Easynote memory not registered

Bristolian

Bristolian

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Steve
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Hi folks, I'm hoping to tap into your vast knowledge here.

I have a Packard Bell Easynote laptop (MZ36 model) with 1GB or RAM installed. Recently I purchased a second 1GB memory module (200pin SO-DIMM) but when I installed it today neither Windows nor the BIOS sees that it is fitted and still report 1GB installed.

I have inserted the new module in place of the original, put both into the second slot and covered all other combinations but the computer still thinks it only has 1GB. Can anyone shed any light on where I might be going wrong, or what the problem might be?

TIA :)
 
So does the new stick work on it's own? If not it's broke or not compatible with the laptop
 
Hi Mark, thanks for the response.

Yes, both sticks are recognised by the computer when installed individually in either of the memeory slots. I think this rules out both a duff stick and a duff slot ~ which is why (with my limited knowledge) I'm scratching my head.

The original stick is marked:
1GB 2Rx8 PC2-5300S-555-12-E0
1GB DDR2 667 CL5

The new stick is marked:
1GB 2Rx16 PC2-5300S-12-A3

The original stick has 16 memory chips whilst the new one has just 8 - is ths significant?

Ideas?
 
Some laptops have a limit to the ammount of memory they will use. I have an old Benq lptop that would only see 1gb until I upgraded the bios.

My netbook will only see 1gb so maybe you need to check with packard bell for a bios update ?
 
Hi ChrisH, thanks for taking the time to repond.

According to the information I have on this laptop it has a RAM limit of 2GB. There is a BIOS update on the PB web site so I'll try installing that and see what happens ... wish me luck :cuckoo:
 
AAARRRGGGHHH!!!!!!

Why is nothing ever easy? Having found the BIOS update file and downloaded it to the laptop I can't run it because it requires either Vista or XP and I've upgraded the OS to Win7 :bang:

Do I really want to roll back to Vista just to do a BIOS update that might - or might not - solve the memory problem?

I'm beginning to wonder if it's worth all this hassle to get another 1GB or RAM installed :shrug:
 
unless it says dont install with win 7 it shoulndt be a problem,,,proberly an old web page thats not been upgraded...but to be honest unless the bios notes say new 2gb memory support it wont be your problem...........

check in your bios to see what that is seeing
 
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Hi Kevin,

The update installer won't run ... just pops up a window saying it needs XP or Vista then shuts down again. Don't see any way to manually overcome that :thinking:

Unfortunately, the PB web site doesn't have any notes on what the update is supposed to correct/improve - very helpful :thumbsdown:

The BIOS only reports 1GB no matter which stick is installed or what combination of sticks I use. Maybe I'll just put up with the 'puter being a bit slow, although I've not got anthing better to do today so rolling ack to Vista, doing the BIOS update and then re-installing W7 might while away the time nicely :D
 
i could be you bios is way outdated then..you havnt got a spare external drive you could install vista on and then boot from there...
 
Ok, well that wasn't too painful ... but it hasn't resolved my problem :gag:

I folded back to Vista, installed the BIOS upgrade and checked the memory recognised by the new BIOS - still the same 1GB so that wasn't it :thinking:

Re-installed Win7 again so I'm back where I was this morning with just 1GB of RAM but a newer BIOS :shake:

Methinks I'm gonna have to take the laptop to a technogeeky mate of mine and see what he says :help:
 
Just for *****s and giggles, why not put both chips in the machine and then try running a memory scan over at Crucial.com and see if it says anything about your existing memory or your laptop. I suspect that the 2 chips you have are not a matched pair.
 
LemmingLover said:
Just for *****s and giggles, why not put both chips in the machine and then try running a memory scan over at Crucial.com and see if it says anything about your existing memory or your laptop. I suspect that the 2 chips you have are not a matched pair.
Click to expand...

According to the scanner at Crucial there is only one 1GB memory stick installed. It gives the same result irrespective of which stick is in which slot but unfortunately doesn't say which stick it can see.

This has to be a memory compatability issue, doesn't it?
 
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Looks that way. You have tested each chip individually, each slot individually and your BIOS is up to date.
 
yea its a unmatched pair issue...you havnt tried to put in ecc and non ecc have you?
 
diamonddog said:
yea its a unmatched pair issue...you havnt tried to put in ecc and non ecc have you?
Click to expand...

There's certainly no mention of ECC on either stick so I don't think so. I'll have to speak to the place I bought this second stick from and see if they have a match for either it or the original.

Why ain't things easy?
 
Steve, why don't you sell both sticks of RAM and buy a single 2GB stick. I don't see why the computer wouldn't accept a single 2GB stick.

Depending on what you are doing though, Vista and Windows 7 should still run reasonably well in 1GB of RAM. I had that for a while at work, and I only noticed the strain when I was running virtual machines, which are very memory hungry. perhaps a quick clear out of your startup list from the msconfig program will give you just as much a benefit as buying more RAM?
 
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trencheel303 said:
Steve, why don't you sell both sticks of RAM and buy a single 2GB stick. I don't see why the computer wouldn't accept a single 2GB stick.
Click to expand...

Believe it, or not, I hadn't thought of that :bonk: Gonna see what I can do in that line :)

Depending on what you are doing though, Vista and Windows 7 should still run reasonably well in 1GB of RAM. I had that for a while at work, and I only noticed the strain when I was running virtual machines, which are very memory hungry. perhaps a quick clear out of your startup list from the msconfig program will give you just as much a benefit as buying more RAM?
Click to expand...

I'm using the laptop to edit photos and since upgrading to Elements 8 have found it slowing down when dealing with RAW files. I'd like to install CS5Extended so that I can use the same software on the laptop as I have on my desktop.

Perhaps I'm expecting too much?
 
Check the task manager to see what it's doing when you are trying to load the raw files. Push it hard. If the processor usage is plateaud at 100%, then that's your slowdown - the processor is struggling. If the memory usage is over 1024MB, then the computer is running out of memory. Both are possible, but it may well be that your processor is being run ragged. One of the many reasons that I stopped using raw is that all my computers are ancient/underpowered and really struggle loading raw files, it was locking up the processor for about 10 seconds every time i loaded a file.

Once you trim out the unecessary startup entries that soon build up, it is quite feasible to run Windows 7 or Vista on 1GB of memory, and XP runs comfortably even on 512MB for basic tasks. Just go to Start -> Run -> msconfig -> Startup -> remove all entries except your antivirus.
 
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trencheel303 said:
Check the task manager to see what it's doing when you are trying to load the raw files. Push it hard. If the processor usage is plateaud at 100%, then that's your slowdown - the processor is struggling. If the memory usage is over 1024MB, then the computer is running out of memory. Both are possible, but it may well be that your processor is being run ragged. One of the many reasons that I stopped using raw is that all my computers are ancient/underpowered and really struggle loading raw files, it was locking up the processor for about 10 seconds every time i loaded a file.
Click to expand...

Okay, opening a RAW file the cpu hits 100% for about 2 seconds (maybe less) and then falls to <5% but the memory use goes to about 85% and stays there

Once you trim out the unecessary startup entries that soon build up, it is quite feasible to run Windows 7 or Vista on 1GB of memory, and XP runs comfortably even on 512MB for basic tasks. Just go to Start -> Run -> msconfig -> Startup -> remove all entries except your antivirus.
Click to expand...

I'll have to try that tomorrow and report back.
 
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