ram is not recognised

[Guest]

Dear all,

Since my xp-machine was and is extremely slow I doubled my RAM from 128 to
256 MB. I hoped that the os would recognise this new hardware with Plug and
play and use it afterwards, but it seems (as I look in my taskmgr) that it
has the same amount of physical memory. I went to config ->maintenance->
search new hardware and it didn't recognise anything new. I am pretty sure I
plugged in these two cards well (there is no way to do it wrong I guess) so
Windows should act somehow, doesn't he?

Anybody suggestions?

Any suggestions

 

[Ron Martell]

Dear all,

Since my xp-machine was and is extremely slow I doubled my RAM from 128 to
256 MB. I hoped that the os would recognise this new hardware with Plug and
play and use it afterwards, but it seems (as I look in my taskmgr) that it
has the same amount of physical memory. I went to config ->maintenance->
search new hardware and it didn't recognise anything new. I am pretty sure I
plugged in these two cards well (there is no way to do it wrong I guess) so
Windows should act somehow, doesn't he?

Anybody suggestions?

Any suggestions

With only 128 mb any XP machine will be very slow so you did the right
thing by adding more RAM.

First thing to do is to use Start - Run - MSCONFIG.
Go to the BOOT.INI tab and click on the Advanced Options button.
Make sure that the checkbox for the /MAXMEM= line is clear and that
there is no value in the data box for this line.
Click on Apply and OK as needed to exit.
Reboot the machine to put any changes you made into effect.

If the problem persists then you need to suspect your new RAM as being
possibly defective. Remove the old RAM and try to start up the
machine with just the new RAM in place. That will tell you very
quickly of the new RAM is defective or improperly installed.

Good luck


Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada

 

[Kenny]

Some m/b's don't like mixing memory types, are they the same type, speed
etc.?
Make sure the slower/older RAM is in the first slot and check the BIOS that
"detect RAM by SPD timing" is enabled.
Wording may vary depending on BIOS.

 

[Guest]

Click on My Computer, then rt click, chose Properties.
On General tab under computer.
Ram is listed there. It should match what you have.
If it doesn't you may have faulty or wrong Ram. Although, I would think you
would then have a bootup problem.

 

[Guest]

The "physical memory" you are looking at in Task Manger is NOT Ram!!
It is referring to a special "physical" memory file that is on your hard
drive.

 

[Guest]

Start/all programs/accessories/system tools - click system information. What
does it say in that list for total physical memory?
jim

 

[lvee]

It's either mismatched ram, or plain old you got a stick of new ram that
does not work.
Take out the old one, leave the new one in. If the computer does not work,
you know the new ram is bad. Try different slots..it's could be the slot is
bad...and, although it is pretty hard to put a stick of ram in backwards, it
is possible to think that it's seated all the way when in fact it's not.

Now, if in fact your ram is working and it is recognized..(go to My
Computer>right click>properties. ) It'll tell you right there, on the
General tab..under 'computer' how much RAM is installed.) Then you have
other issues that are causing a slow computer.

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Dear all,

Since my xp-machine was and is extremely slow I doubled my RAM from 128 to
256 MB. I hoped that the os would recognise this new hardware with Plug and
play and use it afterwards, but it seems (as I look in my taskmgr) that it
has the same amount of physical memory. I went to config ->maintenance->
search new hardware and it didn't recognise anything new.

If the RAM were compatible, installed, and functioning properly, WinXP
would have recognized it automatically, without your having to have
taken any of the above steps. Does the computer's BIOS recognize the
presence of the new RAM module(s)? If not, Windows certainly cannot be
expected to do so.

I am pretty sure I
plugged in these two cards well (there is no way to do it wrong I guess)

You have no idea how many people I've seen force RAM modules in the
wrong way, irreparably damaging either the RAM, the motherboard, or
both. But, one does have to make an extra effort to do it wrong, so
you're most likely safe on this point, particularly since the PC still
boots.

It is absolutely essential that any new RAM module(s) be fully
compatible with both the motherboard and/or any other RAM module(s)
already in the system. Additionally, there are sometimes jumper
switches on older motherboards that need to be reset for new RAM
configurations. Consult your motherboard's manual or the manufacturer's
web site for specific instructions and compatibility requirements.

If you cannot lay your hands upon the computer's manual and the
manufacturer doesn't provide a support web site, you can use these
utilities to help determine the correct type of RAM needed:

SiSoft's Sandra
http://www.sisoftware.co.uk/index.php?dir=&location=sware_dl&lang=en

Belarc Advisor
http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html

Unlimited Possibilities' AIDA32
http://forum.aumha.org/overflow/aida32.zip

Lavalys' Everest Home
http://www.lavalys.com/products/overview.php?pid=1&lang=en

Also, Crucial Memory's web site (www.crucial.com) has a database
to help to find the right RAM for your specific make and model
computer and/or motherboard.


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:



You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on having
both at once. - RAH

 

[Bruce Chambers]

The "physical memory" you are looking at in Task Manger is NOT Ram!!
It is referring to a special "physical" memory file that is on your hard
drive.

Where'd you ever get that idea? It's quite incorrect, I'm afraid.
"Physical Memory" is just that: the amount of physical RAM available to
to WinXP. The only time that the words "memory" and "hard drive" can
accurately be used together is when discussing Virtual Memory, which is,
indeed, a special system file (pagefile.sys) located on the hard drive.


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:



You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on having
both at once. - RAH

 

[Guest]

In my Task manager:
PF Usage and Page File Usage History

So isn't that talking about "Page File" (also known as Virtual Memeory)
which is not RAM.

It is hard disk space.

You can educate me if I'm wrong.

 

[Guest]

I guess I thought he was looking at PF Usage.
Sorry.

 

[Isitsafe]

If the memory was faulty, you would most likely get a 'beep code' at power
up. How old is the PC ? - it may be that you have to flash the BIOS to a
later level to support more RAM .

 

[Mak]

Task Manager lies.
PF Usage should be labled "Commit Charge" instead.
Page File Usage History should be "Commit History".
Task Manager has no way of showing how much of paging file is being used.

Paging file also is NOT a virtual memory, but only a special file that VMM
uses for backing virtual private, writable addresses that do not belong in
RAM ATM.

Your current Paging file(s) usage can be observed in Perfmon, paging file,
%usage, _total.
Your current virtual memory usage can be observed in Perfmon, process,
virtual bytes, _total.

 

[Guest]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I was not at my computer the last two days
and I saw that a lot of discussion was going on. My physical memory is indeed
128 MB. That's visible in the taskmgr as well in the general my-computer
properties.

Of course it might be so that I didn't shift the memory far enough. To check
that I would have to open again the machine, so I try the other options first
and let you know what happened.

Edwin

 

[Guest]

There was no maxmem check set. I might try the bios and I will try this
Sandra Lite software as well. But first having dinner. I'll get back to you.

 

[Guest]

I installed this diagnosis and benchmark program Sandra Lite which seems
pretty cool by the way (thanks for the tip Bruce) and it showed me that only
the second slot contained a working 128 mb. I thought I had 2 x 64mb, but it
turned out to be one, which seems a bit bigger than the other ones as well.
So I 've got three slots of non-working memory (defect or of the wrong type
probably -since it has a deviating size). My mother board is from 1999 Aopen
and my cpu only 350 Mhz, which seemed ok last year when I bought the whole
thing from a friend. Probably one memory card broke down and after it became
slooow.

Thanks all for the discussion and the remarks. Going to look for something
better on the market....

 

[Isitsafe]

Seems like you are mixing SIMMs and DIMMs memory types - which may be a
motherboard constraint. Looking for something a bit later is probably a good
move!