Upgrading Memory

[Wilson1981]

Hi

I tried the update you mentioned and got a message that my computer did not have the min requirements for this. I have tried the 1GB sticks in slots 1&2 the system registered them but when starting up i got nothing on the screen no sinal to the moniter. 

Any suggestion thanks in advance 

[Legacy7955]

Thanks for your response Onesnark!

Amazingly this 7955 with the 256gb actually still operates fairly well when you are only performing one task at a time.

So you said you loaded up with 1 GB...can you give me the specifics on which ram you used, how many GB per stick...

When you installed the RAM can you tell me the proceedure used....

I know you are suppoed to unplug ALL cables.

Hold in the power button for 20 seconds

Make sure you ground yourself to the unpainted tower before you handle the mem stick

When you turn the machine on, after the new RAM is installed, do you need to go to F1 to instruct the BIOS of the upgrade......

anything else you can think of to make the install go smoothly without problems.

Did you have any issues after the install?

TIA!

Message Edited by Legacy7955 on 11-29-2009 02:18 PM

[RAD45]

Hi Mister Wilson 1981... ( I feel like Dennis the Menace, here!)  Anyway, I don't know what to suggest.  RasterBlaster frequently posts and has some good insight... being he's an HP engineer, he might have run into your problem before.  I'd give him a shout.  You may well have a very esoteric problem with your motherboard triggered by your attempted change of memory.  Just a thought... when you plug in the new RAM -- in whatever slots -- before the PC tries to boot, go into the BIOS... go the RAM settings and check the timing (latency, like 5-5-5-12 or whatever.. make sure what's on the BIOS screen is what's listed on your new memory sticks.  If that doesn't work, them I'm all out of ideas!  Sorry.  (Of course, there's the old standby of hitting the machine with a bigger hammer!)  Good luck.

[RAD45]

Mindofmyown... sorry I haven't gotten bad more quickly... the weekend's get hectic.  Anyway, the question of memoiry latency and what it is? Basically,
the memory sticks are manufactured to move data at certain rates... those rates are set in the computer's BIOS and are dependent on the individual PC, its motherboard and CPU.  If you suddenly stick in new memory that doesn't have the same "clock cycles", the computer gets REALLY annoyed and frustrated and probably won't boot!  For a really "my eyes glaze over" explaination of latency and how its set up in BIOS, go to this web page.
www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CAS_latency   I would have just copied some relevant stuff, but it's too long and detailed!  It will explain latency!  Have fun!

[Onesnark]

Truth be told - Then machine I upgraded was a Dell. According to the accepted instructions for *that* machine, I turned off the machine, opened the case, and stuck two sticks of RAM into empty slots on the motherboard. Then I booted the machine and was done. Maybe a day later I closed the case. Never went into the BIOS. CAUTION: This was not an HP machine. Nothing in my instructions referenced the bios. HP machines may be different.

Grounding is always a good idea. I have never done it when playing with PCI cards or memory, but I would not advise anyone to copy my bad habits.

Everyone I have ever talked to said installing RAM is easy. Just follow the instructions and you will be fine. Easier than installing a new video card or hard drive.  oh. . .and I made REAL SURE the RAM I bought matched the ram in the machine.

[cocoa1981]

Hi everyone. 🙂  Believe it or not, until last week I was running on my original 128 RAM.  I found another old stick of 128 around the house, added it, and it worked (no problems, helped speed the computer up). I was so excited, I decided to add some more RAM.   I have 3 slots on my Compaq Presario 7EL 7000T desktop. I purchased two 256 sticks intending to keep just one 128 stick and the two new 256 sticks. From what I can tell, my board should be able to handle that much memory. My problem is that I think I might have bought the wrong kind.  When I put them in, it gave me the memory mismatch error and rebooted after I cancelled my scan disk run (continually, got stuck in the cycle). I tried removing the 128 and just using the new 256 sticks but I didn't even make it to the start up screen- just kept rebooting right away.  This is what I got - Kingston KVR133x64c3/256-does anyone know why they don't work?  What am I missing here?  Is it the 'latency' issue?? Thanks for your help in advance!

[Onesnark]

Final question:

On a Dual Channel memory system; (i.e. I5 motherboard with 1156 socket); is 3 x 2 gb a valid dual channal memory configuration?

This is an "upgrade option" on a new machine -> but everywhere I look on the web says that dual channel memory must be installed in identical memory pairs (so to get 6gb you need 2x2gb plus 2x1gb).

Thanks.

[HapPavUser]

I have a HP pavilion a6430f (which has been a great machine) and I haven't been able to determine the Pavilion 'series' of this model. When I was using one of the third party sites or a link off the HP support pages (http://www.orderingmemory.com/hpshopping/index.asp?hho_url=http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/shoppin...), they were asking for the series type. Any ideas? I assumed it was an 'A6000', but then the a6430f doesn't come up as an option.

Just thought someone else might be having the same problem and thought I'd pose this question here since I could not find an answer, but have solved my memory upgrade issue. The a6430f requires the 240 pin, DDR2 SDRAM and has 4 slots.

[RAD45]

Hello Cocoa1981... yes, I can believe you've been using only 128M's of RAM... however, your question needs some research to answer starting with the complete identification of your pc  Putting in "Presario 7EL 7000T" results in a list of 7000T's running from 101 to 340 or more, so there's more to your model number than posted!  That you managed to find sticks of 256MB RAM is startling.  Mixing the old 128's with the new 256's could have caused problems with the density of the RAM, how many and the size of the memory chips on the stick, and the latency (or timing) the stick uses.  You can't mix the timing or it confuses the system and starts it cycling as if it can find and correct the problem.  All the memory has to have the same timing (latency).  When you find the entire model number, you'll be able to get the infor on the HP Support page.  The first model of your pc I found was numbered "7EL 7000T-101C. Have fun.

[RAD45]

Hi Onesnark... theoretically, the 3x2 setup should work... 3G's oer channel = 6 G's.  You are also right about the 2x2 + 2x1 setup.  I've seen that and wondered why, but it does meet the qualifications for two sets of identical memory.  If you're working with four memory slots, you might as well try a 64-bit OS and go with 4 sticks of 2G's each.  Yeah, more money, but then you're 2G's ahead -- which you may need if you starting cranking up the system with multiple apps... and especially if you use onboard video.  I'm still looking for those MaximumPC articles on memory usage wjth the i5 and i7 cores.