Ram Recognition Problem?

[Da Mail Man]

greetings, i have a SONY PCGFRV26 LAPTOP, 2.8ghz, 40gb-hd., win xp home.

this unit came with 2 sticks of ram each being 256mb, ddr 266, cl2 for a total of 512mb's.

i aquired 2 sticks of ram, each being 512mb's at pc2700 333mhz.

i extracted the (2) 256 rams and installed the (2) 512 rams and rebooted. the computer shows no changes in the ram totals.

first test; i removed all the ram and placed just one (1) of the old rams (256) in each slot and it works.

next test; i placed one of the 512 sticks into the slot with the other being empty and upon attempting to boot, get a series of beeps (ram error?) and the computer will not boot.**i am not sure if the computer requires both slots "filled" however, i doubt it.

i hit the scan for hardware changes in windows/control panel, etc and it finds no changes in hardware (ram).

is there some setting that i am not aware of?....possibilities of both sticks of the ram being bad?.......thanks for the help.

 

[subtle]

Did you try both 512 installed separately or just one which didn't worked?
What if you put 512 and 256 together?

 

[Da Mail Man]

Did you try both 512 installed separately or just one which didn't worked?
What if you put 512 and 256 together?

thanks for the reply....

i tried both 512's separately and both at the same time.

with both 512's installed, the computer will boot however, the total ram displayed is only 256mbs when it should be close to 1gb.

i have tried each "512" separately the computer WILL NOT boot and get the aforementioned "beep" errors.

i have not tried to install one of each and have not exceeded the capacity of the laptop.

 

[subtle]

And what with 512+256?

 

[Da Mail Man]

And what with 512+256?

...what's your point?...i don't understand your response....i ORIGINALLY had TWO (2) 256 sticks which would total 512 mb;s.

i removed BOTH of those 256 sticks and put in TWO (2) 512 sticks which we'll say for purposes of arguement TOTAL 1GB......

 

[refresher]

...what's your point?...i don't understand your response....i ORIGINALLY had TWO (2) 256 sticks which would total 512 mb;s.

i removed BOTH of those 256 sticks and put in TWO (2) 512 sticks which we'll say for purposes of arguement TOTAL 1GB......

It is to check if your computer will work with 1 of each.

 

[subtle]

...what's your point?...i don't understand your response....i ORIGINALLY had TWO (2) 256 sticks which would total 512 mb;s.

i removed BOTH of those 256 sticks and put in TWO (2) 512 sticks which we'll say for purposes of arguement TOTAL 1GB......

My point is to check what your comp will show with 256 stick (which you know is working) and 512 (which you not sure about).
You'll see if both slots need to be in use or you'll see if any of the 512 sticks is damaged etc.

 

[Da Mail Man]

.....let me ask you this if i may; should i be able to run just one stick of ram be it the 256's or the 512's and leave the other slot empty?.....

 

[eric92park]

.. did you get the right memory and are you sure your mobo supports them

 

[Da Mail Man]

.. did you get the right memory and are you sure your mobo supports them

..based not only on the specs and what sony told me, YES....

 

[brian]

Are you getting your totals from windows? if so try the bios and see what is in each slot.

 

[Da Mail Man]

Are you getting your totals from windows? if so try the bios and see what is in each slot.

....thanks for the reply..i just checked the bios. 1st, i again tried each stick of the original ram (256) and each will "boot" in each ram slot however, getting a reading of (+/-)190mbs from the bios. the sony manual indicates that a true reading may not be reflected do to the ram being used at the time of the reading....

2nd, i tried each 512 ram stick in each individual slot.

A) in slot "1", 512 ram stick causes ram error beeps.
B)in slot "2", 512 ram stick causes ram error beeps.
C)with BOTH 512 ram sticks installed, computer will boot however, bios only shows (+/-)190mbs .
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

3rd, i tried each ram 256 stick in each individual slot.

A) in slot "1", 256 ram stick will boot computer with the bios reading (+/-)190mbs .
B) in slot "2", 256 ram stick will boot computer with the bios reading (+/-)190mbs .
C)with BOTH 256 ram sticks installed, computer will boot however, bios shows (+/-)448mbs .
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

4th, i tried to "mix" the 512 and 256 sticks;

A) in slot "1", 512 ram stick and 256 in slot "2" will boot computer with the bios reading (+/-)190mbs .
B) in slot "2", i reversed the sticks with 256 in slot "1" and the 512 in slot"2"will boot however, bios shows (+/-)190mbs .

**i will assume that the other 512 and 256 sticks will do the same.

 

[munkyeetr]

Do you know what model of motherboard you have, what type of ram it supports, and how much ram it supports in each channel?

Problems occur just when the 512MB sticks are involved.

Just a thought, but maybe look in your MB manual (if you still have it) or google the MB manufacturer and look for limitations on the type and size of ram the MB will support.

EDIT: Also, you are showing less RAM than you have because it looks like you have a 64MB Onboard Video chip.

 

[Da Mail Man]

Do you know what model of motherboard you have, what type of ram it supports, and how much ram it supports in each channel?

Problems occur just when the 512MB sticks are involved.

Just a thought, but maybe look in your MB manual (if you still have it) or google the MB manufacturer and look for limitations on the type and size of ram the MB will support.

EDIT: Also, you are showing less RAM than you have because it looks like you have a 64MB Onboard Video chip.

...i have posted the model and make of teh laptop in my original post.

...yes, as my results are posted above, the problems are when teh 512's come into play.

...yes, i do know what type of ram is supported by my laptop and have discussed this issue with sony already. the ram i am attempting to use IS supported.

...yes, i stil have all the info (manual) and have consulted it long prior to posting on the forum. i am within all limits and hardware types supported by my computer.

...i must therefore conclude that the ram (512's) are defective. i called a local computer shop to get a "2nd opinion" and they came up with the same conclusion.

...ok, i have returned the ram from where it came and i am in need of no further information in this thread. (until i get some new ram). thank you everyone for your input.