A30 Upgrading Memory Problem

[subversive]

Hi all, nice to be back
I recently bought some 512mb memory on ebay which the seller said should work on my A30. It already had 2x256mb and i wanted to upgrade to 1gb which i understand the A30 can support. I have flashed the bios to 1.19 and the emmbeded controller and adjusted virtual memory but windows xp crashes on boot and i get the blue screen.
The memory i bought is 512MB SDR SDRAM SODIMM PC133 512 MB M Mo 133Mhz 144PIN (32x16).
Guess i bought the wrong memory, anyone got any ideas. Can i buy the right one here ?

[sjthinkpader]

If you try 256+512 configuration, does it crash?

If you only use 1 stick of 512, does it crash, or the other stick?

Are these 16 chip sticks or 8 chip sticks?

May be you just got a bad one.

[subversive]

hi, thank you for your fast reply,
all the sticks are 8 chip, one of the new 512mb sticks will only work in one of the sockets while the other will work in both sockets

the stick that only works in one socket is quite happy with a 256mb in the other socket and that is how it is now as i write this giving me 768mb and so far has not crashed.
i just cant get the two 512mb sticks to work together !!!

[ajkula66]

Re-install the XP. It has been known to have that type of reaction to hardware upgrades.

Does your BIOS see 1Gb?

[rkawakami]

I'd grab a copy of memtest86+ from here: http://www.memtest.org/#downiso and run each 512MB module separately AND in each slot, before running both together. Keep a table of results like this:

Code: Select all

Module #    Slot 1   Slot 2
   1         P/F      P/F
   2         P/F      P/F
  1+2             P/F

Allow at least three complete passes (~ 130 minutes for each 512MB module) before declaring a test as "pass". This will give the modules plenty of time to warm up and allows the diagnostic to run a couple of random data patterns. Actually, prior to running these tests, you might want to closely inspect the edge connectors on both modules to see if they are heavily scratched up or dirty. You can clean then with a cotton swab dipped in isopropyl alcohol or a soft pencil eraser.

[subversive]

ok so i got memtest downloaded and tested each 512mb module separately in one of the slots and both passed several times, could not test them in the other slot as pc will not boot at all now with either chip in that slot, not even to the first screen although it is ok with the old 256mb module fitted there. With both 512mb modules fitted memtest scrolled down with hundreds of fails so i am back to using one 512 and one 256mb module with no problems. Memtest also tested ok with that configuration. All very confusing really.

Thank you for your input

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[rkawakami]

<snip>.... could not test them in the other slot as pc will not boot at all now with either chip in that slot, not even to the first screen although it is ok with the old 256mb module fitted there.

It would appear then, that your T30 has the infamous bad memory slot issue. It can be corrected by closely inspecting the pin connections and re-soldering the ones which move around. This is one of the latest thread which talks about the problem:

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=58093

That the 256MB module works and the 512MB doesn't tells me that the high-order address line (or bank select) is the one that is giving you the problem.

[SMA]

Please reconsider your latest answer Ray. This is A30 not T30.

Are we sure that A30 does support high density modules?

[sjthinkpader]

Yes, A30 can support high density modules.

[rkawakami]

Please reconsider your latest answer Ray. This is A30 not T30.

Oops! Got confused... thought I was in the T2x/T30 forum .

Still, there could be a problem with the memory slot, given the provided symptoms. If the 512MB modules work in one slot but not the other, that suggests to me the same thing as seen in the T30, and to a lesser extent, the T23 motherboards.

[subversive]

Well i tried doing that with the soldering iron now i guess i have trashed the whole thing, can't get it to boot at all with any memory module. I would not recommend anyone except an real expert with the right gear try that lol
Thanks for all the advice tho

Whats the best course of action now, another mobo ? How diffuclt is that to fit ? I need to rescue my data somehow and don't have another laptop only a desktop

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[subversive]

Wanted : A30 Motherboard

[fasterbybike]

Whats the best course of action now, another mobo ? How diffuclt is that to fit ? I need to rescue my data somehow and don't have another laptop only a desktop

sub

You could buy a USB enclosure and mount your HDD for access from your desktop.

Or look for an A30 mobo. The HMM shows how to replace any part and is here

Good luck.

[subversive]

oh thats a good idea
thanks for all the help everybody
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