pjm333

My sisters computer is a Dell Dimension L500cx that has 64MB SD Ram PC100 and I am attempting to upgrade it to the max of 512. I contacted Dell and they said to purchase..
" DELL - 256 MB Module for a Dell Dimension L Series System
256 MB SDRAM, PC133, Non-Parity, Unbuffered
Dell Part #: A0501728, Manufacturer Part #: D48WJW
Usually Ships: Within 24 Hours
Units Req.: 1"
I did purchase that type of ram but the computer would not boot so I called the ram manufacturer and they told me that I can only use PC 100 ram because the computers Bus spped is 66mgz. So I purchase 2- 256 MB SD Ram PC100 but after I installed the 2 sticks of ram the computer makes 4 beeping sounds and in the back of the computer the "ABCD" lights the D light was yellow. Then the computer would freeze at the Win 98 screen? I swithced the sticks with the same results. I reinstalled the original 64 MB of ram along with 1 stick of 256 MB and the computer booted with a total of 318 MB of ram.
The computer has all of its original parts..Motherboard etc and does meet the minimum system requirements. Any ideas why it wont accept both sticks of 256 MB of ram? below are the computers ram specs..Thanks in advance for your help.
Pat..

Memory
Architecture non-ECC SDRAM 168-pin modules
DIMM sockets two; gold contacts
DIMM capacities 32, 64, 128, 256, and 512 MB
Minimum RAM 32 MB (64 MB for systems running Microsoft Windows NT)1
Maximum RAM 512 MB
Frequency 100 MHz
Clock cycle 10 ns (supports four clocks only)
CAS latency three
SPD revision 1.2
Buffering unbuffered
Voltage 3.3 V
Data bus width 64 bits
BIOS address F0000h
1 Video memory uses 1 or 2 MB of system memory (RAM). Total RAM reported is 1 or 2 MB less than RAM installed."

Chevy

Put your 64mb stick back in and go into the BIOS. See if you can manually set the CAS timing to 3 and the memory speed to 100mhz. Save the settings, shut down, and put 1 stick of 256mb in. Boot up. If all goes well, shut down and add the second stick.

pjm333

Chevy,
I looked in my BIOS setup and did not see "CAS" settings? or how to change "memory speed to 100mhz" The memory info was on the first page of setup but was unable to highlight anything. My sister and I both have win 98se I just wanted to check my computer first because she lives 1 hour north. thanks for your help..

oshwyn5

Normally PC133 SDRAM is backwards compatible, meaning that if you put it on a 100MHz bus it will clock back and run just fine at 100MHz. But do not confuse this with meaning that it is compatable and mixable with PC100 SDRAM. Normally you should use one and only one speed RAM in your computer. This is because the memory controller will read the stick in bank 0 (closest to the processor) and set its latency, refresh rates etc based on that stick. So if you have two sticks with different properties and requirements, mixing them may well make the computer non bootable.

In some extreme cases if you have a 66MHz bus it will not be compatible with anything but PC66 SDRAM since the motherboard is actually capable of running at 66MHz for a celeron or 100MHz for a Pentium III and if you use the PC133, it will underclock to 100MHz which is incompatible with the celeron running at 66MHz.


My advice is to try with just the PC133 stick installed , install it in bank 0 , and plug in the PC and try to boot up.
If you have a Celeron processor, and placing the original RAM back in all by itself works then you should use a system analysis tool such as
Everest home edition still free at majorgeeks to check out what you have and go from there.

pjm333

oshwyn5,
Thanks for the information.. I will try the link when I am at my sisters place. Thanks again..

JamesO

Look at this link:

http://www.memoryx.net/deldiml51.html

This company has never lead me wrong. They are major OEM supplier and carry memory for almost anything out there.

You might also try their "Check My Computer" utility on their main page at:

www.memoryx.net

Assuming the motherboard is supported it might confirm more specific info.

JamesO

crazijoe

Another good place for memory is crucial. 100% compatibility. Guaranteed.


http://www.crucial.com/

pjm333

James0,
Thank you for the links...

crazijoe,
I called crucial but they did not stock the ram I needed..thanks

JamesO

I would be surprised if MemoryX did not have it in stock.

I have yet to have a backorder from them, even on dual channel and unusual laptop memory.

They claim to be "The Earth' Largest Memory Store"! I think they supply folks like Crucial and Micro as well as others?

JamesO

crazijoe

Actually Crucial is owned by Micron Technology, who manufacturers they own chips.

JamesO

Guess I was wrong on this one, but I know that many of the memory folks swap and re-label on a regular basis depending on what is available at the time. As usual, economics and availability drives everything and at the end of the day memory is now really a commodity.

Not everything I get from MemoryX has their specific tags on it, but they seem to be able to cover a wide variety of requirements and everything get from them I plug in and it works.

I have even bought OEM, non labeled, flash memory from them at good prices as well. I guess they sell to memory vendors that put a colorful label on it an sell at retail?

Customer service has been helpful as well.

JamesO

Geekgirl

Crucial is saying they have your memory in stock

http://www.crucial.com/store/listpar...ries&submit=Go

pjm333

My first thought was to buy from crucial but after I instsalled the 2 256MB SDRam PC133 and it did not work I called crucial and they are the ones that told me that it will only handle PC66 or PC100 due to the fact that the computers bus speed is only 66MGz? They told me that they do not stock and can not get the ram I needed. Crucial told me do a google search "Dimension L500cx memory" I purchased 2 sticks from Kahlon for $105 total. The person could of been wrong but now that I have the 2 sticks of 256MB only 1 of them seems to work correctly at this time.. Even dells web site gives the wrong ram specs?? thanks for all of your help!!

crazijoe

I would question the compatibility of your system and 256MB sticks. Most older systems, specially 66MHz FSB systems, would only accept 128MB per slot. If Dell says the system will handle 512MB, you may need to upgrade your system BIOS to accept it.

pjm333

crazijoe,
I have been told to Update the BIOS.. I would not know where to begin? Any suggestions? thanks

oshwyn5

I have seen this often on older systems with Celerons where it had a 66MHz bus and would only use PC66 or PC100 (never mix speeds by the way) and not PC133 (See my first post here) .
The other thing I have frequently seen with these is that they often support a maximum of 384MB of RAM. If they have two slots , often the first supports one 256MB stick, but the other only supports sticks smaller then 128MB.
On some with three slots you can put 256 MB in the first slot , but the combined total can still not exceed 384MB so either you have three 128 or you have a 256 a 128 and an empty slot or 256 and two 64s.

This was a common problem on these socket 370 boards where they often had boards which worked with celeron only and not Pentium III and even on the ones where you could change bus speed and put in a PIII (though not as often on those).

crazijoe

Very true. Most of the older boards, with the Intel 440EX, 440LX or the 440ZX, will only support dual rank modules of 64MB per rank, or 128MB total in a slot. The 440LX, which is the most popular, is capable of supporting 512MB of memory, but in a 4 slot configuration. While the chipset will support 512MB, if you only have 2 slots, the max the board will handle is only 256MB because each rank will only support 64MB.
I hope this didn't confuse anybody.

Side note:
If you are not experienced with flashing a BIOS, you may want to have someone who has done this before to do this or help you. If done incorrectly, it may render your board useless.

pjm333

Here is the Everest Home Specs on the computers MOBO and RAM..

MOBO
Field Value
Motherboard Properties
Motherboard ID 51-2300-000000-00101111-030199-$CA810_
Motherboard Name Intel Cayman CA810

Front Side Bus Properties
Bus Type Intel GTL+
Bus Width 64-bit
Real Clock 67 MHz
Effective Clock 67 MHz
Bandwidth 533 MB/s

Chipset Bus Properties
Bus Type Intel Hub Interface
Bus Width 8-bit

Motherboard Physical Info
CPU Sockets/Slots 1
Expansion Slots 4 PCI
RAM Slots 2 DIMM
Integrated Devices Audio, Video
Form Factor Micro ATX
Motherboard Size 240 mm x 240 mm
Motherboard Chipset i810

Motherboard Manufacturer
Company Name Intel Corporation
Product Information http://www.intel.com/design/motherbd/index.htm
BIOS Download http://www.intel.com/desiField Value

RAM
Physical Memory
Total 317 MB
Used 236 MB
Free 81 MB
Utilization 75 %

Swap Space
Total 1730 MB
Used 120 MB
Free 1609 MB
Utilization 7 %

Virtual Memory
Total 2047 MB
Used 357 MB
Free 1690 MB
Utilization 17 %

Physical Address Extension (PAE)
Supported by Operating System No
Supported by CPU Yes
Active No

Problems & Suggestions
Suggestion Install more system memory to improve applications performance.gn/motherbd/genbios.htm

oshwyn5

In everest go to motherboard /spd and select one stick

You will see something like this

The key is that these values must match
Memory Speed PC133 (133 MHz)
Refresh Rate Reduced (7.8 us)
Memory Timings:
@ 133 MHz 3.0-3-3-6

pjm333

Sorry for not replying sooner..I just want to thank everyone for the help. I think I am stuck with the 318MB of ram which is working fine... Thanks again.

Pat.