Adding memory makes boot extremely slow

[firmex]

Hi,

 

I purchased a Compaq Pentium 4 2660MHz from eBay. Its slow to

boot and to use and has a single memory strip type PC2100

with 256M of memory.

I ran Crucials memory utility and it advised me to buy a compatible

memory card PC2700. I found that once the new memory card was

inserted that booting and using the PC was a factor of times slower

even though System showed that the extra memory was being

recognised.

I sent the memory back and bought another memory card from eBay,

type PC2700 at 256M. It had the same effect.

I heard that there is some doubt about the compatibility between

2100 and 2700 so I bought another PC2100 256M memory card.

I fitted it last night and immediately noticed again a serious degradation

in booting up and in performance even though System says there

is 504M of memory.

Any ideas about this bizarre situation that adding more memory

causes the problem that I am trying to solve.

Any help much appreciated, Rgds Martin

[firmex]

Hi,

 

I purchased a Compaq Pentium 4 2660MHz from eBay. Its slow to

boot and to use and has a single memory strip type PC2100

with 256M of memory.

I ran Crucials memory utility and it advised me to buy a compatible

memory card PC2700. I found that once the new memory card was

inserted that booting and using the PC was a factor of times slower

even though System showed that the extra memory was being

recognised.

I sent the memory back and bought another memory card from eBay,

type PC2700 at 256M. It had the same effect.

I heard that there is some doubt about the compatibility between

2100 and 2700 so I bought another PC2100 256M memory card.

I fitted it last night and immediately noticed again a serious degradation

in booting up and in performance even though System says there

is 504M of memory.

Any ideas about this bizarre situation that adding more memory

causes the problem that I am trying to solve.

Any help much appreciated, Rgds Martin

[Dalo Harkin]

CHECK that the RAM is the same speed if you add 2 different speeds of RAM it will ALWAYS run at the lower value.

Check that values in the BIOS are set to default for the RAM

[Dalo Harkin]

CHECK that the RAM is the same speed if you add 2 different speeds of RAM it will ALWAYS run at the lower value.

Check that values in the BIOS are set to default for the RAM

[BeeCeeBee]

Have you tried booting the computer with the only the new memory?

 

Have you checked that the bios is recognising the new memory? Are there any bios warnings (beebs) when you boot?

 

Have you changed your pagefile settings to account for the new memory?

[BeeCeeBee]

Have you tried booting the computer with the only the new memory?

 

Have you checked that the bios is recognising the new memory? Are there any bios warnings (beebs) when you boot?

 

Have you changed your pagefile settings to account for the new memory?

[firmex]

Feedback

 

CHECK that the RAM is the same speed if you add 2 different speeds of RAM it will ALWAYS run at the lower value - not sure how to check this

 

 

Check that values in the BIOS are set to default for the RAM

- the bios only has an option to set all defaults, not one just for RAM so it might be a bit risky

 

Have you tried booting the computer with the only the new memory? -

yes, either memory card on its own is slow but just about useable, together it is completely unusable

 

Have you checked that the bios is recognising the new memory? - the BIOS shows 504M of memory

 

Are there any bios warnings (beebs) when you boot? - no

 

Have you changed your pagefile settings to account for the new memory? -

not sure how to do this

[firmex]

Feedback

 

CHECK that the RAM is the same speed if you add 2 different speeds of RAM it will ALWAYS run at the lower value - not sure how to check this

 

 

Check that values in the BIOS are set to default for the RAM

- the bios only has an option to set all defaults, not one just for RAM so it might be a bit risky

 

Have you tried booting the computer with the only the new memory? -

yes, either memory card on its own is slow but just about useable, together it is completely unusable

 

Have you checked that the bios is recognising the new memory? - the BIOS shows 504M of memory

 

Are there any bios warnings (beebs) when you boot? - no

 

Have you changed your pagefile settings to account for the new memory? -

not sure how to do this

[BeeCeeBee]

The Speed of the memory ie measured in MHZ and should be easy to find on the label. I would guess that crucial got it right the first time.

 

As for pagefile just right click on My computer and follow the arrows below. Minimum page size for 504 mb is 756 and the maximum is 1512.

 

Of course if the memory is not compatible it will not be of any help.

 

http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn266/FPCH/pagefile.png

Edited January 20, 2009 by BeeCeeBee

[BeeCeeBee]

The Speed of the memory ie measured in MHZ and should be easy to find on the label. I would guess that crucial got it right the first time.

 

As for pagefile just right click on My computer and follow the arrows below. Minimum page size for 504 mb is 756 and the maximum is 1512.

 

Of course if the memory is not compatible it will not be of any help.

 

http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn266/FPCH/pagefile.png

Edited January 20, 2009 by BeeCeeBee

[firmex]

Settings

 

Thanks for the info over settings but I'll have to run with just one memory card

because it's faster than two. Any ideas why two memory cards can give

such as drop in performance than one?

[firmex]

Settings

 

Thanks for the info over settings but I'll have to run with just one memory card

because it's faster than two. Any ideas why two memory cards can give

such as drop in performance than one?

[BeeCeeBee]

Yes, your memory must be compatible with each other as well as your system. Somewhere along the line you have either mismatched them or mismatched both with your pc's requirements.

 

It is also possible that something is wrong with the slot for the second ram. Your first step has to be to recheck to make sure that the new memory is the same as the old.

[BeeCeeBee]

Yes, your memory must be compatible with each other as well as your system. Somewhere along the line you have either mismatched them or mismatched both with your pc's requirements.

 

It is also possible that something is wrong with the slot for the second ram. Your first step has to be to recheck to make sure that the new memory is the same as the old.

[Tootech]

It may be a voltage issue, all things considered.

 

Check your BIOS for any settings relating to memory voltage.

 

It may be that the default setting is ok for one stick, and as soon as you add another the voltage drops off slightly. Increasing a little could be the answer.

 

Have look and let is know before changing anything.

 

Also, can you let us know the exact model of your machine, and if you can the motherboard model - it will help narrow down the fault.

[Tootech]

It may be a voltage issue, all things considered.

 

Check your BIOS for any settings relating to memory voltage.

 

It may be that the default setting is ok for one stick, and as soon as you add another the voltage drops off slightly. Increasing a little could be the answer.

 

Have look and let is know before changing anything.

 

Also, can you let us know the exact model of your machine, and if you can the motherboard model - it will help narrow down the fault.