Installed 1GB memory stick but old 512 stick isnt showing ?

Hi all, first post so please be gentle .

I have a satellite L30 - 10V laptop, it had a 512 memory stick installed and today i popped a 1gb stick in aswell. However the 512 original stick isnt showing, i have gone into msconfig to try and change the amount of allowed memory but it wont allow me to go above 894 which is what my system is saying is now installed. I have tried each stick in the different slots but its still the same. Does anyone know why the 512 stick isnt showing up, im not to botherd as my laptop is now lightning fast compared to what it was, but since i have it installed i would like to utilise it. Thanks in advance.

 

Try booting into the bios then restarting. This will cause the system to bypass the quick boot option and acknowledge all new hardware.

 

One of our members recently assisted a poster with a similar issue in This Thread

The problem appeared to be Vista specific and was resolved with a re-install of the OS.

No idea if the thread will help you, but perhaps you may glean some info from it.

GL

 

How exactly do i boot into the bios mate, im not exactly computer savvy. many thanks for the help.

 

Im hoping to avoid a full re install as i have just done one this morning, perhaps should have bought and installed the stick first

 

Understand absolutely

BTW - When you first boot you usually can access the BIOS by holding down either the '2' or '12' keys while booting. You might see a very brief prompt for this when booting, too.

 

I restarted and pressed F2 to go into the bios but its asking me for a password ..... i have a password i input at startup. I tried inputting that but it didnt work, any ideas guys.

 

The BIOS may actually require no pwd...try leaving it blank and hit the 'enter' key.

Just a thought.

 

I tried that mate, just says incorrect password.

 

Apparently someone set-up pwd protect somewhere along the line. None of my 3 recent Tosh L300 series had a pwd protected BIOS (2 from retailors, 1 from toshibadirect.com).

I've reset BIOSs in desktops by removing their CMOS batteries, but never a laptop.

Looks like you'll have to find another path to attempt to fix the issue.

Sry I couldn't be more help.

 

Thanks for all the advice mate, im installing vista service pack 1 to see if it makes a difference. if not i will try a clean install and keep my fingers crossed.

 

K, Good Luck.

 

service pack 1 made a slight difference, instead of showing 994mb it now shows 1gb ...... big difference eh !! Sti no sign of the 512 stick. Looks like im gonna have to try a fresh install

 

If you own the laptop and you are the original owner, then calling the manufacturer for help to reset the bios will work. Google can also help, but this cannot be discussed here due to legal reasons. Reinstalling the OS may be the answer, but in an effort to save your time and complete the universally accepted steps of RAM installation, getting into the bios is the best idea.

 

I called the toshiba technical helpline asked them about why the 512 stick wasnt showing. The guy i spoke to said that as it was a random config, ie a 1gb and a 512, the system wasnt showing the 512, he did say that it would still be using the whole 1512 installed memory. Does that make sense. He also suggested that if i installed another 1gb so that i had 2 of the same, the system would show it. Does that make sense to anyone, could the system still use the memory even though it doesnt see it ? Thanks for all the help guys.

 

I called the toshiba technical helpline asked them about why the 512 stick wasnt showing. The guy i spoke to said that as it was a random config, ie a 1gb and a 512, the system wasnt showing the 512, he did say that it would still be using the whole 1512 installed memory. Does that make sense. He also suggested that if i installed another 1gb so that i had 2 of the same, the system would show it. Does that make sense to anyone, could the system still use the memory even though it doesnt see it ? Thanks for all the help guys.

 

Sorry for the double post guys, to eager clicking. I also have a netbook with a 1gb stick. I took the 512 out of the laptop and popped it in the netbook and took the 1gb and put it in my laptop with the other 1gb and lo and behold it shows the full 2 gb in my laptop. I guess the tosh man was right about having different configs. Many thanks for all the advice guys, very much appreciated.