Hi,

Apparantly my motherboard can handle up to 2.048 of RAM, however when i install the 2 x 1gb modules and attempt to start it I get nothing, tested the two modules and they are fine ??

Does anyine have any ideas why this is

Cheers

 

Could be timings, your mobo should try and detect what speed to run the ram at. For some reason it may not be doing this correctly causing this.

When you say you attempt to start the PC and get nothing. Exactly what happens. What lights and noises are made? What is the last thing that is shown on your screen, assuming anything?

 

If its a AMD 64 (not sure on all models, but it did on the last one i built) then it needs certain memory type.

Also the mobo could require a paired set of memory sticks.

 

My first thought was that if it can only handle 2Gb of RAM it's an older board.

How many RAM slots are there? If there ARE 4 then it may be that they can only handle 51Mb each.

 

Some RAM - particularly the higher performance stuff - appreciates a slightly higher voltage. If you can get into the BIOS of your MB it's worth trying increasing the RAM voltage to, say, 2.0 volts.

Gary.

 

When you say tested, tested how? On the same board one at a time? Or tested elsewhere? If one stick works on that rig but two don't, I'd suggest the PSU isn't up to the task. If they were tested elsewhere then it still could be, but the other possibilities mentioned could be the problem.


M

 

Sorry should have given more info

Its a Intel Pentium 4 3.2 GHz HT
Form Factor: Form Factor: microATX. Size: 244*230mm. Layer: 4 layers
CPU Support: Socket type: P4 Socket478. Type: 1.5G/1.6G/1.7G…2.8G and above.
System Memory: Module Speed: DDR266 / DDR333/ DDR400. Socket Type: Two DDR 184-pin unbuffered DIMM sockets. Maximum Memory size: 2GB

Checked the RAM on my other machine and with memtest ect and it worked ok, tried on the dodgy machine with a combination of each 1gb module with a 512 stick and it worked ok.

On starting the machine with the 2 x 1gb modules in the machine starts up but nothing kicks in, no warning beeps ect and screen doesnt start up

Cheers for the replies so far

 

The 1Gb sticks aren't ECC are they? (clutch, clutch)

 

Is the mobo set to SPD to automatically detect the timings and voltage?
If it is and is still failing to boot then ease off on the ram timings and increase the voltage until it is stable & passes a memory test.
If still no good then try updating the BIOS.

 

Cheers,

Will try some of these suggestions and see if that solves it, they arnt ECC as far as I know.

 

May need a BIOS firmware upgrade. Something similar happened with my SP shuttle set-up. If you used 4x800fsb modules up-to 4GB and it wouldn't boot. Later on Shuttle released a BIOS upgrade to fix it. Maybe worth a trip to the manufacturers website to see if one exists for your problem.

 

My money is on an inadequate PSU - what is it?


M

 

Its a 500w ECS-5001 according to the label on the side of it

 

I would never suspect a PSU with regards to RAM. RAM draws very little power, they just like stable voltage. So just as long as you can run other ram in the slots in the motherboard, then there really should be little difference with this ram coming along in terms of power.

By all means check the PSU. The wattage of a PSU is not really that important to be honest. Any recommendations regarding wattage of a PSU are just a simplification. You need to have sufficient amps on each of the voltage rails for you machine. Different hardware has different requirements for different voltage rails. Older PSUs can struggle with enough amps on the 12V rail, as in the past 12V was not used as much as it is now.

So if you are going to look into whether your PSU is up to the job you are going to have to know the requirements of everything in your machine. Add them up, and then compare to the detailed sticker on the PSU. No rail should be more than 80% utilised.

 

The problem is the boot. The BIOS gives the RAM a set time (x milliseconds) to initialise. If the RAM is not fully functional at the end of that time (because say, the PSU can't get enough juice into it quickly enough) then the POST goes no further. You see this a lot on overclocked systems, but you also see it on systems running at default. I'm not saying is the only possible cause, but I've seen it a few times before.


M

 

Fair enough, not come across it myself yet. You learn something new all the time But forget two other things in the process