Ram problem

blade · Post by **blade** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 5:22 pm

Been working on a dell laptop, 750mhz and had 256mb memory. It supports up to 512mb so they wanted another 256mb stick.

A good guy sent me a 256mb stick of pc133 to test because it says it's for toshiba systems only.

Installed the stick ok, booted up and on the top left corner it say something like "memory change" Once fully booted it's slower than before and now says only 128mb ram is installed. Tried the usual, changing slots, would not boot with the stick sent. Back to having the original 256mb stick in and it still says only 128mb installed. Tried changing slots, etc..

Any ideas here? Finally got into the bios (what little there is of it) and saw no way to make any ram adjustments.

thanks

Another question. I "ass"umed all laptop hard drives had the same connections as ide drives do. But I've worked on 3 in the past week and all had different connections.

wpublic · Post by **wpublic** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 6:17 pm

try taking out the CMOS battery for a while then putting it back in.

Post by **FlyingPenguin** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 7:27 pm

As concerns the RAM, laptops (especially Dells) are very fussy about RAM. Sounds like the stick you got is not compatible. I see this all the time. Best thing to do is order it from Crucial.com and use their online database to order the exact memory guaranteed to work on that laptop.

I don't screw around with memory anymore. You install a stick and a week later the client is having BSODs. Not worth it.

As concerns lappy hard drives they are all the same and use the same connector (mini-IDE). HOWEVER almost every OEM laptop manufacturer uses a proprietary connector and they put an adapter on the HDD. Dell uses one. It may look like it's permanently attached to the drive but it's not. If you remove the drive from it's caddy, you can pull off the adapter. The Dell adapter probably has card edge contacts (like a memory stick). When you pull off the adapter the HDD has pins (like a mini version of an IDE header).

blade · Post by **blade** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 8:25 pm

Where the heck is the cmos on this thing?

There was a battery next to where the ram goes so I unplugged that, didn't help.

I see what you mean FP. I never looked close enough to see that yes indeed those are adapters on those 2 drives.

Any idea how large a hard drive this C600 can take? I noticed you can also put another drive where the battery goes, in some enclosure.

Or simply use usb 2.0 drives.

wpublic · Post by **wpublic** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 9:16 pm

that's the battery. should look kinda like a mini version of a cordless phone battery. I have read some people suggest leaving that out overnight to clear and/or reset defaults. something else i have done that worked is rubbed the pins with a pencil eraser to get off any oil and whatnot from an accidental touching. if it still doesn't work after that, it is likely what was mentioned before as being incompatible.

BuckMaster · Post by **BuckMaster** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 9:24 pm

I have read some people suggest leaving that out overnight to clear and/or reset defaults

I've heard that to or atleast leave it disconnected for 30 minutes+.

BTW Good luck Blade and thanks for the invite!

blade · Post by **blade** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 10:01 pm

BuckMaster. :chug Lot's of good people here.

Thanks for the ideas guys. I'll remove it and leave it off all night to be sure. Then see.

thanks again

Bigal · Post by **Bigal** » Thu Jul 21, 2005 6:26 am

I remember trying to get a Dell laptop to accept another memory stick. I ordered one stick from Newegg, and it didn't work. At a computer show, I found that there is an issue between single-sided memory, and double-sided memory. The guys that sell memory at computer shows know their stuff in this department, and it might be worth stopping by their booth if you attend any shows in your area.

MegaVectra · Post by **MegaVectra** » Thu Jul 21, 2005 7:46 am

Originally posted by blade
Been working on a dell laptop, 750mhz and had 256mb memory. It supports up to 512mb so they wanted another 256mb stick.

A good guy sent me a 256mb stick of pc133 to test because it says it's for toshiba systems only.

Installed the stick ok, booted up and on the top left corner it say something like "memory change" Once fully booted it's slower than before and now says only 128mb ram is installed. Tried the usual, changing slots, would not boot with the stick sent. Back to having the original 256mb stick in and it still says only 128mb installed. Tried changing slots, etc..

Any ideas here? Finally got into the bios (what little there is of it) and saw no way to make any ram adjustments.

thanks

Another question. I "ass"umed all laptop hard drives had the same connections as ide drives do. But I've worked on 3 in the past week and all had different connections.

All laptop drives have standard connectors, but some have additional adapters. You can remove them. If you need to connect them to a desktop use this (I use it all the time). http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?invtid=HD-108&cat=HDD

Post by **FlyingPenguin** » Thu Jul 21, 2005 9:31 am

BLADE: Dell has an excellent support page. You can download the entire service manual.

That laptop has a "reserve" battery in it (small Lithium Ion) that maintains it for a few minutes between battery swaps, so yeah you have to pull the CMOS battery for 20+ minutes or find the reset jumper (if there is on it should be in the service manual).

Wish I knew you had a Latitude C600. I just sold one for parts for $70 shipped. The mobo's cracked at the power plug but everything else is fine and it had 256Mb in it

You should be able to put any size drive in there up to at least an 80Gb - probably up to a 120Gb. It's old enough that it probably doesn't support 48bit LBA which means it can't recognize drives over 137Gb.

travis · Post by **travis** » Sat Jul 23, 2005 1:45 pm

Originally posted by FlyingPenguin

You should be able to put any size drive in there up to at least an 80Gb - probably up to a 120Gb. It's old enough that it probably doesn't support 48bit LBA which means it can't recognize drives over 137Gb.

Isn't that the same thing with Windows 2000? It only recognizes drives that are less than 137Gb?

Post by **FlyingPenguin** » Sat Jul 23, 2005 7:28 pm

Isn't that the same thing with Windows 2000? It only recognizes drives that are less than 137Gb?

This is a hardware and a software issue. Both XP and 2K can access drives bigger than 137Gb if you have the right service pack AND your disk controller supports it:

Requirements for support of 48-bit LBA (Exceeding 137Gb HDD size limit):

OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS:

Windows 2000 with Service Pack 3 or better or Windows XP with Service Pack 1 or better

HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS:

Your hard drive controller must support 48bit LBA (Large Block Addressing) - check the motherboard manufacturer's website for BIOS update and/or motherboard chipset driver update that MAY add this ability.

Alternately, you can install an add-on 48bit LBA capable controller card.

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