[Ross L]

Hi,

I have an Dell Inspiron 530 Core 2 Quad Q6600 which originally had 3 gig of ram. I brought 8gb of ddr2 800mhz ram (4 x 2gb) but everytime I install it, I press the on button and the fans just spin and nothing else happens. I have read that with the bios newer than 1.0.12 you can run 8gb on the 530. I am running vista home premium 64 bit on the system.

Any ideas on why this won't start?


Cheers,


Ross

 

[Old Rich]

Re: Dell Inspiron 530 ram issue

and welcome to the Forum

What brand is the RAM? . . The Crucial Configurator reports that pc can use a maximum of 1 Gig ion each slot

 

[Ross L]

Re: Dell Inspiron 530 ram issue

Thanks for the reply and the welcome.

According to the print on the side of the ram (on the black chips) it is samsung. I've been reading a lot of forums (including dells own) and apparently when they released the 1.0.12 bios update, it removed their 4gb limit on the Intel G33 Motherboard that they had decided to put on.

More info on the ram:
Type : DDR2 DIMM
Capacity:8GB (4 X 2GB)
Speed : DDR2 800Mhz PC 26400
Density : HIGH DENSITY
Pins : 240Pin
ECC/Registered : No/No
Voltage : 1.8V
CAS Latency : CL 5

I have noticed one difference between the ram that I removed and the ram I am trying to insert. The ram I took out only has black chips on one side, but the new ram has them on both sides.

Sorry if I am waffling, hardware confuses me completely (as you can tell by me buying a Dell ).

Cheers,

Ross

 

[Old Rich]

Re: Dell Inspiron 530 ram issue

Nothing wrong with a Dell . . they do not upgrade as easily as a Custom PC, but are durable as cast iron for the right user.

Sounds like the new RAM is high density . . which Dells usually will not accept.Have you updated to the newer BIOS?

 

[Old Rich]

Re: Dell Inspiron 530 ram issue

When I look at the BIOS for the 530, I see versions 1.0.2 and 1.0.18 . . neither of which address memory size restrictions.

 

[Ross L]

Re: Dell Inspiron 530 ram issue

Yeah I am using the newest bios 1.0.18.

Though a little update. I managed to pinch a single 2gb DDR2 667mhz and put it into my PC and it worked! So it seems like it is just the new ram and it will accept 8gb (as long as I get the correct ram).

I'll just return this ram and get the same brand that is currently working

Many thanks for your assistance, it is much appreciated

 

[Tyree]

Re: Dell Inspiron 530 ram issue

Mixing RAM can cause problems as can filling all 4 RAM slots.
I would try running 2 matching sticks at a time to be certain the Mobo likes them. Then run Memtest.

 

[Old Rich]

Re: Dell Inspiron 530 ram issue

Well done!!!

You can mark this thread as solved by clicking on the Thread Tools link in your first post . .

 

[Ross L]

Done Well after switching ram around between PCs, I am now running 5gb on the desktop, so I will invest in some new ram as it looks like it will work.

Thanks again for all the help. It's much appreciated.