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    zd8000 ram upgrade gone wrong

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by Tippey764, Apr 20, 2009.

  1. Tippey764

    Tippey764 Notebook Deity

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    Hey just a quick question to see if anyone knows a solution because i have given up. Im upgrading the ram on this zd8000 to 4gb's from 512mb's. I put in the two 4gb sticks of ram and booted it up into the bios. For some reason the bios only see's 2.5gb's of ram. So both sticks are working but why am i losing 1.5gb's of ram? I tried to update the bios but i got pretty scared when it gave me a solid blue screen ( no text at all ) luckly i didnt ruin the laptop.
     
    Tippey764, Apr 20, 2009
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  2. K-TRON

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

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    What happens when you put in a single 2GB memory card?
    If it shows up as 2Gb, than thats a good sign.

    Than try a single 2Gb card in the other slot.
    If it also sees 2Gb, than that means that your board can see 4GB, however your BIOS can only read 2.5GB.
    I havent a clue why HP would limit the BIOS to 2.5GB

    What way did you flash the BIOS?
    USB, CD, floppy?

    K-TRON
     
    K-TRON, Apr 20, 2009
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  3. Tippey764

    Tippey764 Notebook Deity

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    I tried to update the bios using the bios update program off their website.
     
    Tippey764, Apr 20, 2009
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  4. K-TRON

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

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    Dont upgrade the BIOS through the operating system, it generally never works properly.
    Read Zfactor's guide on booting off a USB card. Updating the BIOS through USB works really well.

    K-TRON
     
    K-TRON, Apr 20, 2009
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  5. Tippey764

    Tippey764 Notebook Deity

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    Really? I have never had a problem and have done many bios updates. This is actually the first time i have had a problem. Im using the xp bios updater but am running vista. I tried a single 2gb stick in each slot and they both worked fine. I even tried a 2gb stick + a 1gb stick it still only reads 2.5gb's. Ill try to update the bios and report how it goes. Very strange it only takes 2.5gb's
     
    Tippey764, Apr 20, 2009
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  6. Tippey764

    Tippey764 Notebook Deity

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    Oh should i note its an intel i915p chipset ( desktop chipset )
     
    Tippey764, Apr 20, 2009
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  7. K-TRON

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

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    From what I read online, updating through windows is really dangerous. I tried it once on my friends C90S and it failed to update. I updated it through a CD, and it worked. I guess it all depends on how good the Bios updating utility is. I generally stick to USB or floppy's when upating BIOS chips.

    That is strange that there is a 2.5gb limit.
    Are you able to check what CPU-Z reads?

    K-TRON
     
    K-TRON, Apr 20, 2009
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  8. Tippey764

    Tippey764 Notebook Deity

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    CPU-z and everest ultimate both report two 2gb sticks of ddr2 ram.
     
    Tippey764, Apr 20, 2009
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  9. K-TRON

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

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    So the BIOS reads 2.5Gb, and the operating system sees 4GB.
    I dont know of any other way to actually test the capacity of the memory, but I would say its running 4GB

    K-TRON
     
    K-TRON, Apr 20, 2009
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  10. Tippey764

    Tippey764 Notebook Deity

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    No windows only see's 2.5gb's also and it can only use 2.5gb's. Its just cpu-z can read the sticks of ram as both being 2gb's
     
    Tippey764, Apr 20, 2009
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  11. Cal68

    Cal68 Notebook Enthusiast

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    update windows?
     
    Cal68, Apr 20, 2009
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