Thinkpads Forum

Started looking through the message forum to see if this had already been dealt with, to no avail, so here we go..

I have a 600X 2645-4EU, with 1 extra 256MB stick of memory. I installed a 2nd 256MB stick into the 2nd memory slot, and wound up with my current problem. 1 long beep, followed by a short beep, at a higher pitch, and absolutely nothing else.

The LED's come on as they should, then all but the power and 1 other LED (not sure what it's supposed to be, but on the far right of bank of LED's) go out. The beeps occur, followed by the fan slowing down, and the LCD does not even come on.
I verified that the new memory stick works by exchanging it with the existing 256MB stick. Apparently, its something about the 2nd memory slot, as I get the same beep code with either stick in the 2nd slot, irregardless of whether memory is in the 1st slot or not.

Any help on what the beep codes are trying to tell me?

What's the beep sequence that you're getting?

As mentioned, the beep sequence is 1 long beep, followed by a short beep at a higher pitch.

Both RAMS have 16 chips right? I'm asking because the second one only have eight (four on each side) it won't work period.

Actually, both sticks have 8 chips each (4 per side). Both work individually, in the 1st slot only. Neither of them work in the 2nd slot.

mlwhiten wrote:Actually, both sticks have 8 chips each (4 per side). Both work individually, in the 1st slot only. Neither of them work in the 2nd slot.

There's your answer then...Your 2nd slot has gone bad...It's rare on the 600's, but possible...

Wait, back up a little bit...

@mlwhiten: Both of your 256MB memory modules only have 8 total chips on them? If so, then that is your problem. Don't blame the motherboard (yet) until you try a low density (16 chip) 256MB module in BOTH slots. Can you tell us what BIOS is reporting as the total system memory when you boot the 600X with one 256MB in the "working" slot?

BillD wrote:There's your answer then...Your 2nd slot has gone bad...It's rare on the 600's, but possible...

Can it be fixed easily (such as exchanging the memory carriage), or would it be more complicated?

rkawakami wrote:Wait, back up a little bit...

@mlwhiten: Both of your 256MB memory modules only have 8 total chips on them? If so, then that is your problem. Don't blame the motherboard (yet) until you try a low density (16 chip) 256MB module in BOTH slots. Can you tell us what BIOS is reporting as the total system memory when you boot the 600X with one 256MB in the "working" slot?

Oops.. My fault.. The chips are beneath a protective covering, so at first glance, it appeared to be 4 chips per side. They are actually smaller than I expected them to be, and are 2 rows of 4 chips per side. Oops..

On bootup, with either 256MB stick, it reads 327104 KB.

Okay, a total of 8 per side or 16 on the entire 256MB module. That qualifies as low density memory and should work in both slots. Getting 320MB on boot with one stick (256MB + 64MB) is expected (327104 is 320MB). Your problem then appears to be a dead memory slot. Your problem may be due to a broken connection on the socket. You could try the T30 trick and stuff something between the module and cover (thick cardboard, paper, etc.; i.e., nothing electrically conductive).

Just wanted to add my 0.02... I have a 600E with a bad memory slot, so maybe its not too unusual for this series.

What happens if you install one ram on the slot that you were not using before ?


Then if you install the same ram in the other?

mlwhiten wrote:

BillD wrote:There's your answer then...Your 2nd slot has gone bad...It's rare on the 600's, but possible...

Can it be fixed easily (such as exchanging the memory carriage), or would it be more complicated?

No, it wouldn't be worth the trouble...

Either get another 600x with 2 good slots, or use 320RAM in this one. 320 should be plenty for most everyday, light duty tasks.