Old Packard Bell Memory Problems

[iCnothing841]

Hi there everyone.

I have taken up the project of upgrading the memory in this old Packard
Bell computer (thank you eBay) however, I seemed to run into a problem
and was wondering what could be the possible solution.

First, alittle back info. on the computer. Its a Packard Bell Legend
836CDT with a 166MHz processor, 72MB memory, ~4.3GB Hard drive. BIOS
upgraded to Agoura 1.20.

The machine orginally had 72MB (8MB onboard plus 2x32MB 72-pin 70NS
SIMMS EDO). I purchased two more similar chips, same specs different
manufacture, to bring the system to it's full capacity, 136MB.
However, after installing the chips and turning it on, nothing happens.
The hard drive and processor fan power up, however, nothing comes up
on the monitor. There are no beeps...nothing.

After searching Google for awhile, I found Ray's Packard Bell website.
On the page about my motherboard (PB600) it mentions the following: ".
.. .I have read that one of the Banks Has a Problem with EDO RAM in some
PB 600 motherbords." Thinking that this was the problem, I headed over
to eBay and purchased two 32MB SIMMS that were FPM however, when I put
them in, the same problem still occured.

So, I began to test different combinations, including:

(Orginal)
Bank 2: Two 32MB EDO Chips
Bank 3: Two 32MB EDO Chips

Bank 2: Two 32MB EDO Chips
Bank 3: Two 32MB FPM Chips

Bank 2: Two 32MB FPM Chips
Bank 3: Two 32MB EDO Chips

but the same occured. When I put in three chips, in any configuration
listed above, the system boots and recognizes 104MB.

All the above chips are 70ns and I am thinking that maybe this is the
problem however, the manual says that the memory must be 70ns or
greater.

Another thing I was thinking was maybe the system will only work with
FPM. I was thinking about purchasing four 32MB SIMMs FPM 60NS but
wanted to get some opinions/feedback from other users.

A third thing I was thinking was that perhaps the problem lies with the
BIOS version. I did find an upgrade for the BIOS and upgraded it
several years ago, however, I did not save the orginal. I have tried
re-flashing the BIOS but no go. Does anyone have the orginal BIOS
version they could send me so I could revert it to its orginal version?

Sorry for writing a book; just wanted to get down all the facts.
Thanks in advance.

 

[sbb78247]

Hi there everyone.

I have taken up the project of upgrading the memory in this old
Packard Bell computer (thank you eBay)

zzzzzzzzzzzz

now **** off and get a new machine and stop wasting your time

 

[Pelysma]

Hi there everyone.

I have taken up the project of upgrading the memory in this old Packard
Bell computer (thank you eBay) however, I seemed to run into a problem
and was wondering what could be the possible solution.

First, alittle back info. on the computer. Its a Packard Bell Legend
836CDT with a 166MHz processor, 72MB memory, ~4.3GB Hard drive. BIOS
upgraded to Agoura 1.20.

The machine orginally had 72MB (8MB onboard plus 2x32MB 72-pin 70NS
SIMMS EDO). I purchased two more similar chips, same specs different
manufacture, to bring the system to it's full capacity, 136MB.
However, after installing the chips and turning it on, nothing happens.
The hard drive and processor fan power up, however, nothing comes up
on the monitor. There are no beeps...nothing.

I do not know for certain if this is the answer to your question, but I'll
throw it in for you to try. It is based on the assumption that your system
uses some of the same design patterns as mine.

My Packard Bell is even older, a 486DX2/66 Legend 20CD. It came with 4MB
onboard and can hold up to 64MB in two 72pin FPM modules. Because yours is
a Pentium, it will want EDO memory and apparently has twice the capacity.

However, 72-pin memory has to be paired in Pentium systems. Two identical
sticks of memory are one bank, the onboard memory (which may be thought of
as two sticks of 4MB each) comprises one bank, and only two banks may be in
use at a time. The 8MB onboard and the second additional bank cannot be
used at the same time, so if all four slots are filled, the onboard memory
must be disabled.

There should be a single jumper on the motherboard that disables the 8MB
onboard so that you can use both of the remaining pairs of slots without
conflict.

For what it's worth, my Packard Bell worked well with 64MB installed (and
the 4MB onboard disabled), but hasn't been powered up in several months.
The only reason for playing with equipment like this, IMHO, is because you
want to, and I consider that a valid reason.

 

[BigJim]

you cant mix fpm and edo

 

[Pelysma]

you cant mix fpm and edo

you shouldn't, but I have, and it ran. The POST info said something like
"EDO in Bank 0, FPM in Bank 1" and reported the full amount. That Amptron
motherboard, circa 1997, would accept two sticks of 168-pin SDRAM and four
sticks of 72-pin memory, but not all banks could be filled at the same time.

EDO will not work in 486 systems, but FPM will work in a Pentium, just not
as efficiently.

Not all motherboards are alike. YMMV.

 

[John Doe]

Troll

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From: "sbb78247" <sbb78247 ****off.com>
Newsgroups: alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt
Subject: Re: Old Packard Bell Memory Problems
Date: Mon, 09 Jan 2006 03:44:31 +0100
Organization: you ****ing suck so just die die die ass munch
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zzzzzzzzzzzz

now **** off and get a new machine and stop wasting your time