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    Memory upgrade not working

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by Passa, Apr 17, 2009.

  1. Passa

    Passa Notebook Enthusiast

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    Have an issue. Just bought a 1GB DDR 400mhz stick to replace the 512mb DDR 333mhz stick I had in my IBM ThinkPad R50. It also has an internal 256mb stick (that I don't know how to replace/can't be bothered to since it's under the keyboard..)

    What I did was do a direct swap. At first it froze on the BIOS screen. After another reboot, it made it to the desktop but freezes 5-10 seconds into loading (after the mouse appears). This does not happen with the old stick, which I'm using now. Locks up in Ubuntu before even getting past the splash screen.

    I managed to boot into a memtest CD after a few locked up BIOS screens, it reported me as having 1280mb RAM (with the new stick in) running at 330 mhz. It made it through 30 minutes of memtesting without an error, so I rebooted again and it locked up after I put in my password..

    The old 512mb stick is a Kingston. The new stick is a Strontium, however both have 'hynix' branded memory chips on the sticks.

    What can I do/why isn't it working?

    EDIT: Should mention I've made sure my BIOS is up to date and I updated my 'embedded controller program'.
     
    Passa, Apr 17, 2009
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  2. Hep!

    Hep! sees beauty in everything

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    If you're getting inconsistent freezing, I doubt it's a BIOS issue but I would update to the latest BIOS nonetheless.
    If that does not solve the issue I would run memtest, but I don't think 30 minutes is sufficient. Run it over night, at least 7 passes with no errors is my rule.
     
    Hep!, Apr 17, 2009
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  3. K-TRON

    K-TRON Hi, I'm Jimmy Diesel ^_^

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    Maybe your system does not like underclocking the PC3200 memory to PC2700 speeds.

    The problem only occurs when you plug in the PC3200 Strontium card in, correct?

    K-TRON
     
    K-TRON, Apr 17, 2009
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  4. Passa

    Passa Notebook Enthusiast

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    But I already have the latest BIOS Hep.

    Yeah K-TRON, only when the PC-3200 Strontium card is in. However memtest claimed both cards were running at 333mhz.

    I'm hoping it might just be an incompatibility with the 256 chip under my keyboard, is it worth pulling the whole laptop apart to swap it with the 1gb? Should I just return the chip for my money back?
     
    Passa, Apr 17, 2009
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  5. razorjack

    razorjack Notebook Consultant

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    Sounds like a bad stick to me(not compatibale),i always stick with the same brad just for this reason.I put crucial in mine with no problems,since you cant get to your other stick of ram without removing KB i would send that back and get kingston.
     
    razorjack, Apr 17, 2009
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  6. Passa

    Passa Notebook Enthusiast

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    Thanks for your help guys. For future reference, it seems to be working after instead installing the chip under the keyboard, and keeping my 512 in the bay underneath. Total of 1.5GB now! :)

    So it appears to be an incompatibility with the supplied stock 256MB chip.
     
    Passa, Apr 23, 2009
    #6