Laptop memory

[lmc]

Hi guys, I've had my laptop for about 3 years now. It was pretty high spec at the time; 512mb RAM, 2.4gHz processor, Nvidia 64mb graphics yah dee dah....

I want to upgrade the RAM, d/l and ran Belarc advisor. It says the maximum RAM is what I've already got. You can buy RAM modules that are the same physical size but of bigger value than 512 nowadays, why the hell would they not work ?

I've got so much stuff on it I can't be arsed buying another laptop and swapping it all over. Besides, the ones with better spec than mine are a bit out of my reach at the mo.

Any ideas ?

Thanks, Les

[jimmyjimjim]

Because the pc might not be able to address SODIMMs above 256mb.
My guess is that you've got 2 * 256Mb SODIMMs installed, or possibly 1 512Mb.
Whip off the memory cover on the bootm, and see what you've got would be a good first move (how many slots and how are they filled).
Next step would be to look on the manufacturers site and see what the max they support is.
I'd guess at 2 * 512Mb, for 1Gb.
If you are at their stated maximum, you could take a punt and buy a single larger stick, put it in and see what happens.

[panclan]

What is the make and model of the laptop?

[kevin63]

Try the "crucial" web site, it is very easy to use and they make sure you get the right memory, they also have a checker to see what you are running.
It was esasy enough for a computer numpty like me.

[That Daddy]

be careful i have a IBM T30 tried uprating the memory from a 512 to 1024,by filling the 2nd slot with another 512 of ram but the machine does not register the other slot is filled and just carries on as 512, ahhhh have never got to the bottom of this, damn corporate machines.

[GreenV8S]

That Daddy said:

be careful i have a IBM T30 tried uprating the memory from a 512 to 1024,by filling the 2nd slot with another 512 of ram but the machine does not register the other slot is filled and just carries on as 512, ahhhh have never got to the bottom of this, damn corporate machines.

Worth confirming that the new memory is exactly the same spec as the original in terms of speed and error checking. You could try taking all the memory out and putting the 'new' memory in the slot the original memory was in, that would prove that the machine was compatible with the new memory. Way back when, memory detection on some machines was controlled by BIOS settings. I haven't seen that for years, but it wouldn't hurt just to page through the BIOS settings and make sure you don't have any memory detection type settings turned off.

[That Daddy]

GreenV8S said:

That Daddy said:

be careful i have a IBM T30 tried uprating the memory from a 512 to 1024,by filling the 2nd slot with another 512 of ram but the machine does not register the other slot is filled and just carries on as 512, ahhhh have never got to the bottom of this, damn corporate machines.

Worth confirming that the new memory is exactly the same spec as the original in terms of speed and error checking. You could try taking all the memory out and putting the 'new' memory in the slot the original memory was in, that would prove that the machine was compatible with the new memory. Way back when, memory detection on some machines was controlled by BIOS settings. I haven't seen that for years, but it wouldn't hurt just to page through the BIOS settings and make sure you don't have any memory detection type settings turned off.

thanks but ive tried all that and the memory is exact same spec i can use one stick or the other just not both,theres no options in the bios to change this.there is probably a work around but all the other T30s ive seen updated only have 768 so i gather theres a problem with 1gb of ram in this machine.

[lmc]

panclan said:

What is the make and model of the laptop?

I've just run Belarc and it's a Medion M795. The case says its a Cybermaxx ??!!!!??
Hey, I bought it for the spec not the name :blush:
It's never let me down !

Les

Operating System System Model
Windows XP Home Edition Service Pack 2 (build 2600) MEDION M795
System Serial Number: SN-1234567890
Processor a Main Circuit Board b
2.60 gigahertz Intel Pentium 4
8 kilobyte primary memory cache
512 kilobyte secondary memory cache Board: MEDION
Bus Clock: 133 megahertz
BIOS: MEDION NOTE BIOS Version/L2850100 03/14/2003
Drives Memory Modules c,d
40.00 Gigabytes Usable Hard Drive Capacity
16.87 Gigabytes Hard Drive Free Space

QSI CDRW/DVD SBW-241 [CD-ROM drive]

IC25N040ATCS04-0 [Hard drive] (40.01 GB) -- drive 0, s/n CSH406DDCZW7SB, rev CA4OA71A, SMART Status: Healthy 510 Megabytes Installed Memory

Slot 'U32' has 512 MB
Slot 'U15' is Empty
Slot 'CN27' has 256 MB
Slot 'CN30' has 256 MB

[AL666]

There's no M795 listed on the Crucial website, try looking on the underside of the laptop for a model number...