new 256Mb SDRAM won't work with other 256Mb SDRAM

[fred]

Hi,

My computer had a 384Mb in to memory sticks (256Mb + 128Mb)

I wanted to upgrade to 512Mb (256Mb + a new 256Mb, removing the 128Mb)

Computer says "no"

The orginal (working combination of) dimms were an unknown brand 256Mb
133MHz 3.3V SDRAM 168 pin memory stick plus an Amicroe brand 128Mb
133MHz 3.3V SDRAM 168 pin memory stick. This combingation has been
working perfectly for years.

The new memory stick I bought is an Amicroe brand 256Mb 133MHz 3.3V
SDRAM 168 pin... so why won't it work with the unknown brand memory stick?

My system is a 1.2GHz AMD Duron with dual booting OS's (Win98 and
WinXP). For the purpose of this test I have only been booting in Win98 mode.

These are the problems it causes - it can be any one of the following 5
errors or sometimes a different error message which I have forgotten the
wording of.

1. I get a warning "bing bong" beep and the some message about BIOS ROM
checksum error, almost immediately after switching machine on.; or

2. The computer will boot up to just before the desktop screen loads and
then screen goes black with a Windows Protection error. restart; or

3. The computer will freeze during the anitmated "Window98 is starting"
screen; or

4. The computer will freeze up at desktop immediately before the
start/program bar appears at the bottom; or

5. The computer will boot-up and load the desktop and start/program bar
then instantly crash to a BSOD with a "fatal exception 0E has occurred
at 015f:BFFC686F

6. some other error will come up after the desktop loads but I can't
remember what it is...

Other things I have found -

Each memory module (including the new 256Mb) works perfectly on it's own.

The 2 original memory sticks work together in any combination in the 3
available slots

The orignal 256Mb and new 256Mb will cause any of the above problems if
inserted in any combination in the 3 slots.

The orignal 128Mb and new 256Mb will cause any of the above problems if
inserted in any combination in the 3 slots.

If all 3 memory sticks are inserted in any sequence of order in the 3
slots, the problems will occur.

My conclusion is that the new 256Mb memory stick refuses to work in
combination with any other chip.

Any ideas?

 

[daytripper]

Hi,

My computer had a 384Mb in to memory sticks (256Mb + 128Mb)

I wanted to upgrade to 512Mb (256Mb + a new 256Mb, removing the 128Mb)

Computer says "no"

The orginal (working combination of) dimms were an unknown brand 256Mb
133MHz 3.3V SDRAM 168 pin memory stick plus an Amicroe brand 128Mb
133MHz 3.3V SDRAM 168 pin memory stick. This combingation has been
working perfectly for years.

The new memory stick I bought is an Amicroe brand 256Mb 133MHz 3.3V
SDRAM 168 pin... so why won't it work with the unknown brand memory stick?

My system is a 1.2GHz AMD Duron with dual booting OS's (Win98 and
WinXP). For the purpose of this test I have only been booting in Win98 mode.

These are the problems it causes - it can be any one of the following 5
errors or sometimes a different error message which I have forgotten the
wording of.

1. I get a warning "bing bong" beep and the some message about BIOS ROM
checksum error, almost immediately after switching machine on.; or

2. The computer will boot up to just before the desktop screen loads and
then screen goes black with a Windows Protection error. restart; or

3. The computer will freeze during the anitmated "Window98 is starting"
screen; or

4. The computer will freeze up at desktop immediately before the
start/program bar appears at the bottom; or

5. The computer will boot-up and load the desktop and start/program bar
then instantly crash to a BSOD with a "fatal exception 0E has occurred
at 015f:BFFC686F

6. some other error will come up after the desktop loads but I can't
remember what it is...

Other things I have found -

Each memory module (including the new 256Mb) works perfectly on it's own.

The 2 original memory sticks work together in any combination in the 3
available slots

The orignal 256Mb and new 256Mb will cause any of the above problems if
inserted in any combination in the 3 slots.

The orignal 128Mb and new 256Mb will cause any of the above problems if
inserted in any combination in the 3 slots.

If all 3 memory sticks are inserted in any sequence of order in the 3
slots, the problems will occur.

My conclusion is that the new 256Mb memory stick refuses to work in
combination with any other chip.

Any ideas?

Yeah - you bought the wrong type of 256MB DIMM for your system.

www.crucial.com

 

[HenryNettles]

Yeah - you bought the wrong type of 256MB DIMM for your system.

www.crucial.com

Daytripper, you did not read the original message closely enough. The new
memory module works okay by itself in his motherboard, just not in
combination with his older memory module.

To Fred (the OP), I have seen this behavior before. It can be very
frustating. Your best bet is to return the new memory stick, and then take
your computer to a competent technician and let him/her sort out your
difficulties. My past experience is that if you have several memory
modules in your parts supply, you just keep trying different modules until
you find one that works with the existing part.

 

[daytripper]

Daytripper, you did not read the original message closely enough. The new
memory module works okay by itself in his motherboard, just not in
combination with his older memory module.

Perhaps, but given the frequency of similar problems being due to the wrong
dimm type, until proven otherwise, the jury is still out ;-)

eg: When he ran just the single new dimm, did the system report it as only
128MB, perhaps?

/daytripper

 

[fred]

Perhaps, but given the frequency of similar problems being due to the wrong
dimm type, until proven otherwise, the jury is still out ;-)

eg: When he ran just the single new dimm, did the system report it as only
128MB, perhaps?

/daytripper

It works fine as a 256Mb if it's the only memory strip in the machine.

 

[fred]

To Fred (the OP), I have seen this behavior before. It can be very
frustating. Your best bet is to return the new memory stick, and then take
your computer to a competent technician and let him/her sort out your
difficulties. My past experience is that if you have several memory
modules in your parts supply, you just keep trying different modules until
you find one that works with the existing part.

Is it possible the dimm I bought is just a dud? or would that also
prevent it from working when used by itself?
If I were to have it replaced for a new one (same brand), what are the
chances I would have exactly the same problem?
Or should I keep this one, buy another identical one to go with it, and
ditch the no-brand one?

 

[Tony Hill]

My computer had a 384Mb in to memory sticks (256Mb + 128Mb)

I wanted to upgrade to 512Mb (256Mb + a new 256Mb, removing the 128Mb)

Computer says "no"

The orginal (working combination of) dimms were an unknown brand 256Mb
133MHz 3.3V SDRAM 168 pin memory stick plus an Amicroe brand 128Mb
133MHz 3.3V SDRAM 168 pin memory stick. This combingation has been
working perfectly for years.

The new memory stick I bought is an Amicroe brand 256Mb 133MHz 3.3V
SDRAM 168 pin... so why won't it work with the unknown brand memory stick?

My conclusion is that the new 256Mb memory stick refuses to work in
combination with any other chip.

This is a VERY common problem these days when you deal with off-brand
memory (ie there are good reasons why name-brand memory costs more and
why if you ask just about anyone in this newsgroup they all suggest
www.crucial.com for your memory needs).

The problem is that the DIMM(s) is rather marginal. It works, but
only just barely. As soon as you load up the memory bus with another
DIMM it is just sufficient to cause things to break. Sometimes this
can be solved by manually reducing the memory timings in your BIOS if
you have such settings. Normally the BIOS sets its memory timings by
reading the settings from the memory modules themselves (referred to
as SPD). However on some motherboards you can override this and
manually set timings. Set them to the slowest timings available on
your board and see if that works.

If that doesn't work... err, might I recommend www.crucial.com ?

 

[fred]

The problem is that the DIMM(s) is rather marginal. It works, but
only just barely. As soon as you load up the memory bus with another
DIMM it is just sufficient to cause things to break. Sometimes this
can be solved by manually reducing the memory timings in your BIOS if
you have such settings. Normally the BIOS sets its memory timings by
reading the settings from the memory modules themselves (referred to
as SPD). However on some motherboards you can override this and
manually set timings. Set them to the slowest timings available on
your board and see if that works.

Holy crap - you're right!, I just stuck the dimms back in, changed the
timings to 100 instead of automatic (I had also tried manually setting
timing to 133 without success prior to reading your post), and it booted
up without a hitch.
Now, will it hurt the memory (or my computer) to be running the memory
at under-speed? Is it likely to affect performance by much?

If that doesn't work... err, might I recommend www.crucial.com ?

Well, I will have to check them out too. I might get some dimms from
there to try, running them at the correct speed. Thanks for the help.

 

[Nate Edel]

Now, will it hurt the memory (or my computer) to be running the memory
at under-speed?
No

Is it likely to affect performance by much?

Yes. How much depends on your application, and which processor you have -
I'm sure you said earlier, but I missed it. Netburst-architecture processors
(P4, etc.) are particularly sensitive to memory speed compared to the other
major PC processor lines (Athlon and Pentium-M.)

 

[dawg]

You don't have enough memory banks to run 3 Double sided dimms or maybe even
2 doubles and a single.I'm not talking about slots. 3 single sided modules
would probably work or 2 singles and a double.

 

[Tony Hill]

Holy crap - you're right!, I just stuck the dimms back in, changed the
timings to 100 instead of automatic (I had also tried manually setting
timing to 133 without success prior to reading your post), and it booted
up without a hitch.

Sadly this is an all-too-common occurrence these days.

Now, will it hurt the memory (or my computer) to be running the memory
at under-speed?
Nope.

Is it likely to affect performance by much?

It will affect the performance, though by how much is tough to judge.
It depends on a number of things, no the least of which is what sort
of CPU and motherboard chipset you have. In some situations it might
be only a question of a percent or two here and there (ie nothing that
you'll ever notice), while in other cases it might be a 10-15%
performance hit (probably still too small to notice in general use,
but definitely not ideal).