PNY Memory Upgrade Problem With eMachines Computer

CrunchyFrog · 01-23-2005, 01:48 AM

Hi,

I just found this forum and am hoping someone here might have an idea or two that could help me out! Thanks in advance for any help.

I own several eMachines computers (two T2865 and two C2684). They have worked beautifully for over a year and I am thrilled with them.

Then I tried to upgrade the memory in one of the C2684s. It came with one 256MB memory module and one empty slot. When I asked eMachines what memory to buy they said,

DDRAM PC2700 DIMM
Bus Speed: 166 MHz
Number of Pins: 184 pins

They also mentioned I have a AU31 motherboard manufactured by FIC.

So I went to my local Fry's and purchased one PNY Technologies 512MB PC2700 DDR333 memory module and installed it. (FYI, I'm extremely careful about ESD having worked as a technician several years ago!)

The computer rebooted fine and reported the new memory. But when I went to run a program that uses a lot of memory (in this case it was The Sims 2) it only got into the loading screen of the program before triggering a reboot. I tried this several times and it always occurred this way. It also froze on me during other programs. I ran Memtest86 but it did not find any problems.

So I removed the new memory module and installed it into another of my eMachines systems. I got the exact same result. So I assumed the memory module was bad and exchanged it with another.

However, when I installed the new memory it had the exact same problem! So now I was wondering if maybe having two different brands or different sizes of memory module might cause the problem. I even thought maybe I had a defective second memory slot. So, I removed the original memory and replaced it with the new one leaving the 2nd slot empty. Now it does not even finish booting before triggering a reboot over and over.

Does anyone have any ideas as to what my problem might be? Is there anything else I should try? Any special settings I am unaware of? Have you heard reports of PNY memory being incompatible with eMachines or this motherboard? If so, is there a brand you recommend?

(Sorry for the long post but I wanted to provide as much detail as possible!)

CrunchyFrog · 01-25-2005, 12:03 AM

any one have any ideas?

crazijoe · 01-25-2005, 06:34 AM

You might want to check with PNY to make sure that the memory you purchased will work in those machines. Not the specs but the part number.

CrunchyFrog · 01-25-2005, 06:53 AM

crazijoe, thanks but I chose the memory PNY recommended on their web site for this computer! I used their online configurator to select the memory.

any other ideas?

are there bios settings I should fiddle with? anything like that?

crazijoe · 01-25-2005, 07:06 AM

If you have never mess with the BIOS and everthing was working fine before the upgrade I would say, no you should not have to mess with the BIOS. I would call PNY with you problem (if they have a toll free number). If they do not want to help you or cannot resolve your problem, I would take back the memory. PNY is not known for quality modules and I would suspect this is the problem. Plus they are real picky about there "Lifetime Warranty". I have delt blows with them several times. I would check with Crucial. They have a 100% compatiblity guaranty with their products. All their modules are made by Micron. PNY uses whatever they can find the cheapest. I'm not trying to hack on PNY (please hold me back), I just know from experience.

Forgot to add

http://www.crucial.com/promo/index.asp?prog=desktop2

01-23-2005, 01:48 AM	#1 (permalink)
CrunchyFrog Registered User Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 4 OS: XP	PNY Memory Upgrade Problem With eMachines Computer Hi, I just found this forum and am hoping someone here might have an idea or two that could help me out! Thanks in advance for any help. I own several eMachines computers (two T2865 and two C2684). They have worked beautifully for over a year and I am thrilled with them. Then I tried to upgrade the memory in one of the C2684s. It came with one 256MB memory module and one empty slot. When I asked eMachines what memory to buy they said, DDRAM PC2700 DIMM Bus Speed: 166 MHz Number of Pins: 184 pins They also mentioned I have a AU31 motherboard manufactured by FIC. So I went to my local Fry's and purchased one PNY Technologies 512MB PC2700 DDR333 memory module and installed it. (FYI, I'm extremely careful about ESD having worked as a technician several years ago!) The computer rebooted fine and reported the new memory. But when I went to run a program that uses a lot of memory (in this case it was The Sims 2) it only got into the loading screen of the program before triggering a reboot. I tried this several times and it always occurred this way. It also froze on me during other programs. I ran Memtest86 but it did not find any problems. So I removed the new memory module and installed it into another of my eMachines systems. I got the exact same result. So I assumed the memory module was bad and exchanged it with another. However, when I installed the new memory it had the exact same problem! So now I was wondering if maybe having two different brands or different sizes of memory module might cause the problem. I even thought maybe I had a defective second memory slot. So, I removed the original memory and replaced it with the new one leaving the 2nd slot empty. Now it does not even finish booting before triggering a reboot over and over. Does anyone have any ideas as to what my problem might be? Is there anything else I should try? Any special settings I am unaware of? Have you heard reports of PNY memory being incompatible with eMachines or this motherboard? If so, is there a brand you recommend? (Sorry for the long post but I wanted to provide as much detail as possible!) Last edited by CrunchyFrog; 01-23-2005 at 01:50 AM.

01-25-2005, 06:34 AM	#3 (permalink)
crazijoe Registered User Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Omaha, The Center of the Universe Posts: 7,632 OS: WinXP, Win2K3 My System	You might want to check with PNY to make sure that the memory you purchased will work in those machines. Not the specs but the part number. __________________ Microsoft MCSA + Messaging, MVP, A+, Network+ http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b3...other/Help.jpg Do you want a real Republican? HDD diagnostic tools / HDD data recovery software

01-25-2005, 07:06 AM	#5 (permalink)
crazijoe Registered User Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Omaha, The Center of the Universe Posts: 7,632 OS: WinXP, Win2K3 My System	If you have never mess with the BIOS and everthing was working fine before the upgrade I would say, no you should not have to mess with the BIOS. I would call PNY with you problem (if they have a toll free number). If they do not want to help you or cannot resolve your problem, I would take back the memory. PNY is not known for quality modules and I would suspect this is the problem. Plus they are real picky about there "Lifetime Warranty". I have delt blows with them several times. I would check with Crucial. They have a 100% compatiblity guaranty with their products. All their modules are made by Micron. PNY uses whatever they can find the cheapest. I'm not trying to hack on PNY (please hold me back), I just know from experience. Forgot to add http://www.crucial.com/promo/index.asp?prog=desktop2 __________________ Microsoft MCSA + Messaging, MVP, A+, Network+ http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b3...other/Help.jpg Do you want a real Republican? HDD diagnostic tools / HDD data recovery software

01-25-2005, 12:03 AM	#2 (permalink)
CrunchyFrog Registered User Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 4 OS: XP	any one have any ideas?

01-25-2005, 06:53 AM	#4 (permalink)
CrunchyFrog Registered User Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 4 OS: XP	crazijoe, thanks but I chose the memory PNY recommended on their web site for this computer! I used their online configurator to select the memory. any other ideas? are there bios settings I should fiddle with? anything like that?