Updating Bios Intel FW82810 CA810 Need to install more RAM

[luby]

Okay, I can't find a solution to this problem, so I'm begging any of
you to help. I have an EMACHINE Etower 733ID machine. 733 mhz and it
came with 64 megs of ram. 2 years ago I added one 256 meg stick of ram
to is for a total of 320. For the past 2 years, I boot up, and the
bios registers 320 megs of ram as does the WIN XP PRO OS. So, I'm
starting to get bogged down. I go into the box, pull out the 64 stick
and put in a 256 stick. Now it only registers 256, and when I do some
research, it doesn't see anything in the 2nd slot at all.

So I contact Emachines who say that my motherboard only supports 256.
I look around the net and see that I can probably update my bios, but
no one seems to have the newer (very old) bios, release 6.1 of the
PHOENIXBIOS 4.0. I checked with intel, and their newest bios is from
2000, and the one I'm currently using APPEARS to be from 2001.

So really my problem is that I want to add ram to this computer, but it
won't take it. Can anyone solve that problem? If it means updating
the bios, can someone get me a link as to where I can find an updated
bios? Here are some specs:

Program: eSupport.com BIOS Agent Version 3.45
BIOS Date: 01/08/01
BIOS Type: PhoenixBIOS 4.0 Release 6.0 licensed to Intel
BIOS ID: 31571.EM.0000.D.0101081041
OEM Sign-On: None
Chipset: Intel Whitney 82810 rev 3
Superio: ITE 8702F rev 5 found at port 2Eh
OS: WinXP SP2
CPU: Celeron(TM) 766 Mhz
BIOS ROM In Socket: No
BIOS ROM Size: 256K
Memory Installed: 256 MB
Memory Maximum: 512 MB
Memory Slot 01: 256 MB
Memory Slot 02: 0 MB

When I click on system, it shows that I have an x86 Family 6 Model 8
Stepping 6. Don't know what the heck that means.

Thank you so much if you know anything at all that can help me.

 

[GT]

Okay, I can't find a solution to this problem, so I'm begging any of
you to help. I have an EMACHINE Etower 733ID machine. 733 mhz and it
came with 64 megs of ram. 2 years ago I added one 256 meg stick of ram
to is for a total of 320. For the past 2 years, I boot up, and the
bios registers 320 megs of ram as does the WIN XP PRO OS. So, I'm
starting to get bogged down. I go into the box, pull out the 64 stick
and put in a 256 stick. Now it only registers 256, and when I do some
research, it doesn't see anything in the 2nd slot at all.

So I contact Emachines who say that my motherboard only supports 256.
I look around the net and see that I can probably update my bios, but
no one seems to have the newer (very old) bios, release 6.1 of the
PHOENIXBIOS 4.0. I checked with intel, and their newest bios is from
2000, and the one I'm currently using APPEARS to be from 2001.

So really my problem is that I want to add ram to this computer, but it
won't take it. Can anyone solve that problem? If it means updating
the bios, can someone get me a link as to where I can find an updated
bios? Here are some specs:

Program: eSupport.com BIOS Agent Version 3.45
BIOS Date: 01/08/01
BIOS Type: PhoenixBIOS 4.0 Release 6.0 licensed to Intel
BIOS ID: 31571.EM.0000.D.0101081041
OEM Sign-On: None
Chipset: Intel Whitney 82810 rev 3
Superio: ITE 8702F rev 5 found at port 2Eh
OS: WinXP SP2
CPU: Celeron(TM) 766 Mhz
BIOS ROM In Socket: No
BIOS ROM Size: 256K
Memory Installed: 256 MB
Memory Maximum: 512 MB
Memory Slot 01: 256 MB
Memory Slot 02: 0 MB

When I click on system, it shows that I have an x86 Family 6 Model 8
Stepping 6. Don't know what the heck that means.

Thank you so much if you know anything at all that can help me.

I can't help you find a BIOS update - have you tried www.driverguide.com ?
username used to be 'drivers' and the password used to be 'all'. But I can
possibly help you identify a different problem...

Well Emachines obviously don't know what they are talking about if they say
the PC will only take 256MB RAM as you have been running 320 for a while! I
would call them again and tell them you have been running 320 and ask if
they have any BIOS updates - perhaps hidden away on their website somewhere,
or on a CD in a drawer somewhere?

If you put the 64MB + the old 256MB sticks back in, does it report 320
again? How about if you swap them round, so the 256MB stick is in the other
motherboard slot. If that still reports 320MB, then both slots can handle a
256MB stick, so try combining the 64MB with the new 256MB stick in both
positions. If these 4 combinations all report 320MB, then we have proven
that the RAM sticks are all OK and the motherboard can accept a 256MB stick
in either slot. So we must consider why both 256MB sticks won't work in the
PC at the same time...

Do the 2x256MB sticks have the same timings? Perhaps one stick is faster
than the other? By timings, I don't mean the PC100, PC133 or DDR speeds, I
am talking about their 'timings' - latency and CAS ratings - if they are
different, then you will have to go into your BIOS ans manually set it to
use the lowest common setting. Once it starts working, then you can
experiment by raising the settings gradually until things are as fast as you
can get them and stable...

 

[P Ruetz]

Okay, I can't find a solution to this problem, so I'm begging any of
you to help. I have an EMACHINE Etower 733ID machine. 733 mhz and it
came with 64 megs of ram. 2 years ago I added one 256 meg stick of ram
to is for a total of 320. For the past 2 years, I boot up, and the
bios registers 320 megs of ram as does the WIN XP PRO OS. So, I'm
starting to get bogged down. I go into the box, pull out the 64 stick
and put in a 256 stick. Now it only registers 256, and when I do some
research, it doesn't see anything in the 2nd slot at all.

So really my problem is that I want to add ram to this computer, but it
won't take it. Can anyone solve that problem? If it means updating
the bios, can someone get me a link as to where I can find an updated
bios? Here are some specs:

Program: eSupport.com BIOS Agent Version 3.45
BIOS Date: 01/08/01
BIOS Type: PhoenixBIOS 4.0 Release 6.0 licensed to Intel
BIOS ID: 31571.EM.0000.D.0101081041
OEM Sign-On: None
Chipset: Intel Whitney 82810 rev 3
Superio: ITE 8702F rev 5 found at port 2Eh
OS: WinXP SP2
CPU: Celeron(TM) 766 Mhz
BIOS ROM In Socket: No
BIOS ROM Size: 256K
Memory Installed: 256 MB
Memory Maximum: 512 MB
Memory Slot 01: 256 MB
Memory Slot 02: 0 MB

When I click on system, it shows that I have an x86 Family 6 Model 8
Stepping 6. Don't know what the heck that means.

Thank you so much if you know anything at all that can help me.

Those 810 boards can be pretty picky when it comes to memory (I know, I have
tried!). I just tried the Crucial site and this is what it reports for your
machine (I have not seen this message before):

============================
We're Sorry!
No products are currently available for the system you selected. Your system
may require proprietary or non-standard parts. If your system requires RDRAM
or Rambus technology click here.

============================
Maybe you can try eBay or some other source.

Peter

 

[jaster]

I can't help you find a BIOS update - have you tried www.driverguide.com ?
username used to be 'drivers' and the password used to be 'all'. But I can
possibly help you identify a different problem...

Well Emachines obviously don't know what they are talking about if they
say the PC will only take 256MB RAM as you have been running 320 for a
while! I would call them again and tell them you have been running 320 and
ask if they have any BIOS updates - perhaps hidden away on their website
somewhere, or on a CD in a drawer somewhere?

If you put the 64MB + the old 256MB sticks back in, does it report 320
again? How about if you swap them round, so the 256MB stick is in the
other motherboard slot. If that still reports 320MB, then both slots can
handle a 256MB stick, so try combining the 64MB with the new 256MB stick
in both positions. If these 4 combinations all report 320MB, then we have
proven that the RAM sticks are all OK and the motherboard can accept a
256MB stick in either slot. So we must consider why both 256MB sticks
won't work in the PC at the same time...

Do the 2x256MB sticks have the same timings? Perhaps one stick is faster
than the other? By timings, I don't mean the PC100, PC133 or DDR speeds, I
am talking about their 'timings' - latency and CAS ratings - if they are
different, then you will have to go into your BIOS ans manually set it to
use the lowest common setting. Once it starts working, then you can
experiment by raising the settings gradually until things are as fast as
you can get them and stable...

Good advice. The OP should also note that the 810 motherboard only
support 8mx16m chips (?) anyway low density chips. Most PC100/PC133
memory is high density and won't work in 810 motherboards. Check the
intel support site for 810. I have a genuine Intel 810 m/b and had
the same problem when I used high density memory chips. I don't
remember if there's no way to tell from the chip numbers, but the OP
should ask for low density memory 8mx16m or something.

 

[DaveW]

As you discovered, your e-machine's motherboard is NOT supported long after
manufacture because it was bought as a proprietary unit. Sorry to say, but
it's about time for a new computer.

 

[Paul]

Good advice. The OP should also note that the 810 motherboard only
support 8mx16m chips (?) anyway low density chips. Most PC100/PC133
memory is high density and won't work in 810 motherboards. Check the
intel support site for 810. I have a genuine Intel 810 m/b and had
the same problem when I used high density memory chips. I don't
remember if there's no way to tell from the chip numbers, but the OP
should ask for low density memory 8mx16m or something.

Kingston still has a listing for an 810 based board. This CA810
board designed by Intel can take 512MB total.

http://www.ec.kingston.com/ecom/con...A810+Motherboard&distributor=0&submit1=Search

Here is the datasheet for the 256MB DIMM they recommend:

http://www.valueram.com/datasheets/KVR100X64C2_256.pdf

Notice it uses (16) 16Mx8 chips, and if your 256MB module
uses some other configuration, then perhaps only half the
total memory on the module would be recognized.

If you post the number of chips on each module, and include
the chip part number(s) printed on the top of each chip, it
might be possible to tell you what you bought.

Paul

 

[ldself]

!!

they didnot design this model for further upgrade so that you would have to spend more money, unfortunately even these ghost pccompanies are turning their gears for profit by sorry means!i own a 733 which is upgrade to its peek!

Okay, I can't find a solution to this problem, so I'm begging any of
you to help. I have an EMACHINE Etower 733ID machine. 733 mhz and it
came with 64 megs of ram. 2 years ago I added one 256 meg stick of ram
to is for a total of 320. For the past 2 years, I boot up, and the
bios registers 320 megs of ram as does the WIN XP PRO OS. So, I'm
starting to get bogged down. I go into the box, pull out the 64 stick
and put in a 256 stick. Now it only registers 256, and when I do some
research, it doesn't see anything in the 2nd slot at all.

So I contact Emachines who say that my motherboard only supports 256.
I look around the net and see that I can probably update my bios, but
no one seems to have the newer (very old) bios, release 6.1 of the
PHOENIXBIOS 4.0. I checked with intel, and their newest bios is from
2000, and the one I'm currently using APPEARS to be from 2001.

So really my problem is that I want to add ram to this computer, but it
won't take it. Can anyone solve that problem? If it means updating
the bios, can someone get me a link as to where I can find an updated
bios? Here are some specs:

Program: eSupport.com BIOS Agent Version 3.45
BIOS Date: 01/08/01
BIOS Type: PhoenixBIOS 4.0 Release 6.0 licensed to Intel
BIOS ID: 31571.EM.0000.D.0101081041
OEM Sign-On: None
Chipset: Intel Whitney 82810 rev 3
Superio: ITE 8702F rev 5 found at port 2Eh
OS: WinXP SP2
CPU: Celeron(TM) 766 Mhz
BIOS ROM In Socket: No
BIOS ROM Size: 256K
Memory Installed: 256 MB
Memory Maximum: 512 MB
Memory Slot 01: 256 MB
Memory Slot 02: 0 MB

When I click on system, it shows that I have an x86 Family 6 Model 8
Stepping 6. Don't know what the heck that means.

Thank you so much if you know anything at all that can help me.