New Laptop Memory Upgrade 1414 Responses

Last post: 4 months, 3 weeks ago | Thread started: Jul 15, 08, 7:01 p.m.

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• vwsung18t

  I just got a new laptop with Vista on it. I got 4GB of RAM and installed it. It first didn't start and I got a blue screen. I left it for awhile and now it works but it's showing that I have 2GB. Is it bad to run it like this?

  Jul 15, 08, 7:01 p.m. – Permalink

• Bender

  sounds like a fried block of RAM, get it changed under the warranty.

  

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  Dog-earJul 15, 08, 7:05 p.m. – Permalink

• designbot

  Unless it's the 64-bit version of Vista, it will not see the full 4GB of RAM. Sounds like you may have a bad stick of memory, but also note that if you have a dedicated video card with 512MB of ram for example, you will only see 3.5GB of system RAM.

  

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  Dog-earJul 15, 08, 7:07 p.m. – Permalink

• ribit

  Is there an equivalent to the Mac Hardware Test app on Windows? (the one that comes on the install DVD), which will test the RAM for you.

  I got an error code displayed in the Mac Hardware Test for RAM I got from Crucial, sending it back..

  • I am sure there are 3rd party apps, but some motherboards have them built into the bios. The 3rd party apps would probably have you boot from a disc so it can run outside windows.– designbot1/2

    probably have you boot from a disc (floppy or cd) in order to run outside of windows.– designbot2/2

  

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  Dog-earJul 15, 08, 7:10 p.m. – Permalink

• vwsung18t

  i had a feeling it might've been that vista couldn't use 4GB. I didn't think that it could be bad RAM. I think I will return it and get the 2GB version.

  

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  Dog-earJul 15, 08, 7:11 p.m. – Permalink

• vwsung18t

  I tried running memtest but it took two hours to get to 100% then it kept going higher. I thought it was broken so I stopped it at 107%

  • hmm...yeah some of the tests can take a very long time. I would start it before you go to bed, it is a really good indication if indeed the RAM is bad.– designbot1/2

    indication if the RAM is bad or not. I would say if it passes, the RAM is fine.– designbot2/2

  

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  Dog-earJul 15, 08, 7:12 p.m. – Permalink

• vwsung18t

  another thing i found is this on acer's website:

  *If upgrading after initial purchase, one or more of the memory cards provided with the system may have to be replaced with optional larger memory cards in order to achieve the maximum capacity.

  i'm not sure what this means. i should get the same brand RAM?

  

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  Dog-earJul 15, 08, 7:20 p.m. – Permalink

• designbot

  Were both slots already taken up when you bought your laptop? Sounds like in order to ahieve the maximum capacity of RAM (what does it say is the max your laptop can take?) you will need to remove one or both the existing sticks of RAM. The slots probably max out at 2GB a piece.

  Is the RAM you bought one 4GB stick, or two 2GB sticks?

  

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  Dog-earJul 15, 08, 7:26 p.m. – Permalink

• vwsung18t

  2GB sticks

  

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  Dog-earJul 15, 08, 7:27 p.m. – Permalink

• designbot

  Ok, and what is the maximum ammount of RAM your laptop can take?

  

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  Dog-earJul 15, 08, 7:29 p.m. – Permalink

• vwsung18t

  4GB

  "User upgradeable up to 4GB (one 2GB memory card in each slot)* subject to availability of 2GB cards "

  

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  Dog-earJul 15, 08, 7:30 p.m. – Permalink

• designbot

  Okay, so you have both 2GB sticks installed. You must have had to remove a stick that was already installed?

  You could try pulling only one of the 2GB sticks and see if Windows boots. If not try alternating the sticks and booting again....this way you can tell if one of the sticks are bad or both.

  

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  Dog-earJul 15, 08, 7:39 p.m. – Permalink

• vwsung18t

  wouldn't it not work without one of them since they're dual channel?

  

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  Dog-earJul 15, 08, 7:44 p.m. – Permalink

• designbot

  It would still work...it just wouldn't be running in "dual channel" mode.

  

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  Dog-earJul 15, 08, 7:45 p.m. – Permalink

• vwsung18t

  ah, i didn't know they still work that way. i will do some testing, thanks.

  • np– designbot

  

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  Dog-earJul 15, 08, 7:48 p.m. – Permalink