Tried to upgrade RAM, what happened?

[ak49er]

Okay, first off don't laugh, it's all I got. I am running an Emachines T2885, circa 2004. Windows XP (2.8 ghz Celeron) I was running 512 MB of DDR PC2700,333mhz and it ran just fine.Went to the computer dude the other day and he sold me a stick of PC3400 DDR512 400mhz. He said it was backward compatible. It ran great, the only thing it does is reduce the MHZ to 333 on the faster (pC3400) stick, but now I had 1gig of RAM. This was great but I wanted faster! So I bought two sticks of PC2700 DDR 1GHZ to double my RAM. When I put it into the slot, either one at a time or both, my start screen says that my memory was reduced to 31mb, which I believe is the onboard memory. I had my MOBO replaced a year ago so I called to confirm with the geek squad that they did not downgrade my MOBO (the original MOBO will take 1 gig per slot, two slots)So I am left to beleive that it is either bad memory, mislabeled memory, or my MOBO won't take 1 gig per slot. Any ideas Captains?

[Gsey]

Looking at the specs for that computer the max supported ram is 1gig. On some motherboards sticking 1 gig of ram caused the problem you experience now. the motherboard simply doesnt detect it.

Go back to running two x 512mb and you should be good. Make sure its the same brand and p/n for the 2 sticks. Running 2 sticks of different makes can slow the computer down.

Gary

[ak49er]

from the emachines site.... check out max RAM

<table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td colspan="2" align="left">BOM for : T2885</td> </tr> <tr class="bomheader"><td>Part Category </td><td>Description</td><td nowrap="nowrap">Part Number</td></tr> <tr> <td>CPU:</td><td>CPU,CELERON 2.8 478P 128k F400</td> <td>
</td> </tr> <tr> <td>FDD Model:</td><td>FDD, SFD-321B/LTGNQ </td> <td>
</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Modem:</td><td>MODEM,FAX CONEXANT V.92 56K 56PRC CCOM</td> <td>
</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Video:</td><td>Video, integrated</td> <td>
</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Keyboard Model:</td><td>KB,9908,EN104K,PS/2,EMA CH-Gray/Blk-key</td> <td>
</td> </tr> <tr> <td>MB:</td><td>MB,SEABREEZE </td> <td>101220 (http://parts.emachines.com/emachines/moreinfo.asp?product_id=69100)</td> </tr> <tr> <td>ODD1:</td><td>DVD,NEXGEN3LC 16X </td> <td>100127 (http://parts.emachines.com/emachines/moreinfo.asp?product_id=69189)</td> </tr> <tr> <td>CPU Fan Type:</td><td>FAN,H/S CEL-P4 2.8 478 </td> <td>100611 (http://parts.emachines.com/emachines/moreinfo.asp?product_id=69015)</td> </tr> <tr> <td>LAN:</td><td>LAN, 10/100 </td> <td>100372 (http://parts.emachines.com/emachines/moreinfo.asp?product_id=69358)</td> </tr> <tr> <td>HDD:</td><td>HDD, 80GB 5400rpm</td> <td>100125 (http://parts.emachines.com/emachines/moreinfo.asp?product_id=68919)</td> </tr> <tr> <td>ODD2:</td><td>CDRW,NEXGEN3LC 48X (48X32X48) </td> <td>2434 (http://parts.emachines.com/emachines/moreinfo.asp?product_id=68825)</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Memory:</td><td>MEM,DDR-RAM 512MB ( MAX. 2GB)</td> <td>512DDR2700 (http://parts.emachines.com/emachines/moreinfo.asp?product_id=68971)</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Power Supply:</td><td>PS, 250 WATT </td> <td>100744 (http://parts.emachines.com/emachines/moreinfo.asp?product_id=69135)</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Bezel Assembly:</td><td>BEZEL,NEXGEN3LC COMPLETE FRAME</td> <td>101152 (http://parts.emachines.com/emachines/moreinfo.asp?product_id=69196)</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Mouse:</td><td>MOUSE,SILVER WHEEL, BLACK GLOSS</td> <td>10070 (http://parts.emachines.com/emachines/moreinfo.asp?product_id=69204)</td></tr></tbody></table>
I am no expert and am not sure where you read the specs. I'd like to believe it is something so simple. As I said the MOBO was replaced by the GEEK Squad, I don't know what type was used, and can't see any discerniable marks on the MOBO itself, is there a way to find out in Windows or the start screen what kind it is?

[Gsey]

I just googled your system and found this place and a few others. All said max of 1gb.

http://www.memorystock.com/memory/eMachineseMachinesT2885.html

If you have had the MB changed then it could be possible that they replaced yours with the earlier version which only supports the 1gb of ram.
if you have 512mb of ram handy put that back in your system and see if it works.

Best thing to do would be to open the case and find your mb type and revision number it should be between the cpu and dimm modules. If not download and install a program called cpu-z If what you say is correct then your mb should be a INTEL D845GVSR which requires 2.5v ram only. Chances are you have bought ram which requires more juice to run.

Memory problems are hard to diagnose without trial and error.

Gary

[ak49er]

these are all good guesses, the most obvious being a lower spec. MOBO. Downloaded Sisoft Sandra XI, works great, gives an internal "view" of all things going on in computer, performance indexes, cpu, temp. voltage and such. It says that this MOBO can handle up to 3 gigs RAM,(don't know how this would be possible with twos lsots only) Tokok specs,RAM sticks and Sandra output sheet to local Computer guru, he says that the new sticks that don't work are 333mhz, and the two sitcks I have are 266 mhz and that emachines tend to be picky about this. Good as any guess so far,
GES pc2700 x 512 and pc3400 x 512 work fine as before, what is this you say about voltages? 2.5 voltas? Please explain....

[Gsey]

From reading the specs of your MB is clearly says that 2.5v is the maximum voltage it will allow for your memory modules. Most motherboards will allow you to go into your bios setup and change this to a higher setting to match the min specs of your ram or even higher if you want to overclock.

As an example I have ram here which clearly states 2.6v on the sticker of the ram. If your computer only outputs 2.5v then there is a possibility that this ram would not work right on that machine. do you see what I mean? Voltage is only one of many things for new ram not to work in older motherboards.

If your old ram is working fine but you cant get your system to recognize the new ram at all, then I would say that the new ram is not compatible with your machine and you should return it for a refund.

All Motherbaords will have a supported vendor list for memory. You should check that out.

Gary

[ak49er]

Gsey, thanks for putting so much effort in my sole problem, you have been a wealth of information. Will try to confirm my replacement MOBO specs. and go from there.