Problem with T42 memory upgrade

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weebo523 · #1 Post by **weebo523** » Mon Mar 21, 2005 1:18 pm

Hi all, I purchased a 512 memory chip - Corsair VS512SDS333 SODIMM - straight off the FAQ link, installed it no problem, but my T42 just keeps booting to a blue error screen (goes off too fast to read). I can get into the BIOS by pressing F1 and the memory is showing up as 1024 as it should be, however, it will not boot to XP and wont even boot to rescue & recovery with the blue key. When I remove the extra 512 I have no problems. Is there something I need to do in setup or BIOS? I am using the fingerprint security, could that be causing the problem? Or could it be bad ram? Thanks for any help.
Barry

skuehne · #2 Post by **skuehne** » Mon Mar 21, 2005 2:00 pm

weebo523 wrote:When I remove the extra 512 I have no problems.

Looks like you got bad RAM. Return it, and make sure that it has the right specs (PC2700, unbuffered, non-ECC, DDR333).

I recently bought a 512 meg SODIMM (CT392187) from Crucial. Works perfectly, about $90 now.

Sven

dfumento · #3 Post by **dfumento** » Mon Mar 21, 2005 2:01 pm

I bought my RAM directly from that link and it works fine for me. You seem to have a bad RAM part.

weebo523 · #4 Post by **weebo523** » Mon Mar 21, 2005 2:23 pm

dfumento

Is there anyway to check if it is bad?

weebo523 · #5 Post by **weebo523** » Tue Mar 22, 2005 9:15 am

Before I send the memory back, is there any possibility that it could be something else. When I run a diagnostic boot, all the memory goes through the POST check OK. I get the BSOD right after my XP password check, which is why a asked if it could be security related. Has anyone using the fingerprint reader added memory AFTER setting up the reader AND the security chip? If yes, were there any problems?

Peter_S · #6 Post by **Peter_S** » Tue Mar 22, 2005 9:36 am

weebo523, in response to your question if there are any memory diagnostic utilities available to test your Corsair memory, yes, there are some available.

Probably the best known memory utility is memtest86, available here for download: http://www.memtest86.com/.

Also, you may consider Microsoft's free "Windows Memory Diagnostic", a DOS-like low-level tool that runs on any system based on Intel Pentiums or Celerons; AMD K6s, Athlons, or Durons; and other "x86" compatible CPUs. The download file contains both the tool and a kind of installer application that lets you automatically create a special-purpose boot floppy, or an ISO image you can burn to a boot CD. You then boot from the floppy or CD, and the memory diagnostic tool will run automatically.
Here's the link for downloading the diagnostic utility:
http://oca.microsoft.com/en/windiag.asp

Basically, such diagnostic tests start by filling your RAM with all ones, all zeros, and various regular patterns of ones and zeros. Any discrepancies between what is written into RAM and what is read back out indicates a problem with one or more RAM modules. The test can pinpoint the failure location, so you'll know exactly which RAM module is giving you trouble.

The test speed depends on the speed of your system (CPU and RAM speed) and how much RAM you're testing. The base test runs in a matter of minutes on most systems, but the thorough tests can take many hours--- it's *very* thorough.

RAM is usually quite reliable, but RAM problems, when they occur, can be very hard to pin down.

weebo523 · #7 Post by **weebo523** » Tue Mar 22, 2005 9:55 am

peter_s
Thanks, I will give those a try today and report back.
barry

weebo523 · #8 Post by **weebo523** » Tue Mar 22, 2005 6:16 pm

Well I downloaded and booted up the memtest from a CD and sure enough, on test 3 got errors by the thousands. So I stopped the test, took out the ram and back it goes for a new one. Hopefully, I will have better luck on try # 2.
Thanks peter for the site and everyone else who answered.

Problem with T42 memory upgrade

Problem with T42 memory upgrade

Re: Problem with T42 memory upgrade

RAM Memory Diagnostic Utilities Are Available

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