compaq v6000 ram upgrade

hey guys

my knowledge is pretty limited so sorry in advance if i sound stupid

ive got a hq compaq v6000 that i need help with

the specs page on this notebook says that the max ram it runs is 2gb
it comes with 512mb ddr2 533

went and picked up 2gb apacer ddr2 533 and plugged it in
this notebook has two slots for ram so i tried putting in both rams

initially it worked for me, system properties showd 2.5gb of ram

then when i turn off/hibernate, and turn back on, it crashes. i dont get a post screen

now for the questions:

1) why did it work initially and then crash on the second startup?
(if i plug in old ram, start up, shut down, plug in both again, it works again but only one startup) any way to get both to work constantly? im 90% sure there is no bios upgrade avail for this

2) if i can only run 2gb max, is there any advantage over having 2 x 1gb sticks instead of a single 2gb stick?

and 3) what is dual channel mode?


thanks

 

1) Have you tried standby as well? You could use MemTestx86 (I think thats what its called) to check the RAM for damage (even if it is brand new). It is unusual that it works once but not twice, especially from a normal boot.

2) 2x1gb sticks allows Dual channel mode, which requires matched RAM sticks to work.

3) Dual Channel was developed to deal with a bottleneck that was developing between the CPU and other components in the computer, causing the CPU to end up with no data to process. This bottleneck can affect any system with a CPU bus speed greater than the memory speed (which I would say applies to most systems). However according to the Wikipedia article on the subject there was no significant difference between single and dual channel configurations when tested.

Grand Admiral

 

Put the old memory back in, and update your bios. Simply go to hp/compaq's website and download the latest bios revision for your laptop. You probably have to burn a bootable cd, to install the new bios revision, but it is the key to why you are having problems. The system only recognized the 2.5Gb's once because the system noticed that the memory size changed, and it just went with what it found, however after a restart the system realizes that its bios revision cannot make use of all of that memory, so it does not start. You will need a new bios revision to make use of the higher quantity of memory.

K-TRON

 

thank you grand admiral and k-tron, i havent found a bios upgrade specifying this sort of update, but i will keep looking
for the mean time, im just using the 2gb stick on its own and its working fine.

thanks again
rocco911