Adding memory beyond mfg spec limit

[bigseminolefan]

I have a 4 year-old Toshiba 1005-s157 that continues to work well, but
I think is getting a little tired. I am running the max "supported"
memory in the machine - 512mb, consisting of 2 PC133 cl 2 units I
purchased the two 256mb units a couple of years ago from Crucial.
However there are 512mb units of PC133 available from several mfgs and
I am curious whether it makes any sense to try them.

All I've been able to find from Toshiba is a statement that at the
time of mfg 256mb memory was the maximum available and that the
original chipset was never tested with anything higher.

Any thoughts?

 

[jaster]

I have a 4 year-old Toshiba 1005-s157 that continues to work well, but I
think is getting a little tired. I am running the max "supported"
memory in the machine - 512mb, consisting of 2 PC133 cl 2 units I
purchased the two 256mb units a couple of years ago from Crucial.
However there are 512mb units of PC133 available from several mfgs and I
am curious whether it makes any sense to try them.

All I've been able to find from Toshiba is a statement that at the time
of mfg 256mb memory was the maximum available and that the original
chipset was never tested with anything higher.

Any thoughts?

I wouldn't waste the money on PC133 memory. There's barebone and minimum
systems from $150-$300 depending.

http://frys.com/ for a $300 with Win Basic Vista installed.

 

[DaveW]

The BIOS most likely will not recognize the larger RAM values.

 

[paulmd]

I have a 4 year-old Toshiba 1005-s157 that continues to work well, but
I think is getting a little tired. I am running the max "supported"
memory in the machine - 512mb, consisting of 2 PC133 cl 2 units I
purchased the two 256mb units a couple of years ago from Crucial.
However there are 512mb units of PC133 available from several mfgs and
I am curious whether it makes any sense to try them.

All I've been able to find from Toshiba is a statement that at the
time of mfg 256mb memory was the maximum available and that the
original chipset was never tested with anything higher.

Any thoughts?

There are several possible outcomes.

1) Computer won't boot with new ram
2) computer 'sees' the ram, but at only at half the size. This is
common. But in one compaq laptop I was able to cure it with a bios
upgrade)

3) You get super crazy lucky, and everything works fine.
4) it tries to work, but it mysteriously crashes a lot.

 

[Paul]

I have a 4 year-old Toshiba 1005-s157 that continues to work well, but
I think is getting a little tired. I am running the max "supported"
memory in the machine - 512mb, consisting of 2 PC133 cl 2 units I
purchased the two 256mb units a couple of years ago from Crucial.
However there are 512mb units of PC133 available from several mfgs and
I am curious whether it makes any sense to try them.

All I've been able to find from Toshiba is a statement that at the
time of mfg 256mb memory was the maximum available and that the
original chipset was never tested with anything higher.

Any thoughts?

If we knew the chipset, it might add to the discussion. For example,
an Intel 815 chipset has a total 512MB limit, thanks to Intel's
cleverness. At least some info will be available in the datasheet
for the chipset, or in cases of chipset makers other than Intel,
they may have a summary sheet of characteristics.

Paul

 

[kony]

If we knew the chipset, it might add to the discussion. For example,
an Intel 815 chipset has a total 512MB limit, thanks to Intel's
cleverness. At least some info will be available in the datasheet
for the chipset, or in cases of chipset makers other than Intel,
they may have a summary sheet of characteristics.

Paul

Absolutely, don't tell us a manufacturer's model #, it's a
hardware group so tell us about that hardware.

Frankly, a system using PC133 memory seems a prime candidate
for Win2k/SP4. The irony is it may even run faster (after
tweaked) than a brand new system running Vista. Being an
older notebook, it is due for some upgrades if they're in
the budget, most notibly to put a modern 7200 RPM HDD in it.
With a high-end 7K2 RPM HDD and 512MB memory, it'll seem
like greased lightning running win2k, contrasted with
Vista.

 

[bigseminolefan]

The chipset is the Intel 830MG and when I previously inquired at Intel
about the chipset the info I found stated that the 830MG was not
tested with more than 512 MB - sounded like a "proceed at your own
risk" statement. however, today I found the specs for the Fugitsu
S6110 and ST4000 that use that chipset and Fugitsu states they support
1GB of memory - 2x512. Looks like I may need to try it afterall.
Spending $100 on memory, and maybe a little on a larger HD is very
simple. This machine has been very reliable and it has a full
compliment of the software that I'm familiar with. So... I guess I'll
see if I can get a local store to attempt the memory upgrade for me.
I'll let you know how it works out.

 

[Paul]

The chipset is the Intel 830MG and when I previously inquired at Intel
about the chipset the info I found stated that the 830MG was not
tested with more than 512 MB - sounded like a "proceed at your own
risk" statement. however, today I found the specs for the Fugitsu
S6110 and ST4000 that use that chipset and Fugitsu states they support
1GB of memory - 2x512. Looks like I may need to try it afterall.
Spending $100 on memory, and maybe a little on a larger HD is very
simple. This machine has been very reliable and it has a full
compliment of the software that I'm familiar with. So... I guess I'll
see if I can get a local store to attempt the memory upgrade for me.
I'll let you know how it works out.

Try page 155 here. The module should have 8 chips total
for the 512MB. I don't know enough about SODIMMs to advise
further. Most adverts on web sites, don't contain enough info
to be able to verify construction details - the pictures
are especially faked (they'll stuff in any old photo
as a placeholder). Only Newegg does a good job of providing
real pictures (most of the time). I'd want to see pictures
of both the front and the back of the module, before I would
buy it.

http://www.intel.com/design/chipsets/datashts/29833803.pdf

Good luck,
Paul