RAM Upgrade

[200820]

I've recently upgraded two machines with more RAM. From 1Gb - 2Gb although both users of the machinse have reported them being slower than they were before.

I replaced it with reccommended RAM from an online store & it is a faster PC rating which the motherboard can handle.

Can anyone think what might be causing this?

 

[goombawaho]

Have you verified that the BIOS and/or Windows can see the amount of memory that you think you put in (total). In Windows - START RUN winver and it will show you how much RAM.

Please give machine description (brand/model number or motherboard model if not a Dell/Compaq).

Also give the type and size of RAM you used so we can look it up.

 

[200820]

Yes I have checked that the system is recognising all 2Gb of RAM.

The machine is a HP Business Desktop DC5750.

RAM used was 1GB X 2 DDR2 PC25300 CL5 Unbuffered Non Error correcting code.

 

[Lemon13]

dont mix single and double sided ram, you wont get dual-channel.
have a look in

http://bizsupport1.austin.hp.com/bc/docs/support/SupportManual/c00765936/c00765936.pdf

M. Knorr

MCSE, MCTS, MCSA, CCNA

 

[200820]

As far as I know I haven't mixed double & single sided, the RAM used was bought in a 2GB kit so both would be the same.

 

[kjv1611]

1. Have you tried reseating the RAM?
2. Have you run any memory diagnostics? Download MemTest, and give it a try, or find one of the multi-boot CDs, such as UltimateBootCD, and run a test or two from there..

--

"If to err is human, then I must be some kind of human!" -Me

 

[200820]

I haven't tried reseating the RAM as I know the PC recognises all of it but I'll give the diagnostics a try & let you know how it goes

 

[Lemon13]

As far as I know I haven't mixed double & single sided, the RAM used was bought in a 2GB kit so both would be the same. "

and you upgraded 2 machines, so you put 1 gb in one and one gb into the other..............

nc

M. Knorr

MCSE, MCTS, MCSA, CCNA

 

[200820]

No sorry Lemon I probably didn't explain properly. I upgraded both machines with a 2GB kit so 2GB in each machine.

They were both the same make & model (HP DC5750)

 

[Lemon13]

ok, wich sockets are you using, for dual-channel you have to use the black ones (labeld 3 and 4, kind of strange)

M. Knorr

MCSE, MCTS, MCSA, CCNA

 

[200820]

I'll have to double check this as it was a few weeks ago that they were installed, get back to you soon.

 

[200820]

I've managed to get a minute to check the sockets & the RAM is placed in the black so I'm still at a loss as to what is causing this...

 

[kjv1611]

Did you ever try Memtest or some other RAM diagnostics utility? There are some Windows based, and some you boot from. The Ultimate Boot CD, I believe, has some pre-installed, all you have to do is download that CD image, burn it to CD, then boot the machine(s) from that CD, and then select the proper app you want to use for testing from the menus...

http://www.ultimatebootcd.com/

Specifically, these are the Memory Tests on that disk:
Memtest86 3.3
Memtest86+ 1.70
Windows Memory Diagnostic n/a
DocMem RAM Diagnostic 3.1beta
TestMem4

There's also GoldMemory, which seems very good as well:

http://www.softpedia.com/get/System/Benchmarks/GoldMemory.shtml

It's a trial, but you should be able to use it during the trial period to diagnose your issues - it's a 30 day trial, after all.

--

"If to err is human, then I must be some kind of human!" -Me

 

[200820]

I have ran Memtest86+ on the computers and it has returned no errors.

The RAM itself is DDR2 667Mhz/PC5300.

I spent a little time on one of the computers myself today and it seems that the computer does not run especially slow when it has logged on but it is taking between 2-5 minutes to actually log on to the domain account.

I would think this is a network issue if it were not for the fact that it only occurs on the two PCs which had a RAM 'upgrade'

 

[kjv1611]

It still could be a network issue.

For example, where I work in my full-time job, my "neighbor" and I switched cubicles about 6 months or so ago. Prior to the switch, I was getting company-wide emails seemingly 5 minutes or so later than everyone else. After we switched, I usually see them first or about the same time as everyone else, whereas my neighbor now gets them later than everwhere else. The only explanation there is something to do with the network. ;0)

The other thing I'd think of with that situation is that somehow in the RAM upgrade, the user profiles got corrupted in some portion, or somehow discombobulated.

To see, you could try a different logon, if that's not what you have already done. Otherwise, it's probably a network issue. Bad wire, bad port, etc.... perhaps somehow a little static electricity played messed with the computer's network card/connection, and just did enough damage to cause this issue...

Well, it sounds like it's just a minor issue anyway, I doubt worth much effort for finding the problem. At least, that's my opinion from what you've said so far.

--

"If to err is human, then I must be some kind of human!" -Me

 

[200820]

I agree that the problem is most likely something minor & probably very difficult to pin down but unfortunately the users of these machines don't agree that it's 'not worth much effort finding the problem'

Thanks for you ideas.

 

[Freestone]

I fail to see how upgrading memory can cause a 2-5 delay while logging into a domain. Assuming a Windows environment, this sounds more like a DNS issue on the affected machines. Of course, you could always try reverting the PCs back to their previous state

 

[Lemon13]

i suppose the nics are on dhcp, for testing set them on a fixed ip
another thing to try is to uncheck "automaticly search for shares/printers" in explorer-extras-folderoptions-view

but like freestone, i dont see a correlation between adding ram and the delay

M. Knorr

MCSE, MCTS, MCSA, CCNA

 

[NESWalt]

This may or may not be the issue...

Put the original memory back in the system and see if the speed increases back to what it was.

Was the memory previously installed faster RAM (clock speeds) than the new RAM?

Also, what are the Virtual Memory settings? I believe that the MS recommended are 1.5~2x physical memory.

If the system is managing the page file size, how much free hard drive space is there? If Windows gets below 10~15% of max size, I've seen it go nuts.