Says 32megs - should be 48, help!

[Guest]

Okay this computer is kinda of old it's a quantex p166. About 4 years old. It came with 16 megs of ram. Win95 messed up and I couldn't reinstall it so I loaded WinNT4.0WS. Everything's fine but I decide to buy 32 megs of ram to get a total of 48 megs. I bought the 2 16 meg ram chips (EDO, costed $100). I put the chips in my computer, when the first screen pops up it registers that I have 32 megs of ram, not 48 like it should. I tried switching the ram chips around, looked in bios and saw DRAM before i installed the chips, I don't know how to fix this. My motherboard is Intel Triton II (HX) (info on whole motherboard = http://www.inteva.com/customer3/trouble/products/mbd/ghmbd023.htm). Here's another motherboard manual: http://www.x86.org/intel.doc/intelmotherboards.htm#pentium pro motherboard manuals

And this site has some information from the maker of the motherboard and info and stuff: http://www.biostar.com.tw/support/8500tuc.htm

Quantex (my computer), went out of busniess so i can get help from them. I've talked to a lot of people on IRC but everyone has different suggestions reasons, I would appriciate any. It sucks i really paid $100 for 16 megs of ram. Please take some time if you can to see what you can come up with, I don't know how to fix it. Email me if you like @ hadez@erols.com Thank you.

Tom Bell

 

[Guest]

Maybe your video card is using the ram, many computers have shared video ram, you know you have a set amount, but because the vid card is using some, it only ever shows the lesser amount

 

[lostinms]

first are you sure you have all EDO ram the 16meg that was in there could have been FPM not EDO. Just a suggestion. Also there are someplace that is selling EDO real cheap so they can get rid of it.

 

[Crashman]

I have to agree with lostinms. You might have had fpm parity in there Try installing both of the new chips in slot 1 and 2 and see what you get. If your computer reads 32MB and runs OK, this is a good sign. Then install the old one in slot 3 and see if everything works. If your system reads 2 EDO simms in slot 1 and 2 as "bank one" and one simm FPM in bank two, and your computer runs ok, your golden!

 

[FrankW]

Don't SIMMS have to be installed in pairs? If you install 3-16MB SIMMS the last one shouldn't be recognized. You normally need 4 SIMMS - 2 per bank.

 

[Crashman]

Usually, not always, depends on the board and the memory type. Some boards were made to support single simms mostly 486's and a few EARLY pentiums. But I believe the memory has to be parrity. I have done these installations before so I'm sure about this!

 

[Guest]

I do have them in pairs, 2 8meg and 2 16 meg chips.

 

[Guest]

it's a 586, how do i set parity for my memory cards? in bios? under what?

 

[Guest]

how do i figure out what my old ram was. it says something about DRAM in bios.

 

[Guest]

According to your link you have and AMI BIOS and I'm not familiar with it. My Pentiums used Award BIOSes. I had a little matrix that would pop up at bootup and say something like "EDO: NO." You may not have that, and if you don't you can look in the BIOS for the letters EDO or maybe FPM. Try this with your original RAM and then the new EDO RAM...not together. See whether there is a difference. Just make sure you don't save anything when you exit the BIOS.

You can't "make" your memory partiy, it either is or it isn't. What about your user guide or the invoice for the system? Do they mention the RAM type...particularly the invoice? Maybe your user guide will give you a place to look in the BIOS.

Mike

 

[Crashman]

What I said was under the mistaken understanding that your computer came with one 16mb simm. Now that I'm straight on what you said, all I can tell you is to put the slowest ones in the first bank. You can tell the speed by the last numbe or two in the part number on the chip (6 or 7, 60 or 70). 60ns is faster than 70, 6 and 7 stand for 60 and 70. But if your computer is new enough that is is all 60ns equiped, then all I can tell you is, if you have pairs, keep them in pairs. You might have been tricked into buying 8mb sticks when you thought you were getting 16mb. Memory part numbers can be confusiong-I have a couple 8MB simms here marked MEMSIM016AAWW. You would think they would be 16? Not a chance!

 

[Guest]

You know what, I tried booting with just the 2 16meg ram chips and my computer booted up as 16meg ram. That means these chips are 8megs, wtf?!? It says 16 on the box and on the chip. Did i get jipped? Ram company is Centon Electronics.

 

[Crashman]

Probably a mistake on the part of the company. There is always the possibility that you computer is only reading one side of the memory if it is two sided, but that is not likely in a Pentium system (used to happen once in a while on 486's, never seen it on a Pentium).

 

[Crashman]

BTW I have about 40 16MB FPM chips here if you want. I've been selling them to a local dealer at $20 each. They are one sided and 60ns.