Acer 8204 WLMi failed to upgrade correctly to 4GB RAM

I recently bought 2 G.SKill SODIMM 666Mhz of 2GB each in order to put it inside my 8204 WLmi...

At first it seemed to accept correctly to 2 RAMs, the BIOS detected only 3GB as I was expecting it, then Windows began to load.

At this point, after a few seconds of loading, Windows freezed.

I am using Windows XP Pro SP2 fully patched and my BIOS version is a 351X version (can't check it right now)

did someone already upgraded one ?
Have you any clue of what could be the reason of the failure ?

Should I upgrade the BIOS ?
Do I need Vista ?

THX


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Solution :
I simply had to update my BIOS to V1.1357 (in DOS mode... booted from a CD)
Of course Windows only detect 3GB as expected.

Thanks all for your advices.

 

the motherboard may not support a full 4gb of memory. Check and see if it is supported on acer.com's website.

 

Windows XP 32bit doesnt fully recognise 4gb tho I think there is a tweak for that.

so u have tried loading with one stick and it loads fine?

try each stick on its own and see

load memtest and see if there are any errors

install windows on an external drive (unless u dont mind a fresh install of XP on ur laptop drive) and see if its ok

its possible that Acer dont fully support 4GB, some laptops have a max of 2GB only.

 

Windows XP 32bit doesnt fully recognise 4gb tho I think there is a tweak for that.

so u have tried loading with one stick and it loads fine?

try each stick on its own and see

load memtest and see if there are any errors

install windows on an external drive (unless u dont mind a fresh install of XP on ur laptop drive) and see if its ok

its possible that Acer dont fully support 4GB, some laptops have a max of 2GB only.

 

Well it detected 3GB as it should so I think the problem might be with the RAM itself. Try and test one SODIMM at a time just to be sure that there is nothing wrong with your memory.
Have you got any other options in your BIOS reg memory?

 

whoa Quick advices and answers. Great Forum

Short answers to everybody :
To SSX4Life: well it vary depending of the acer website and documentation... but Intel Chipset should be ok?

to Sideswipe and villageman:
Ok I will try this evenning 1 SODIMM then the other.
I will try also to load the last BIOS and to boot from a fresh Windows Version.
I will just install a new hard disk.

To villageman:
The BIOS software is quite frustrating, it is not possible to change any memory parameter... all automatic.

 

Well first off to the previous replies we have seen.

@sidesipe

32bit windows has a maximum of 4gb recognized by windows xp. 64bit brings that total to 16gb or higher.

@abenhamou

I don't think you can go just by the chipset on the motherboard. The reason I say this is because the amount of memory recognized is based not only by the chipset but by the bios as well. My guess is 4gb is not fully supported, and will not be until a bios update etc.

Check out everest ultimate ed. and see what that says is supported.

--ssx--

 

SSX4life yes XP supports 4GB but i think u have to tweak the system in order to get the 4GB, normally it shows 3 or 3.25GB

 

Finally I didn't need to open a case to ACER

I simply had to update my BIOS to V1.1357 (in DOS mode... booted from a CD)
Of course Windows only detect 3GB as expected.

 

Found solution : look at previous message or first one

 

SSX4Life: The 3GB limitation is with the motherboard because there are many hardware addresses in the address space above 3GB. What that means is that no matter what, these motherboards just don't do more than 3GB. BIOS upgrades can't change this.

The first notebook chipset to support 4GB will be Santa Rosa, due out soon (1H 2007).

 

Hi abenhamou,
I have similar problem but I was trying out 4GB kit crucial ram 667Mhz.

The bios you refers to "V1.1357". Is it a typo? Do you mean 1.3517 instead?

Where did you download from?

After you upgrade to the new bios, are you still using XP Prof According to Acer web site, the driver is for Vista. Is it safe for XP Prof as well?

Thanks.