KHPower

Hi ,
Here the deal. I purchased 128mb pc 133 or 100 sdram from a fella and tried installing it in the memory slot on the back of my compaq presario 1690 laptop. The memory I purchased came out of a compaq 1200t xl and the reason I bought it was because Crucial memory and Compaq tech said it would work. At first it didnt work and I tried to restart the computer numerous times , then I fiddled with it more and all of a sudden in my system properties it read 320mb , I thought that the fella sold me a 256 but he said he is definately sure it is 128mb and it only has all the squares on one side. I called crucial and asked if this would be ok taht it read the 320mb and they said that if it can read the memory it would work and more power to me (considering I paid .50 cents).
Now it stopped working and all I see is 64mb ram , so yesterday I took apart the laptop and found removable memory inside the laptop under the dvd drive and exchanged it with the supposed 128mb , but got beeps when booted with out the original memory that was in its place. I then put the original internal memory on the outside memory slot with the 128mb still inside then I got it to boot up and working again , but only reading 64mb still. I tried testing the outter dimm slot with the internal compaq memory to see if it was just outside slot going bad but now I have come to the conclusion that both the internal slot and the outer slot are functional. I tried different memory in the outer slot from a toshiba 64mb 66speed , but didnt work.
In my bios screen I only see the 64mb and their is no option for memory settings. It is a phoenix bio ver 4 6.0 I believe. Also when I leave just the 128mb I purchased in and no other ram(internal) I hear beeping and will look up the beeps at another site. But right now I am bummed cause I obvoiusly had something working cause why would it read 320mb when I thought I only had 64 hard wired in my computer? and then I find the removable 64 mb(I think) inside under the dvd drive. I dont think their is a update for my bios or I got the latest one says Compaq.
I read on another post here that you can remove the little circle battery in the middle of the motherboard for 5 minutes , will that work? and if I give it a try will it do unrepairable harm?are batteries easy to replace? my system says it can only handle 192mb. But crucial did say sometimes some laptops read more.
If any of you need more info feel free to ask and I hope I explained this correctly.
Thankyou in advance.
Kyle

KHPower

Here is the info that Everest gave me in its report , I have the 128mb installed.Motherboard:
CPU Type AMD K6-2, 400 MHz (4 x 100)
Motherboard Name Compaq Compaq PC
Motherboard Chipset ULi/ALi M1541 ALADDiN 5
System Memory 64 MB (SDRAM)
BIOS Type Phoenix (05/29/99)
Communication Port Communications Port (COM1)
Communication Port Printer Port (LPT1)
BIOS ]

BIOS Properties:
Vendor Phoenix Technologies LTD
Version 4.06
Release Date 05/29/99
Size 256 KB
Boot Devices Floppy Disk, Hard Disk, CD-ROM
Capabilities Flash BIOS, Shadow BIOS, Selectable Boot, EDD
Supported Standards DMI, APM, PnP
Expansion Capabilities PCI, PCMCIA, USB
[ Memory Controller ]

Memory Controller Properties:
Error Detection Method None
Error Correction None
Supported Memory Interleave 1-Way
Current Memory Interleave 1-Way
Supported Memory Speeds 70ns, 60ns
Supported Memory Types FPM, EDO, DIMM, SDRAM
Supported Memory Voltages 3.3V
Maximum Memory Module Size 256 MB
Memory Slots 2

Processors / AMD-K6(tm)-2/ ]

Processor Properties:
Manufacturer AuthenticAMD
Version AMD-K6(tm)-2/
Maximum Clock 400 MHz
Current Clock 400 MHz
Type Central Processor
Voltage 2.2 V
Status Enabled
Upgrade ZIF
Socket Designation U23

Thanks

KHPower

Sorry I forgot to add this
Chipset

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


[ North Bridge: ULi/ALi M1541 ]

North Bridge Properties:
North Bridge ULi/ALi M1541
Revision 04
Package Type 456 Pin BGA
Package Size 3.5 cm x 3.5 cm
External Cache Size 512 KB
External Cache Type Dual-Bank Pipelined Burst
External Cache Status Enabled

Memory Timings:
CAS Latency (CL) 3T
RAS To CAS Delay (tRCD) 3T
RAS Precharge (tRP) 5T
RAS Active Time (tRAS) 7T
Row Cycle Time (tRC) 10T

Memory Slots:
DRAM Slot #1 64 MB (SDRAM)

Chipset Manufacturer:
Company Name ULi Electronics Inc.
Product Information http://www.uli.com.tw/eng/products/product_list.php
Driver Download http://www.uli.com.tw/eng/support/drivers.php

[ South Bridge: ULi/ALi M1533/1535/1543 ]

South Bridge Properties:
South Bridge ULi/ALi M1533/1535/1543
Revision 0A

Chipset Manufacturer:
Company Name ULi Electronics Inc.
Product Information http://www.uli.com.tw/eng/products/product_list.php
Driver Download http://www.uli.com.tw/eng/support/drivers.php


BIOS

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


BIOS Properties:
BIOS Type Phoenix
System BIOS Date 05/29/99
Video BIOS Date 99/05/28

BIOS Manufacturer:
Company Name Phoenix Technologies Ltd.
Product Information http://www.phoenix.com/en/products/default.htm
BIOS Upgrades http://www.esupport.com/biosagent/in...m?refererid=40

Problems & Suggestions:
Suggestion Are you looking for a BIOS Upgrade? Contact eSupport Today!
Suggestion System BIOS is more than 2 years old. Update it if necessary.

crazijoe

What it sounds like is your computer only came with 64MB of memory. If you added the new stick and it showed 320MB, then the new stick was 256MB. Your computer may have issues reading the larger memory (because it may be incompatible with your system) thus the reason why sometimes it will read correctly and sometimes it won't.

KHPower

Thankyou for the respose
I am just stuck on the fact that the guy who sold me the memory is certain it is only 128mb , but my computer read the 320.
So can a sdram memory be only 1 sided and have 256? it is only 1 sided.
And another thing. When they say a laptop has non removable , soldered memory are they reffering to the memory that I can remove that is inside my system that is from Compaq? Cause I can remove the memory inside on the motherboard by taking apart my computer. I have 2 memory slots 1 inside( i think it suppose to be non removable but is) and the extended one outside.

crazijoe

Single sided and double sided memory are terms that get thrown around alot and are actually useless. Even motherboard manufacturers seem to use it just because they think that is the only thing the general public can relate to.

Actual terms to use is single rank and dual rank. 100% of the motherboards out there will support dual rank memory, while only 10% will support single rank. I have seen pleanty of single sided memory that was dual rank, therefore the term "sided" really should never be used.

Normally this type of memory is cache memory. Most socket 7 motherboards (such as that as the AMD K6 series and regular pentiums) the cache memory not on the CPU die but on the motherboard. Also fix memory could be part of the onboard or integrated graphics. Regular system memory is usually always situated as removable modules. Thus the reason why a system will not boot if there is no memory installed.

KHPower

So , could it be , since the memory I am trying to install is single rank that my computer will not recognize it? So should I look for dual rank? any suggestions?
Thanks

KHPower

Here are pics of the front and back of the memory. If anyone has any idea on what brand this is please let me know.
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b5...er/memory2.jpg
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b5...wer/1bca_1.jpg

These pics are for reference.
Thanks again for all the help.

crazijoe

Because the computer, at some point, recognized it as a 256MB stick, it is not a single rank module. I think your problem lies with the fact that the maximum memory supported by your computer is 192MB.
However if there is a new BIOS version for your laptop, it may resolve the memory issue.

KHPower

It kinda stinks that there has not been a updated bios for my computer since 99' but I understand its outdated , I just dont wanna be buying more ram and seeing that it doesnt work.

KHPower

Also , when looking for ram for my 1690 like on ebay and the net it always seems like the memory configurators always choose the hard to find stuff and then you go on ebay and many listing's will say "will work with any pc100 sdram compatable machine" So I guess I am confused even after all the research. I might just end up going through Crucial but its hard when you see ram that is half the price and knowing that it may work just as well. What do you all think? Any suggestions?

crazijoe

When you buy memory from crucial, you are guarrantied the memory is for your computer. You might even check other vendors for 100% compatible memory. I try and shy away from memory on ebay. You really don't know what you are getting.

KHPower

Good point , I might as well pay the extra . They have great customer support.
Do you think that it is worth upgrading form 64mb to 128mb? Bsasicly is it worth the 32.00 upgrade? I do use my laptop alot and enjoy surfing and it is a bit slow on opening programs.

crazijoe

Depending on what OS you are using. I have an old P266 laptop with only 128MB of memory. I'm running Win2K but the 128MB isn't cutting it. I think if you stick with Win98 you should be fine. I would opt for the 128MB and add that to your exsisting 64MB.