Dell XPS 410 and new Ram

heresjonny526 · 10-10-2009, 12:28 AM

Hi there, this is my first time on this board and I made an account strictly for this one question, since I've had almost no luck anywhere else.

Put simply, I've owned a Dell XPS 410 for about 3 years. It came with 2 gigs of DDR2 ram (2x1gig) and I'm guessing it's dual channeled, because there's 2 slots with black locks and 2 with white locks. I just bought a 2x1 gig pair of PNY DDR2 PC2-5300 memory sticks. Now, I've heard vista can only support 3 gigs of ram, but I hear of other people with plenty more.

So, the problem is: When I put all 4 sticks in, it'll give me a BSOD after start up and then not start up again. I've tinkered around, putting just the new ram in and having it run fine. At this moment I have the 2 original one gig sticks and one of the new one gig sticks in as well, for a total of 3 gigs. This is a matched pair, so I thought it would be impossible to run them separately, but apparently I can.

I also looked it up online at the PNY website, and it said that the model code (or some such) of MD2048SD2-667 ram is compatible. However, on the bar code of the package it distinctly says MD2048KD2-667. I looked this up and got NUMEROUS different results, none the same.

So, what gives? Am I simply trying to use too much ram? Did I buy the wrong type? Why can I use one but not both? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

**Tyree** · 10-10-2009, 07:30 AM

Mixing RAM brands/speeds usually results in your situation. Filling all the RAM slots on a Mobo can also cause Voltage issues.
Will the new RAM work if it is the only RAM installed?
You best solution would be to use ONLY the 2 1GB stick or return the 2 1GB sticks and get 2X2 GB matched pair.
A 32Bit OS will only "see" up to 3.25/3.5GB of the 4GB.

**wrench97** · 10-10-2009, 06:01 PM

The K means it's a kit part number the S is the number on a single stick in the kit.

The XPS 400/410 will only run 1 gig per slot, I have 1 running 3, 1 gig sticks in dual channel mode with no issues, even running Photoshop the ram usage does not get to 2.5 gig on XP or Vista 32 bit, or even Win7 64 bit never gets close to using all 3 gig.

10-10-2009, 12:28 AM	#1 (permalink)
heresjonny526 Registered User Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 1 OS: Windows Vista 32 bit	Dell XPS 410 and new Ram Hi there, this is my first time on this board and I made an account strictly for this one question, since I've had almost no luck anywhere else. Put simply, I've owned a Dell XPS 410 for about 3 years. It came with 2 gigs of DDR2 ram (2x1gig) and I'm guessing it's dual channeled, because there's 2 slots with black locks and 2 with white locks. I just bought a 2x1 gig pair of PNY DDR2 PC2-5300 memory sticks. Now, I've heard vista can only support 3 gigs of ram, but I hear of other people with plenty more. So, the problem is: When I put all 4 sticks in, it'll give me a BSOD after start up and then not start up again. I've tinkered around, putting just the new ram in and having it run fine. At this moment I have the 2 original one gig sticks and one of the new one gig sticks in as well, for a total of 3 gigs. This is a matched pair, so I thought it would be impossible to run them separately, but apparently I can. I also looked it up online at the PNY website, and it said that the model code (or some such) of MD2048SD2-667 ram is compatible. However, on the bar code of the package it distinctly says MD2048KD2-667. I looked this up and got NUMEROUS different results, none the same. So, what gives? Am I simply trying to use too much ram? Did I buy the wrong type? Why can I use one but not both? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

10-10-2009, 07:30 AM	#2 (permalink)
Tyree Mentor Hardware Team Join Date: May 2009 Location: Illinois Posts: 5,629 OS: XP Pro-7RC-Mandriva My System	Re: Dell XPS 410 and new Ram Mixing RAM brands/speeds usually results in your situation. Filling all the RAM slots on a Mobo can also cause Voltage issues. Will the new RAM work if it is the only RAM installed? You best solution would be to use ONLY the 2 1GB stick or return the 2 1GB sticks and get 2X2 GB matched pair. A 32Bit OS will only "see" up to 3.25/3.5GB of the 4GB. __________________ Posting your PC specs will help us to help you quicker and more efficiently.

10-10-2009, 06:01 PM	#3 (permalink)
wrench97 Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2008 Location: S.E. Pennsylvania Posts: 18,605 OS: Win7	Re: Dell XPS 410 and new Ram The K means it's a kit part number the S is the number on a single stick in the kit. The XPS 400/410 will only run 1 gig per slot, I have 1 running 3, 1 gig sticks in dual channel mode with no issues, even running Photoshop the ram usage does not get to 2.5 gig on XP or Vista 32 bit, or even Win7 64 bit never gets close to using all 3 gig. __________________ Power Supply and Selection