R51 Memory upgrade problem (BSOD)

[robson-ba]

Hi all, my friend asked me to upgrade his Thinkpad R51. I have done this before on other notebooks.
I bought a new 2,5" IDE 120GB hard drive and 2x 1GB SODIMM DDR400.
I have made a disk-to-disk image, replaced the old 40GB hard drive, everything worked fine, the system started up.

The problem is with the memory. There was only one 256MB SODIMM DDR333 module installed. After puting in both 1GB DDR400 modules i got a BSOD: MACHINE_CHECK_EXCEPTION 0x000009C. It comes after booting to windows. The system (XP) is new - from the recovery partition.
Both memory modules are correctly detected by the BIOS.

I have allready tried this:
- used only one 1GB DDR400 module, tested both memory slots separately = BSOD after booting XP
- tested those modules in this R51 (!) with Memory Test (bootable CD), this test showed no errors
- tested those modules in other notebooks, also no errors, so i believe the memory modules are ok
- used one 1GB DDR333 module = BSOD after booting XP
- used one 512 DDR33 module = BSOD after booting XP
- flashed new BIOS = BSOD after booting XP
- disabled in BIOS all hardware/peripherals (LAN, USB, ...) = BSOD after booting XP
- removed the optical drive = BSOD after booting XP
- disconnected from AC adpater and removed the battery and the CMOS battery = BSOD after booting XP
- disconnected from AC adpater and holding the power button (hw reset???) for 1 minute = BSOD after booting XP
- trying to restore the system again form recovery partition with 1GB RAM installed = BSOD after booting to the recovery enviroment
- installed other (but exactly the same type) 256MB DDR33 module = all worked perfect, but after adding the original 256MB (256+256) i got again a BSOD after booting to XP

This notebook just does not work with more than 256MB memory installed!
I believe there is no problem with the new hard drive, because it works perfect with 256MB memory installed...

I am not sure if this problem is hardware or software based, because the memory test (DOS) was running fine with both 1GB modules installed and the BSOD comes only after booting XP, or lets say the windows GUI. I had no BSOD in XP Safe mode Command prompt. But the BSOD showed up also in the IBM Recovery enviroment which has also a GUI similar to XP. Could it be something with the shared memory for integrated VGA? (intel) It uses 8MB of RAM and i have not found any options to change this value.

Is there some hw reset trick, that will manage it, to use more than 256MB RAM?

What are my options? Any ideas? Help please!

thanks

[Harryc]

What machine did you image from?

[robson-ba]

What machine did you image from?

from the same machine, i have just changed the hard drive for a new one

[Harryc]

OK, so what happens if you put the old drive back in with the new memory? The rule of thumb with upgrades is "do one at a time". Or else you will drive yourself insane in the event of issues.

[robson-ba]

OK, so what happens if you put the old drive back in with the new memory? The rule of thumb with upgrades is "do one at a time". Or else you will drive yourself insane in the event of issues.

You are right. I started by changing the hard drive, which went without any problems...

ok, so the old drive + new memory = BSOD again

I have tried both memory slots, i get a BSOD much sooner than with the new hard drive, even the xp boot screen does not appear...

[emeraldgirl08]

Run a liveCD of a Linux distro and see if that works.

[RealBlackStuff]

You've got the wrong RAM for that machine!
R51 take either PC2100/DDR266 or PC2700/DDR333. Those PC2700 will run at PC2100 speed, but that causes no problems.
Anything faster, like your PC3200/DDR400, will NOT work!

[robson-ba]

You've got the wrong RAM for that machine!
R51 take either PC2100/DDR266 or PC2700/DDR333. Those PC2700 will run at PC2100 speed, but that causes no problems.
Anything faster, like your PC3200/DDR400, will NOT work!

Hi, thanks for your post. I have allready considered that, see above:

- used one 1GB DDR333 module = BSOD after booting XP
- used one 512 DDR33 module = BSOD after booting XP
- installed other (but exactly the same type) 256MB DDR33 module = all worked perfect, but after adding the original 256MB (256+256) i got again a BSOD after booting to XP

As you can see, not "anything faster will not work", also "more memory at same speed and same type will not work"

[RealBlackStuff]

Check Error 9C here: http://aumha.org/a/stop.htm That post contains several links.

The short of it:
0x0000009C: MACHINE_CHECK_EXCEPTION
(Click to consult the online MSDN article.)
This is a hardware issue: an unrecoverable hardware error has occurred. The parameters have different meanings depending on what type of CPU you have but, while diagnostic, rarely lead to a clear solution. Most commonly it results from overheating, from failed hardware (RAM, CPU, hardware bus, power supply, etc.), or from pushing hardware beyond its capabilities (e.g., overclocking a CPU).

* Error Message: STOP: 0x0000009C... {KB 329284} Win XP
* Understanding and Troubleshooting the Stop 0x0000009C Screen {KB 162363} Win NT4, Win 2000

A nasty error apparently. Can you try another CPU? Can you boot from a Knoppix/Linux CD?

[robson-ba]

i have just downloaded ubuntu live cd and i'm gonna try it later...
hm, maybe i can get another notebook just for testing its CPU in this one...

[robson-ba]

ubuntu live CD hangs on a blank screen with blinking cursor, once i saw a mouse pointer on a black screen...

mini windows xp works fine... (i think because it uses less memory)

[robson-ba]

i can boot from o knoppix live cd, but after loading the linux gui the system hangs...

you guys think a can change some part (CPU, MB, ...) to fix this problem?




Another problem occured - after puting the keyboard back, the keyboard works, but the trackpoint is dead, also those 3 "mouse" buttons (left, middle and right). It doesn't work in windows also in non windows enviroment.
I have checked it several times, there is only one connector for the kb, but the kb works...
Tryed to disable/enable the trackpoint in bios, did not help.

[emeraldgirl08]

Hmmm... is your BIOS and Embedded Controller up to date? We've ruled out an OS being at fault it seems so it has to be the MOBO or something else.

[robson-ba]

yes the bios is updated