Thinkpads Forum

I put a Kingston HyperX PC6400 2x2GB RAM kit in my T60p and it doesn't even show the ThinkVantage logo, just a blank screen. I read that this could either be incompatible RAM/manufacturer or picky mobo, outdated BIOS or even a GPU issue? I tried it on my Asus laptop and it starts up ~4 secs before shutting down.

I have an 8744-C9U T7200, v5250, 15.4" model and Everest shows my BIOS being Phoenix 7IET37WW (1.18 ) dated 04/01/10 but my Video BIOS is dated 05/16/07.

What's keeping my T60 from working w/ RAM? I thought it was fairly straightforward and have swapped sticks around with no issues on other laptops.

The recommended RAM is PC2-5300, (aka DDR2-667)
Faster RAM should work in there, but at the 667-speed.
Probably your PC2-6400 (aka DDR2-800) has the wrong timings and chokes/kills the FSB.
Return them for a PC2-5300 set.

OTOH, try it with one module, then try it in the other slot. Repeat for the other module.
If one module works, but not two, then you definitely got the wrong RAM.

yeah, it's always worth taking a few minutes reseating ram and swapping in/out the modules, along with running one type at a time. Sometimes just a little jiggling will do it, sometimes you're up the creek with compatibility issues.

I've tried each stick individually in each slot and even in my old laptop but nothing seems to work. I didn't think having a higher clock speed would make such a difference.
At first I thought it was just not seating correctly but I've swapped them in and out a few times and it seems to fit fine now. I've even mixed it with a stick of the stock RAM which should downclock both sticks but get the same error.

Is there a way to confirm it's the clock speed or something else? I read that it might work if I cleared the CMOS but I have no clue what that means or how to go about it. I'm in the process of trying to RMA it with Kingston so maybe it is just defective RAM or at least get a replacement set.

There is no way to 'clear the CMOS' on a Thinkpad other than to pull the CMOS battery, wait for a few minutes, and then plug it back in. Use the maintenance manual for that.
http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... 62733.html

If you have to go through hoops like clearing CMOS, you should realize that your new RAM does NOT jive!
Get rid of it asap.
You can load Default settings in the BIOS by pressing F9, then F10 to save it (don't do it, get rid of that dam RAM.)

Yea sounds like the wrong timings are being set on boot by the 60/t61 stupid bios

It would be cool if we could get an opensource bios for the t60/61.