Not All RAM shows

[tinkertech]

I got an SBC with a 512MB SDRAM PC133. When the system boots up BIOS only sees 256? Any ideas anyone. The SBC manual states that it can have a total of 1G of RAM.

For every problem there is a solution, for every solution there is a tech behind it.

 

[cdogg]

1) How many DIMM slots are there for RAM?
2) Is the board rated for PC100 or PC133?
3) What brand of RAM did you buy?

Believe it or not, some brands are more compatible than others due to different factors like density and quality. In the future, I would suggest buying from Kingston or Crucial (

http://www.crucial.com)

who normally guarantee compatibility and have online configurators to help you choose the right memory for your system.


~cdogg
[tab]"The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources"
[tab][tab]- A. Einstein

 

[tinkertech]

The SBC comes with four slots for RAM and the manual says it works best with PC100 but I don't see where it says that nothing else will work. The brand of ram is Apacer. Someone else tells me that 2 sticks of 256MB will work where the one 512 will not.

For every problem there is a solution, for every solution there is a tech behind it.

 

[franklin97355]

The manual will tell you if you need to install ram in pairs but that has not been required on pc motherboards for quite a while. Some pc133 ram does not work well in pc100 systems. You might want to try better quality memory or get pc100s

 

[tinkertech]

Got another answer, the board can only support 256MB per slot so, PC133 will work as long as per stick I don't exceed 256MB which means I got to use two stick per board to have my 512 needed to operate. Thanks for your assistance Franklin

For every problem there is a solution, for every solution there is a tech behind it.

 

[ANFPS26]

You might find that PC133 won't work. There is a lot of it on the market that is not backwards compatable to PC100. You might get lucky, you might not.

Jim

 

[evosmudge]

I just ran into the same problem when trying to add 256mb PC133(Kingston KVR133X64C3/256) and the chip maker supplied a note stating that if the system does not recognize only a portion of the memory, return and check their website(

http://www.kingston.com/products/default.asp)

for the correct chip for the motherboard.

I checked the manufacturers website and searched under the SOYO list for my MB and it lead me to a list of their applicable memory ships. I followed the link for the product i wanted (KVR133X64C3Q/256), checked the data sheet and compared that to the first one I bought from them.

From the data sheet:
1st purchased - KVR133X64C3/256, 256MB PC133 DIMM CL3, 8 components 32M x 8-bit (8M x 8-bit x 4 Bank)
Recommended - KVR133X64C3Q/256, 256MB PC133 DIMM for Intel 810 boards, 16 components 16M x 8-bit (4M x 8-bit x 4 Bank)

So, there is a difference between the two and hopefully I don't have problems with the recommended chip.

The system I'm working on had only one 64mb chip so i didn't think it needed pairs of 128mb.

To sum things up, go to the chip manufacturers website to see which is the right module for your MB.

Hope this shed some light on the problem but I'm also wondering if there would be any damage if I stayed with the first one and used half of the memory that it would allow. It was only $30+ and I didn't want to go back and forth. Plus the 128 made a noticeable difference already on the P3 666mhz.

Evosmudge

 

[cdogg]

tinkertech,
There you go. With 4 slots and 1GB max support, 256MB x 4 = 1GB. Therefore it makes sense that you can't use more than 256MB per slot.

Just be sure the vendor that sells you PC133 has a money-back guarantee or exchange policy if it doesn't work. As others have said, some sticks of PC133 won't work on older motherboards, because they use a density that is too dense to be detected properly.


~cdogg
[tab]"The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources"
[tab][tab]- A. Einstein

 

[triangman]

watch out for single or double sided sticks too.
That can make a difference sometimes.