ardethbey

Two months ago I upgraded my old 256MB DDR333 to a Kingmax 512MB DDR400. I installed the new RAM with no problems. Last week, I noticed that my PC had slowed down considerably. Upon checking, I saw that only half of my 512MB RAM was registering (both in WinXP and in the BIOS). Thinking that the RAM had fried, I returned it to the store where I bought it to have it replaced. When they tested it, lo and behold, the RAM registered correctly on their system. I decided to test it independently on a friend's PC, and sure enough, the RAM was being recognized correctly on his system as well. I then borrowed his 512MB DDR400 RAM and installed it on mine, and my PC recognized the size correctly, i.e. 512MB. When I tried to test the Kingmax RAM again on my PC, only 256MB was registering. I have not installed any new hardware or software recently, and have been having no other problems with my PC. So my question is, what the hell is going on? Oh, by the way, my old 256MB DDR333 works fine.

Here are my specs:
Gigabyte 8IPE1000 Rev 2.x Motherboard
AWARD BIOS FI (Latest BIOS Flash updated)
Intel PIV 2.60Ghz (Dual Processors running)
512MB DDR400 RAM (supposedly)
2 Samsung 80GB HD
2 CD-ROM Drives (1 CD-RW)
Floppy Drive
250 watts PSU

Any help, suggestions, comments will be greatly appreciated. TIA!

MaverickUK

Hey,

This sounds like a classic case of conflicting RAM modules. I'm guessing you have two modules installed, if so, we will need to know the exact specifications of the modules. Also, are the modules from the same manufacturer?

Nick.

ardethbey

No, I only have one module installed. I replaced the old DDR333 with the DDR400 and never put the 333 back, so the system has never had two modules installed at the same time. Whenever I try my friend's DDR400 on my system, I usually remove the Kingmax RAM first. My RAM is a Kingmax DDR400 512MB, my friend's is a Twinmos DDR400 512MB.

MaverickUK

What manufacturer? Get a model name if possible.

speedster123

A 250 watt power supply might be depriving certain functions on your board with stable power. You need to make a small investment and get a substantial supply, both in quality and wattage, to protect your investment.

http://www.memorystock.com/memory/Gi...1000Rev20.html

I am not sure you have ram that is qualified for that board. Make sure you hit that module with 2.5 to 2.7 volts in your bios.

ardethbey

Working on getting that PSU replaced ASAP, I suspect it may have something to do with the problem I've been experiencing.

As for the RAM not being incompatible with the board, wouldn't the problem been apparent from the moment I installed it and not two months after? That's really what's bugging me about this whole thing - why did it take two months to die out (or half-die out, as the case may be, since technically, half of it is still ok)?

As for hitting the module with 2.5 to 2.7 volts, how do I do that exactly? All I can see in the BIOS is the option to increase the voltage incrementally by .01v, doesn't say at what level it currently is.

speedster123

Increase it by small incriments then, and let us know if there is an improvement.

ardethbey

Nope, no improvement.

crazijoe

Do you have any specs on the Kingmax RAM? Is it double sided? How many chips on each side? What each chip is labeled? The last one is crucial.

ardethbey

All right, here's an update:

Replaced the 250W PSU with a 400W PSU, still no change. 512MB DDR400 still registering as 256MB.

The problematic RAM is a 512MB DDR400 Kingmax memory module.
P/N MPXC22D-38KT4
It's a double-sided stick, with 8 chips per side. Each chip is labelled Kingmax KDL388P4NA-53C.

Hope that information helps someone help me find out what's wrong with it.

crazijoe

Given this comment, My assumption is that the Kingmax module is high density. or single rank and your motherboard does not support high density modules.

ardethbey

I suspected as much, although it still puzzles me why the board recognized the module stick correctly for two months, then just all of a sudden, it "decides" not to. Very fickle-minded board, wouldn't you say?

crazijoe

If indeed it recognized the memory correctly before and now it doesn't, I would suspect a defective board. If the board does not support high density memory, then it would have never recognized the full amount.

ardethbey

It did. For two months. I know coz I have a habit of running dxdiag tests once a week, and the memory in that span of time was being read correctly, both in the BIOS and in winXP. And the drop in memory was noticeable coz the system slowed down considerably, and that's when I discovered the problem with the RAM. On the other hand, if it's a defective board, then why does it recognize other brands with the same specs correctly? So, maybe it's the RAM after all? Incompatibility issues with the board?

Really, really confused right now...

crazijoe

I'm having a hard time swallowing defective memory because it works in other systems. Have you tried to move the memory to a different slot?

ardethbey

Yes, same results.

crazijoe

I am still aiming at a defective board, however you may want to exchange the memory for a different type that may work correctly in the board.