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Use of DDR2-RAM-modules: issues with T60 (and with Dell D520)

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BigCatAndy
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Use of DDR2-RAM-modules: issues with T60 (and with Dell D520)

#1 Post by BigCatAndy » Sun Aug 01, 2021 3:28 pm

Hello dear community,

some time ago I wanted to insert 2 RAM-modules in T60 (1 GB + 2 GB). They were from the same vendor (Hynix, I suppose), but somehow T60 did not boot. It started, but screen remained black (and in some case I heard 4 pips) and I had to switch it off and recombine modules. At the end I found working combination, but I was really surprised by this conflict. I thought, that all DDR2-modules were compatible with each other.

Can anyone give me a hint on it? Are there "incompatible" DDR2-modules?
Thanks from Hamburg.

P.S. I think, same conflict I already experienced with Dell D520. In the case of Dell it did not start at all, only one LED (CAPSLOCK, as far as I remember) was blinking. The solution was the same - re-combine RAM modules until they match.
- in use -
(1) TP R61i Frankepad - 4 GB / C2D T9500 / 180 GB SSD / UXGA display
(2) Lenovo 3000 N200 - 2 GB / C2D T7300 / 160 GB
(3) TP T450s
- in museum -
IBM 600x, IBM TP T43p, Lenovo TP Z61t, Lenovo TP X60 Tablet

kfzhu1229
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Re: Use of DDR2-RAM-modules: issues with T60 (and with Dell D520)

#2 Post by kfzhu1229 » Sun Aug 01, 2021 3:36 pm

BigCatAndy wrote:
Sun Aug 01, 2021 3:28 pm
Hello dear community,

some time ago I wanted to insert 2 RAM-modules in T60 (1 GB + 2 GB). They were from the same vendor (Hynix, I suppose), but somehow T60 did not boot. It started, but screen remained black (and in some case I heard 4 pips) and I had to switch it off and recombine modules. At the end I found working combination, but I was really surprised by this conflict. I thought, that all DDR2-modules were compatible with each other.

Can anyone give me a hint on it? Are there "incompatible" DDR2-modules?
Thanks from Hamburg.

P.S. I think, same conflict I already experienced with Dell D520. In the case of Dell it did not start at all, only one LED (CAPSLOCK, as far as I remember) was blinking. The solution was the same - re-combine RAM modules until they match.
These strange issues can happen even though the manufacturers are the same.
I had this same issue with a T43 and a Latitude D610 with the 1GB DDR2 sticks. Somehow I have to match a Kingston with a Hynix on both of them for both to work!
Also, on the D520, flashing caps lock equals to 4 beeps on a ThinkPad, bad RAM. It is intentional and will display this or other RAM error codes every time RAM prevents it from POSTing.
Dell Lat CP MMX-233 64mb 40gb W2k
600 PII-266 416mb 40gb WXP
T23 PIII 1.13ghz 1gb W7
Precision M4300 X9000 8gb 160gb WUXGA Ultrasharp fp W10
T530i 15.6" i7 16gb fp W10
UXGA:
A30p PIII 1.2 1gb W7 (IDTech)
T43p 2.26 2gb fp W10 (Sharp)
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axur-delmeria
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Re: Use of DDR2-RAM-modules: issues with T60 (and with Dell D520)

#3 Post by axur-delmeria » Sun Aug 01, 2021 8:17 pm

Having had similar experiences on X61's over the years, I ended up with a simple technique: boot the machine without any RAM installed. This will (hopefully) clear any stored RAM timing data in the machine.
Planned Purchase: T480s i5-8350 FHD Touch
Impulse Buy: Thinkpad not named for safety reasons :lol:
RIP: X220 4291-C91 X61 7676-A24 760XD-U9E :cry:

BigCatAndy
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Re: Use of DDR2-RAM-modules: issues with T60 (and with Dell D520)

#4 Post by BigCatAndy » Mon Aug 02, 2021 2:54 pm

kfzhu1229 wrote:
Sun Aug 01, 2021 3:36 pm
These strange issues can happen even though the manufacturers are the same.
I had this same issue with a T43 and a Latitude D610 with the 1GB DDR2 sticks. Somehow I have to match a Kingston with a Hynix on both of them for both to work!
Also, on the D520, flashing caps lock equals to 4 beeps on a ThinkPad, bad RAM. It is intentional and will display this or other RAM error codes every time RAM prevents it from POSTing.
Thanks for the information. This is very goo to know, that it happens sometimes.
Regards,
Andrey
- in use -
(1) TP R61i Frankepad - 4 GB / C2D T9500 / 180 GB SSD / UXGA display
(2) Lenovo 3000 N200 - 2 GB / C2D T7300 / 160 GB
(3) TP T450s
- in museum -
IBM 600x, IBM TP T43p, Lenovo TP Z61t, Lenovo TP X60 Tablet

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