This is a saga! I have a Sony Vaio PCG-FX215 notebook computer that came
with 128mb of RAM. The machine came with Windows ME, but a year ago, I
reformatted the HD and installed XP Pro. A month ago, I ordered another
128mb module from Kingston Technology. (By the way, Sony recommends them,
and Crucial Technology to customers who want to buy more RAM). The computer
has two slots, and a limit of 256mb.

Anyway....with the 2nd module added, the computer runs for random periods of
time, sometimes 10 minutes, sometimes a couple of hours, and then freezes in
the middle of whatever I'm doing. No blue screen, no error messages. It just
stops responding completely. Not funny.

Kingston apparently saw this as a challenge - they were terrific in terms of
trying various different modules, and finally sending me a single 256mb
module to try. That didn't work, either. Other things we tried:

- All Sony drivers (including BIOS) were updated to the ones specified as
compatible with WinXP. (Machine froze)
- Old & new modules were swapped between the two slots, in case position was
important. (Machine froze)
- Two identical Kingston 128mb modules were tried, in case there was a
mismatch with the original Sony module. (Machine froze)
- Ran one Kingston 128mb module at a time. Machine did NOT freeze.
- Ran one Kingston 256mb module with other slot empty. (Machine froze)

Finally, Kingston gave up. I just received a 256mb chip from Crucial
Technology. Same problem. The machine doesn't seem to like running with
256mb of RAM. Is there anything I can tweak in WinXP to deal with this, or
does it seem more like a hardware issue?

maybe its time to talk to sony? or get a decent laptop like an ibm thinkpad
;O)

"Doug Kanter" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:ksUfd.869$(E-Mail Removed)...
> This is a saga! I have a Sony Vaio PCG-FX215 notebook computer that came
> with 128mb of RAM. The machine came with Windows ME, but a year ago, I
> reformatted the HD and installed XP Pro. A month ago, I ordered another
> 128mb module from Kingston Technology. (By the way, Sony recommends them,
> and Crucial Technology to customers who want to buy more RAM). The
> computer
> has two slots, and a limit of 256mb.
>
> Anyway....with the 2nd module added, the computer runs for random periods
> of
> time, sometimes 10 minutes, sometimes a couple of hours, and then freezes
> in
> the middle of whatever I'm doing. No blue screen, no error messages. It
> just
> stops responding completely. Not funny.
>
> Kingston apparently saw this as a challenge - they were terrific in terms
> of
> trying various different modules, and finally sending me a single 256mb
> module to try. That didn't work, either. Other things we tried:
>
> - All Sony drivers (including BIOS) were updated to the ones specified as
> compatible with WinXP. (Machine froze)
> - Old & new modules were swapped between the two slots, in case position
> was
> important. (Machine froze)
> - Two identical Kingston 128mb modules were tried, in case there was a
> mismatch with the original Sony module. (Machine froze)
> - Ran one Kingston 128mb module at a time. Machine did NOT freeze.
> - Ran one Kingston 256mb module with other slot empty. (Machine froze)
>
> Finally, Kingston gave up. I just received a 256mb chip from Crucial
> Technology. Same problem. The machine doesn't seem to like running with
> 256mb of RAM. Is there anything I can tweak in WinXP to deal with this, or
> does it seem more like a hardware issue?
>
>

When replacing the modules,updateing the BIOS etc,did you ever reset the
CMOS,usually the jumper pins on the board do this,but removing the battery
after power unplugged can work,jumper pin reset is best.After all the ram
replacement you probably have 2 good modules but test them anyway,go to:
http://oca.microsoft.com/en/windiag.asp Run the test.Other than that,if
nothing
stands out,figure the board has a bad circuit connection for the ram.

"Doug Kanter" wrote:

> This is a saga! I have a Sony Vaio PCG-FX215 notebook computer that came
> with 128mb of RAM. The machine came with Windows ME, but a year ago, I
> reformatted the HD and installed XP Pro. A month ago, I ordered another
> 128mb module from Kingston Technology. (By the way, Sony recommends them,
> and Crucial Technology to customers who want to buy more RAM). The computer
> has two slots, and a limit of 256mb.
>
> Anyway....with the 2nd module added, the computer runs for random periods of
> time, sometimes 10 minutes, sometimes a couple of hours, and then freezes in
> the middle of whatever I'm doing. No blue screen, no error messages. It just
> stops responding completely. Not funny.
>
> Kingston apparently saw this as a challenge - they were terrific in terms of
> trying various different modules, and finally sending me a single 256mb
> module to try. That didn't work, either. Other things we tried:
>
> - All Sony drivers (including BIOS) were updated to the ones specified as
> compatible with WinXP. (Machine froze)
> - Old & new modules were swapped between the two slots, in case position was
> important. (Machine froze)
> - Two identical Kingston 128mb modules were tried, in case there was a
> mismatch with the original Sony module. (Machine froze)
> - Ran one Kingston 128mb module at a time. Machine did NOT freeze.
> - Ran one Kingston 256mb module with other slot empty. (Machine froze)
>
> Finally, Kingston gave up. I just received a 256mb chip from Crucial
> Technology. Same problem. The machine doesn't seem to like running with
> 256mb of RAM. Is there anything I can tweak in WinXP to deal with this, or
> does it seem more like a hardware issue?
>
>
>

Does the bios on your notebook allow you to increase the voltage? If so,
check out the operating voltage of your RAM (i.e. 2.5-2.8v). Increase the
DDR voltage in increments until the system stabilizes.

I had the exact problem with 2 X 512MB sticks of Mushkin PC3500. Either one
ran fine, but both would lock up or reboot. Increasing the voltage from 2.5
to 2.7 cured the problem completely.

Statement of the obvious: Do not exceed the max operating voltage of the
RAM.

Good Luck,
Fitz

Sony had no clue, and buying a new machine is not an option at the moment.

"tjones" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> maybe its time to talk to sony? or get a decent laptop like an ibm
thinkpad
> ;O)
>
> "Doug Kanter" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:ksUfd.869$(E-Mail Removed)...
> > This is a saga! I have a Sony Vaio PCG-FX215 notebook computer that came
> > with 128mb of RAM. The machine came with Windows ME, but a year ago, I
> > reformatted the HD and installed XP Pro. A month ago, I ordered another
> > 128mb module from Kingston Technology. (By the way, Sony recommends
them,
> > and Crucial Technology to customers who want to buy more RAM). The
> > computer
> > has two slots, and a limit of 256mb.
> >
> > Anyway....with the 2nd module added, the computer runs for random
periods
> > of
> > time, sometimes 10 minutes, sometimes a couple of hours, and then
freezes
> > in
> > the middle of whatever I'm doing. No blue screen, no error messages. It
> > just
> > stops responding completely. Not funny.
> >
> > Kingston apparently saw this as a challenge - they were terrific in
terms
> > of
> > trying various different modules, and finally sending me a single 256mb
> > module to try. That didn't work, either. Other things we tried:
> >
> > - All Sony drivers (including BIOS) were updated to the ones specified
as
> > compatible with WinXP. (Machine froze)
> > - Old & new modules were swapped between the two slots, in case position
> > was
> > important. (Machine froze)
> > - Two identical Kingston 128mb modules were tried, in case there was a
> > mismatch with the original Sony module. (Machine froze)
> > - Ran one Kingston 128mb module at a time. Machine did NOT freeze.
> > - Ran one Kingston 256mb module with other slot empty. (Machine froze)
> >
> > Finally, Kingston gave up. I just received a 256mb chip from Crucial
> > Technology. Same problem. The machine doesn't seem to like running with
> > 256mb of RAM. Is there anything I can tweak in WinXP to deal with this,
or
> > does it seem more like a hardware issue?
> >
> >
>
>

Doug Kanter wrote:

> Sony had no clue, and buying a new machine is not an option at the moment.

Did they have you look at the BIOS revision and the possibility of a
different BIOS revision addressing this issue?

Steve

>
> "tjones" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:(E-Mail Removed)...
>
>>maybe its time to talk to sony? or get a decent laptop like an ibm
>
> thinkpad
>
>>;O)
>>
>>"Doug Kanter" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
>>news:ksUfd.869$(E-Mail Removed)...
>>
>>>This is a saga! I have a Sony Vaio PCG-FX215 notebook computer that came
>>>with 128mb of RAM. The machine came with Windows ME, but a year ago, I
>>>reformatted the HD and installed XP Pro. A month ago, I ordered another
>>>128mb module from Kingston Technology. (By the way, Sony recommends
>
> them,
>
>>>and Crucial Technology to customers who want to buy more RAM). The
>>>computer
>>>has two slots, and a limit of 256mb.
>>>
>>>Anyway....with the 2nd module added, the computer runs for random
>
> periods
>
>>>of
>>>time, sometimes 10 minutes, sometimes a couple of hours, and then
>
> freezes
>
>>>in
>>>the middle of whatever I'm doing. No blue screen, no error messages. It
>>>just
>>>stops responding completely. Not funny.
>>>
>>>Kingston apparently saw this as a challenge - they were terrific in
>
> terms
>
>>>of
>>>trying various different modules, and finally sending me a single 256mb
>>>module to try. That didn't work, either. Other things we tried:
>>>
>>>- All Sony drivers (including BIOS) were updated to the ones specified
>
> as
>
>>>compatible with WinXP. (Machine froze)
>>>- Old & new modules were swapped between the two slots, in case position
>>>was
>>>important. (Machine froze)
>>>- Two identical Kingston 128mb modules were tried, in case there was a
>>>mismatch with the original Sony module. (Machine froze)
>>>- Ran one Kingston 128mb module at a time. Machine did NOT freeze.
>>>- Ran one Kingston 256mb module with other slot empty. (Machine froze)
>>>
>>>Finally, Kingston gave up. I just received a 256mb chip from Crucial
>>>Technology. Same problem. The machine doesn't seem to like running with
>>>256mb of RAM. Is there anything I can tweak in WinXP to deal with this,
>
> or
>
>>>does it seem more like a hardware issue?
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>
>

On Wed, 27 Oct 2004 21:34:39 +0000, Doug Kanter wrote:

> This is a saga! I have a Sony Vaio PCG-FX215 notebook computer that came
> with 128mb of RAM. The machine came with Windows ME, but a year ago, I
> reformatted the HD and installed XP Pro. A month ago, I ordered another
> 128mb module from Kingston Technology. (By the way, Sony recommends them,
> and Crucial Technology to customers who want to buy more RAM). The computer
> has two slots, and a limit of 256mb.
>
> Anyway....with the 2nd module added, the computer runs for random periods of
> time, sometimes 10 minutes, sometimes a couple of hours, and then freezes in
> the middle of whatever I'm doing. No blue screen, no error messages. It just
> stops responding completely. Not funny.
>
> Kingston apparently saw this as a challenge - they were terrific in terms of
> trying various different modules, and finally sending me a single 256mb
> module to try. That didn't work, either. Other things we tried:
>
> - All Sony drivers (including BIOS) were updated to the ones specified as
> compatible with WinXP. (Machine froze)
> - Old & new modules were swapped between the two slots, in case position was
> important. (Machine froze)
> - Two identical Kingston 128mb modules were tried, in case there was a
> mismatch with the original Sony module. (Machine froze)
> - Ran one Kingston 128mb module at a time. Machine did NOT freeze.
> - Ran one Kingston 256mb module with other slot empty. (Machine froze)
>
> Finally, Kingston gave up. I just received a 256mb chip from Crucial
> Technology. Same problem. The machine doesn't seem to like running with
> 256mb of RAM. Is there anything I can tweak in WinXP to deal with this, or
> does it seem more like a hardware issue?

Have you run Memtest86 on the machine? Your problem is either the CPU, the
brdige chip or XP. If Memtest86 passes then the finger points to XP,
if it fails Memtest86 then you have a problem with either the bridge chip
or your CPU. In either case there isn't anything that you can do about it
in a laptop.

"Steve Nielsen" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> Doug Kanter wrote:
>
> > Sony had no clue, and buying a new machine is not an option at the
moment.
>
> Did they have you look at the BIOS revision and the possibility of a
> different BIOS revision addressing this issue?
>
> Steve

They asked which BIOS revision I had, and said it was OK (at least in
theory). Are you getting at the idea of seeing if Phoenix has something more
recent than what Sony makes available on their web site?

"Fitz" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> Does the bios on your notebook allow you to increase the voltage? If so,
> check out the operating voltage of your RAM (i.e. 2.5-2.8v). Increase the
> DDR voltage in increments until the system stabilizes.
>
> I had the exact problem with 2 X 512MB sticks of Mushkin PC3500. Either
one
> ran fine, but both would lock up or reboot. Increasing the voltage from
2.5
> to 2.7 cured the problem completely.
>
> Statement of the obvious: Do not exceed the max operating voltage of the
> RAM.
>
> Good Luck,
> Fitz
>
>

Thanks, Fitz, but no such option in my BIOS settings.

"General Schvantzkoph" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news(E-Mail Removed)...
> On Wed, 27 Oct 2004 21:34:39 +0000, Doug Kanter wrote:
>
> > This is a saga! I have a Sony Vaio PCG-FX215 notebook computer that came
> > with 128mb of RAM. The machine came with Windows ME, but a year ago, I
> > reformatted the HD and installed XP Pro. A month ago, I ordered another
> > 128mb module from Kingston Technology. (By the way, Sony recommends
them,
> > and Crucial Technology to customers who want to buy more RAM). The
computer
> > has two slots, and a limit of 256mb.
> >
> > Anyway....with the 2nd module added, the computer runs for random
periods of
> > time, sometimes 10 minutes, sometimes a couple of hours, and then
freezes in
> > the middle of whatever I'm doing. No blue screen, no error messages. It
just
> > stops responding completely. Not funny.
> >
> > Kingston apparently saw this as a challenge - they were terrific in
terms of
> > trying various different modules, and finally sending me a single 256mb
> > module to try. That didn't work, either. Other things we tried:
> >
> > - All Sony drivers (including BIOS) were updated to the ones specified
as
> > compatible with WinXP. (Machine froze)
> > - Old & new modules were swapped between the two slots, in case position
was
> > important. (Machine froze)
> > - Two identical Kingston 128mb modules were tried, in case there was a
> > mismatch with the original Sony module. (Machine froze)
> > - Ran one Kingston 128mb module at a time. Machine did NOT freeze.
> > - Ran one Kingston 256mb module with other slot empty. (Machine froze)
> >
> > Finally, Kingston gave up. I just received a 256mb chip from Crucial
> > Technology. Same problem. The machine doesn't seem to like running with
> > 256mb of RAM. Is there anything I can tweak in WinXP to deal with this,
or
> > does it seem more like a hardware issue?
>
> Have you run Memtest86 on the machine? Your problem is either the CPU, the
> brdige chip or XP. If Memtest86 passes then the finger points to XP,
> if it fails Memtest86 then you have a problem with either the bridge chip
> or your CPU. In either case there isn't anything that you can do about it
> in a laptop.
>
>
>

Ran Memtest (for about 12 hours). Passed.