RAM upgrade

[Guest tuuf]

Maybe it's just bad luck but the 2 times I've tried to upgrade my computer's

ram it has not been successful. When you receive a factory computer is the

ram matched better? On my older HP pc I upgraded from 512 to 1GB and it

seemed to run slower. On my current HP m9040n it has 3GB and I tried to

upgrade to 4GB and it seems a little slower also. The bios says I have 4GB

but "system" under control manger says I have 3.25GB. Should all the memory

be the same brand?

 

mike

[Guest Big_Al]

Re: RAM upgrade

 

tuuf wrote:

> Maybe it's just bad luck but the 2 times I've tried to upgrade my computer's

> ram it has not been successful. When you receive a factory computer is the

> ram matched better? On my older HP pc I upgraded from 512 to 1GB and it

> seemed to run slower. On my current HP m9040n it has 3GB and I tried to

> upgrade to 4GB and it seems a little slower also. The bios says I have 4GB

> but "system" under control manger says I have 3.25GB. Should all the memory

> be the same brand?

>

> mike

 

The 4 gig issue has been explained over and over on these newsgroups.

You can try searching using google.groups but the jist of it is, XP 32

bit can only access 4 gigs of memory, and the video needs to use some of

that space for its own ram and thus it takes up some of your available

ram. Thus you get 3.2 to 3.5 gig. That's life.

 

As for speed, some computers use dual channel memory and require 2 each

chips, like 2 1gig chips. And they have to support dual channel.

Normally I would not think you would see a slower PC. But then I'm not

sure I understand it at all.

 

If you want, download from CPUID the CPU-Z program. Its great at

detailing your memory hardware. Also the Crucial.com site has a

program you can run online or download, that will suggest what memory to

buy.

[Guest Bruce Chambers]

Re: RAM upgrade

 

tuuf wrote:

> Maybe it's just bad luck but the 2 times I've tried to upgrade my computer's

> ram it has not been successful. When you receive a factory computer is the

> ram matched better? On my older HP pc I upgraded from 512 to 1GB and it

> seemed to run slower. On my current HP m9040n it has 3GB and I tried to

> upgrade to 4GB and it seems a little slower also. The bios says I have 4GB

> but "system" under control manger says I have 3.25GB. Should all the memory

> be the same brand?

>

> mike

 

 

It is absolutely essential that any new RAM module(s) be fully

compatible with both the motherboard and/or any other RAM module(s)

already in the system. Additionally, there are sometimes jumper

switches on older motherboards that need to be reset for new RAM

configurations. Consult your motherboard's manual or the manufacturer's

web site for specific instructions and compatibility requirements.

 

If you cannot lay your hands upon the computer's manual and the

manufacturer doesn't provide a support web site, you can use these

utilities to help determine the correct type of RAM needed:

 

SiSoft's Sandra

http://www.sisoftware.co.uk/index.php?dir=&location=sware_dl&lang=en

 

Belarc Advisor

http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html

 

Unlimited Possibilities' AIDA32

http://forum.aumha.org/overflow/aida32.zip

 

Also, Crucial Memory's web site (http://www.crucial.com) has a database to

help to find the right RAM for your specific make and model computer

and/or motherboard. (Incidentally, Crucial is the only company from

which I ever buy RAM. I've never been disappointed.)

 

 

--

 

Bruce Chambers

 

Help us help you:

http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

 

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/555375

 

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary

safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. ~Benjamin Franklin

 

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. ~Bertrand Russell

 

The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has

killed a great many philosophers.

~ Denis Diderot

[Guest db.·.. >]

Re: RAM upgrade

 

there is a correlation

to the ram and the

virtual memory.

 

one extreme example

is that regardless of

how much ram was

installed, if the v.m.

was set to 10 megs,

your system would

run as fast as 200

year old turtle on

caffeine.

 

--

 

db·´¯`·...¸><)))º>

 

 

"tuuf" <tuuf@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message

news:BA06D8C8-B59E-4F17-8CD1-EC116107CD2D@microsoft.com...

> Maybe it's just bad luck but the 2 times I've tried to upgrade my computer's

> ram it has not been successful. When you receive a factory computer is the

> ram matched better? On my older HP pc I upgraded from 512 to 1GB and it

> seemed to run slower. On my current HP m9040n it has 3GB and I tried to

> upgrade to 4GB and it seems a little slower also. The bios says I have 4GB

> but "system" under control manger says I have 3.25GB. Should all the memory

> be the same brand?

>

> mike

[Guest Twayne]

Re: RAM upgrade

 

> tuuf wrote:

>> Maybe it's just bad luck but the 2 times I've tried to upgrade my

>> computer's ram it has not been successful. When you receive a

>> factory computer is the ram matched better? On my older HP pc I

>> upgraded from 512 to 1GB and it seemed to run slower. On my current

>> HP m9040n it has 3GB and I tried to upgrade to 4GB and it seems a

>> little slower also. The bios says I have 4GB but "system" under

>> control manger says I have 3.25GB. Should all the memory be the

>> same brand? mike

>

>

> It is absolutely essential that any new RAM module(s) be fully

> compatible with both the motherboard and/or any other RAM module(s)

> already in the system. Additionally, there are sometimes jumper

> switches on older motherboards that need to be reset for new RAM

> configurations. Consult your motherboard's manual or the

> manufacturer's web site for specific instructions and compatibility

> requirements.

> If you cannot lay your hands upon the computer's manual and the

> manufacturer doesn't provide a support web site, you can use these

> utilities to help determine the correct type of RAM needed:

>

> SiSoft's Sandra

> http://www.sisoftware.co.uk/index.php?dir=&location=sware_dl&lang=en

>

> Belarc Advisor

> http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html

>

> Unlimited Possibilities' AIDA32

> http://forum.aumha.org/overflow/aida32.zip

>

> Also, Crucial Memory's web site (http://www.crucial.com) has a database

> to help to find the right RAM for your specific make and model

> computer and/or motherboard. (Incidentally, Crucial is the only

> company from which I ever buy RAM. I've never been disappointed.)

 

Isn't Crucial also the one that will look into your machine and read the

RAM specs/slots used, and report them to you?

 

Twayne

[Guest PD43]

Re: RAM upgrade

 

"Twayne" <nobody@devnull.spamcop.net> wrote:

>> Also, Crucial Memory's web site (http://www.crucial.com) has a database

>> to help to find the right RAM for your specific make and model

>> computer and/or motherboard. (Incidentally, Crucial is the only

>> company from which I ever buy RAM. I've never been disappointed.)

>

>Isn't Crucial also the one that will look into your machine and read the

>RAM specs/slots used, and report them to you?

 

Yup... but from what I've seen, it only works with branded machines.

Home-built machines, ya gotta know what's installed.

[Guest Twayne]

Re: RAM upgrade

 

> "Twayne" <nobody@devnull.spamcop.net> wrote:

>

>>> Also, Crucial Memory's web site (http://www.crucial.com) has a database

>>> to help to find the right RAM for your specific make and model

>>> computer and/or motherboard. (Incidentally, Crucial is the only

>>> company from which I ever buy RAM. I've never been disappointed.)

>>

>> Isn't Crucial also the one that will look into your machine and read

>> the RAM specs/slots used, and report them to you?

>

> Yup... but from what I've seen, it only works with branded machines.

> Home-built machines, ya gotta know what's installed.

 

Umm, actually diy machines are exactly what I had in mind; they go in

and read the number of slots plus the memory already installed and

report back the results, and then can source the same RAM specs.

Why would it fail with a branded machine? I could see if it was just

a lookup table, but it's not; it quite accurately told me exactly what I

had installed and where and what slots were still available. That seems

to me like a great service. No?

[Guest PD43]

Re: RAM upgrade

 

"Twayne" <nobody@devnull.spamcop.net> wrote:

>>> Isn't Crucial also the one that will look into your machine and read

>>> the RAM specs/slots used, and report them to you?

>>

>> Yup... but from what I've seen, it only works with branded machines.

>> Home-built machines, ya gotta know what's installed.

>

>Umm, actually diy machines are exactly what I had in mind; they go in

>and read the number of slots plus the memory already installed and

>report back the results, and then can source the same RAM specs.

 

Umm, not on mine.

> Why would it fail with a branded machine?

 

I never said it would.

>I could see if it was just

>a lookup table, but it's not; it quite accurately told me exactly what I

>had installed and where and what slots were still available. That seems

>to me like a great service. No?

 

Is your machine branded or diy?

[Guest Bruce Chambers]

Re: RAM upgrade

 

Twayne wrote:

>>

>

> Isn't Crucial also the one that will look into your machine and read the

> RAM specs/slots used, and report them to you?

>

> Twayne

>

>

 

 

They do offer that service, although it only seems to work with WinXP

and Internet Explorer. If you have Vista or use a different browser,

they offer a downloadable utility to perform the scan.

 

 

--

 

Bruce Chambers

 

Help us help you:

http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

 

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/555375

 

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary

safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. ~Benjamin Franklin

 

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. ~Bertrand Russell

 

The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has

killed a great many philosophers.

~ Denis Diderot

[Guest PD43]

Re: RAM upgrade

 

Bruce Chambers <bchambers@cable0ne.n3t> wrote:

>Twayne wrote:

>>>

>>

>> Isn't Crucial also the one that will look into your machine and read the

>> RAM specs/slots used, and report them to you?

>>

>> Twayne

>>

>>

>

>

> They do offer that service, although it only seems to work with WinXP

>and Internet Explorer. If you have Vista or use a different browser,

>they offer a downloadable utility to perform the scan.

 

And it didn't work on my home-built Vista machine.