Acer 8204WLMi Travelmate Notebook - Very Slow Start After Increasing RAM to 4GB

Hi, I have just increased the RAM in my Acer Travelmate 8204WLMi FROM 2x512MB TO 2x2GB (==> 4 GB total). The number of memory slots in this machine is 2. The machine runs quite nicely with the new RAM installed, but with one problem: immediately after turning on the power button, the hard drive light flashes briefly, and then NOTHING appears to happen for 90 seconds - screen remains black, no lights flashing, only the power button light is illuminated. After 90 seconds, the machine springs to life, the "Acer" screen appears ("press F2 to enter setup" prompt) and only then does the machine begin a normal windows startup (I have Windows 7 32-bit OS installed - I already had it installed when it was a 1GB machine, and didn't have the problem described above). Once the Windows 7 Startup initiates, it all goes quite smoothly, and the machine runs well. Any thoughts on the cause of the above problem would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

 

You are aware that the chipset (Intel 945PM) & BIOS only officially supports 2GB RAM, right? I have this exact same machine too with 2x1GB modules. I never upgraded the memory because that's the maximum it officially supports.

Cheers,
Kermee

 

Thanks Kermee. Yes, I am aware of the memory limitation. As it turns out, some online "memory configurators" say that the 8204WLMi will take 2GB, others say 4GB. From my reading, the general rule is that 32-bit systems (with 32-bit OS) will only recognize up to 3GB, even if you install more than 3GB (eg installing 2x2GB). This is in fact the case with my 8204LWMi - when I look in control panel --> system, it tells me that my installed memory is "4.00GB (3.00GB usable)". Thanks for taking the time to respond, cheers.

 

3GB, not 2, regardless of the OS. It's a hardware limit in the TM8204.

Properties on my 8204:

 

Thanks Mr.X It's also interesting to see that you have been able to install the 64-bit version of Windows on the 8204WLMi . Cheers, Genace.

 

Ah. Good to know.

3GB is the hardware limitation of the Intel 945PM. So you could install 4GB and get 3GB of it usable which basically means you only need a 32-bit OS to see all of it.

genace,

It would be interesting if you could locate a 1GB memory module and take out one of the 2GB memory modules and make it so that it's exactly 3GB RAM. Maybe that might solve your problem?

Cheers,
Kermee

 

thanks for the info, i have been looking for this info for long time that there are hardware limitation beside os limitation.
but that didn't make my 8920g slower...

 

I'm running 3GB in my 8204, 1x1GB and 1x2GB. I had to update to the latest bios to begin with in order for the machine to be able to see it. After that it does take longer to boot up. I am not sure but based on experiences with other machines, the system may be doing a RAM check upon boot, more RAM longer boot time.

 

Thanks Kermee and Andrew08 for your follow-up comments.

Thanks also to Yellow11 - your thought about an extended RAM check during machine-start was also the only possibility I could come up with as well. But the difference between a few seconds (with 1GB) and 90 seconds (with 3/4GB) was hard to fathom. Also, given that the machine is working fine apart from the slow start, I have resisted the temptation to attempt a BIOS update. Cheers, Genace.

 

Hey Genace..
I can't send you a PM. I see that you have Windows 7 on your 8204. I've been thinking about putting it on my 8204 and I'd like to find out about your experiences with it. Where did you find drivers? did you have any problems or annoyances?
Thanx

 

Hi Yellow11, the transition to Windows 7 went relatively smoothly. The only special other thing to do was to go online for up-to-date graphics drivers - as I recall, this was accessable from Acer's web site. Performance seem to be fine so far. Cheers, Genace.