 2002 Posts: 245 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	Well, so far no luck. There are newer versions of the Bios for the P4PE, but they only add new CPU support. The Motherboard is supposed to support 2 Gigs (Max) The RAM all seems to be fully inserted into the slots. I guess I will have to purchase another Gig and then toss out the old 512s. It is a shame as there should not be a problem doing this. What is odd is that I dont' get any kind of error - not even a beep-command indicating a memory fault. The hardrive light comes on, and nothing more ever happens. Really strange. If anyone has another idea, I'd love to hear it. Thanks. __________________ \"One ping to find them all, One ping to link them; One ping to promote them all, and in the darkness sink them.\" with apologies to J.R.R. Tolkien

03-03-07, 12:12 AM	#5
mookiemookie Navy Seal Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 9,404 Downloads: 105 Uploads: 1	Just a shot in the dark (computer geeks, correct me if I'm wrong) but are you sure all your memory sticks are the same type of RAM? I've heard that it can cause problems if you try mixing them. __________________ They don’t think it be like it is, but it do. Want more U-boat Kaleun portraits for your SH3 Commander Profiles? Download the SH3 Commander Portrait Pack here.

03-03-07, 12:47 AM	#6
Sgian Dubh Officer Join Date: Sep 2002 Posts: 245 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	All of the RAM sticks are DDR type. I pulled the 512s before I went to the store so I could match specs. __________________ \"One ping to find them all, One ping to link them; One ping to promote them all, and in the darkness sink them.\" with apologies to J.R.R. Tolkien

03-03-07, 12:55 AM	#7
darius359au Stowaway Posts: n/a Downloads: Uploads:	have you tried this , put the 2xpc2100 speed modules in to the first 2 mem slots and the pc2700 into the 3rd slot - youve got slower modules and a faster 1 - if you put the slower ones in first then the mobo will throttle down the speed of the faster 1 to that of the slower ones, which is ok, but if youve got the faster 1 in the first slot then the whole thing will fall over as it trys to make the slow ram run faster.

03-03-07, 06:25 AM	#8
Jimbuna Chief of the Boat Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: 250 metres below the surface Posts: 190,525 Downloads: 63 Uploads: 13	I'm gonna presume your OS is XP Pro (as is mine)....I upgraded nearly 2 years ago from 1GB to 2GB and experienced identical problems XP Pro is a pig with RAM it is so tempramental at times....I tried 7 (seven) different sticks before I could get them to accept each other The only quick fix is to replace the lot with the same manufacturers brand I'm afraid...unless lady luck eventually smiles on you and finds two brands that 'like' each other __________________ Wise men speak because they have something to say; Fools because they have to say something. Oh my God, not again!!

03-03-07, 06:28 AM	#9
leeclose Grey Wolf Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Scotland Posts: 879 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	I expierenced a similiar prob with my system trying swapping the sticks about into diffrent slots thats how i overcame my prob and mines are diffrent manufacturers i know ur not supposed to do that but it works trust me. So for instance you could put a stick of 256 ram then a 1 gigg then a 256 try that. __________________ “There are only two kinds of naval vessels - submarines, and targets.” Uber-Boot Dev Team

03-03-07, 06:55 AM	#10
leeclose Grey Wolf Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Scotland Posts: 879 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	Yup mines was but what i found out is my system is a heavily modded Dell system apparently most dells have this ram fault where you have to play tic-tac-toe with the ram. __________________ “There are only two kinds of naval vessels - submarines, and targets.” Uber-Boot Dev Team

03-03-07, 12:45 PM	#12
leeclose Grey Wolf Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Scotland Posts: 879 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	Yup that could work welcome to the wonderfull world of pc upgrading __________________ “There are only two kinds of naval vessels - submarines, and targets.” Uber-Boot Dev Team

03-03-07, 01:53 PM	#13
Sgian Dubh Officer Join Date: Sep 2002 Posts: 245 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	So it turns out that in the small print for my motherboard it is not recommended to use single-side and double-side RAM together. sigh. Fortunately, I found two 1 GIG RAM sticks on sale for 50% off. So I will get 2 Gigs for the price I paid for the original (and now returned) stick of 1 Gig RAM. Thanks for all of the help!!!! __________________ \"One ping to find them all, One ping to link them; One ping to promote them all, and in the darkness sink them.\" with apologies to J.R.R. Tolkien

03-03-07, 02:10 PM	#14
leeclose Grey Wolf Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Scotland Posts: 879 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	ah well there you go all's well that ends well mate happy new ram __________________ “There are only two kinds of naval vessels - submarines, and targets.” Uber-Boot Dev Team

03-03-07, 03:16 PM	#15
SUBMAN1 Rear Admiral Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 11,866 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	I hope you don't mind if I chime in here, but make sure your RAM for this board has 64mx8 chips on it. The use of higher density chips I can guarantee is the cause of your problems. Most 1 GB modules use higher density chips, so it is harder to find lower density 1 GB modules. The problem arrises in that your motherboard can only address so much, and the higher density chips is making it try and address more than it is capable of. I saw this problem on an Abit NForce 2 board again not too long ago. Friend bought OCZ 1 GB RAM modules, and when he pluggen them in, he had similar problems. I told him to buy 64x8's and he is happily computing at 2 GB now. Mushkin makes a lot of 64x8's. These will solve your problem: http://www.mushkin.com/doc/products/...ail.asp?id=193 Notice the chip size on those modules. Most manufacturers don't list chip sizes and they almost always us higher density since it is cheaper, but Mushkin always will tell you. By the way, 1 GB modules with lower density sizes will overclock better, but the negative is that they will cost more. You might browse their site too since they will clear up a lot of the timing confusions that surround RAM modules. -S __________________