Thread: Totally free PC fix software

Originally Posted by Cliff Rogers

I'd try the computer with only one at a time installed to find out which one was the problem.

Good idea, Cliff. I thought he'd already done that.

There's plenty of cheap ram on eBay, how do I determine which style will fit my computer?

See here for example

2GB 2X 1GB PC3200 DDR PC 3200 400MHz DESKTOP DIMM ME RA | eBay

An a picture

Originally Posted by neksmerj

There's plenty of cheap ram on eBay, how do I determine which style will fit my computer?

See here for example

2GB 2X 1GB PC3200 DDR PC 3200 400MHz DESKTOP DIMM ME RA | eBay

An a picture

From the info you've given us so far, that looks fine to me. What does your old RAM look like? If it's PC2100, 2700 or 3200, 400MHz bus, 184-pin, you're good to go, as long as your motherboard can take 2GB of RAM. It should be able to, but your motherboard manual will tell you that. If you don't have a manual, you could get the numbers from your motherboard and search online for the manual, or, as I'd do, buy the RAM, fit it and see.

Out of interest, did you work out which current one is faulty?

You haven't told us which (if any) of your sticks of RAM are faulty. If both appear to work, maybe thy are mis-matched and have never worked together.

edit: Forget this next bit , just re-read post#14 where you did tell us. I'll leave the rest in in case someone reads this in future.
Anyway , there will be something written on each stick to help ID it's type. We can go from there. Maybe post a pic or two.

Alternatively, you can look for a motherboard number and tell us that. They can be hard to find at times, so maybe a tool like this one will help:
How to Find Out Your Motherboard’s Manufacturer and Model | Hardware Secrets HOWEVER I don't know if there are strings attached (like $) so be wary if you go this route for now.

Or if you have a "brand name" computer, we might be able to tell from the make/model.

Originally Posted by dabbler

You haven't told us which (if any) of your sticks of RAM are faulty. If both appear to work, maybe thy are mis-matched and have never worked together.

Or it could be a motherboard/memory slot issue.

Best procedure is to test each memory stick individually in Slot0, to see if they both work. If they do, then try each in Slot1, if your PC will allow you to fit memory in Slot1 with nothing in Slot0. Another thing you need the manual for.

Well I finally tested each stick of ram, in each memory slot, and each tested ok, however, each stick only reported 262,144K.

This has me baffled. I searched through all the bios settings looking for a clue, but there is nothing there about ram.

I bit the bullet, and paid a visit to my local computer shop and was lucky to get two sticks of ram, each 1Gb. More problems when the blue screen of death appeared. Could'nt get passed this stage, so had to switch off and remove one stick of 1Gb of ram. That worked ok so decided to put back the original two sticks of 512Mb in the spare slots. That didn't work, again the blue screen of death.

Finally got the thing to fire up with one stick of 1Gb and one stick of 512Mb.

My motherboard is supposed to be capable of supporting 2Gb of ram, but not so.

Q. Why did each 512Mb memory stick report about half?

Bloody computers.

Ken

Originally Posted by neksmerj

Q. Why did each 512Mb memory stick report about half?
Bloody computers.
Ken

I've no idea, Ken. Odd.

Bloody computers.

Hi Ken

It can sometimes be an issue with single sided ram some boards only read single sided ram IE if the 512 ram is double sided it is only reading one side this will give you 256 MB each stick a total of 512
Also the order that they are placed in the slots can make a difference you need to read the motherboard manual to find out
Cheers Rod

Dear Hermit,

With the greatest respect, it might be better for you to start a new thread rather than hijack this one.

I need answers to my ram problems, you need answers to your problems.

No offence intended.

Ken

Originally Posted by neksmerj

Dear Hermit,

With the greatest respect, it might be better for you to start a new thread rather than hijack this one.

I need answers to my ram problems, you need answers to your problems.

No offence intended.

Ken

Ken, your thread was actually hi-jacked by FenceFurniture, Hermit was responding to the hi-jack by FenceFurniture.

I have now moved the offending posts to a separate thread, where they should have been in the first place.

So, back to YOUR thread Ken

Yes, good idea Fred, thanks for that, much tidier all round. It had indeed developed into an unintentional hijack.I had thought that my problem had gone away.

Ken - sorry about that, it would have been difficult to follow for you.



Cheers
Brett

After a few teething problems, I can report my computer is now running faster than it ever was.

It's a pity it would'nt run with 2 sticks of 1Mb installed, but was lucky enough to return one of them for a refund. At $60 a stick, it was worth returning.

The two sticks I purchased were not a matched pair, so maybe that's why my computer would'nt run.

I might try on eBay to get a matched pair of 1Gb, they are only about $30 a pair, so it's probably worth the risk.

Thanks for all your help.

Ken

ken check out msy MSY-The name you can trust-More than 14yrs In IT industry-Nationalwide branches serve you & offer the best IT price everyday i reckon you can get matched 2 gb of ram new for about $30 they will have a store near you just look up their location they have price list on their site
if you want to see whats in your computer download a free program called belarc advisor Belarc Advisor - CNET Download.com will tell you the name and model of your mother board and lots of other things

hope this is of some help
john

Are you installing the RAM in the right slots? Generally, most motherboards have four slots for RAM and if using RAM in pairs, they should go in the same coloured slot, not in adjacent slots.

Make sure you are looking at the prices of DDR2 RAM, not DDR3, as they are not compatible.

DDR3 came out in late 2008 and is now much cheaper than DDR2...pic below shows how to tell them apart by the little notch...its nearer the centre on DDR2.

ddr3ram.jpg