Please help !! My System Has A Memory Error But It's Not T..

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I need help !!

I have a PIII system, 1.3 GHZ - actually it's a Celeron. I have 3 RAM
modules on it, each 512 MB, for total of 1.5 GB.

Lately my system acted strangely, so I ran a battery of memory tests,
both the Norton Diagnostic and Memtest told me that the sytem RAM is
faulty.

The faulty memory location is at 14XXXXXXX - sometimes 144XXXXXX,
sometimes 145XXXXXX, sometimes 146XXXXXX, everytime I reboot the
machine, the "exact location" changed.

Since it supposed to be the RAM fault, and I wanted to see which one
is at fault, I change the location of the RAM module. To my surprise,
the "faulty location" stationed somewhere 14XXXXXXX - even when I have
switched the location of the 3 RAM modules.

Now I got curious. So I plug in a 256MB module, and unplug the 3 512MB
module, and ran the memtest (and Norton Diagnostic) again.

Lo and behold, the "faulty location" is at 14XXXXXXX !!

So, now I am facing with a "faulty memory" problem but it ain't the
RAM !

Can anyone please tell me what's going on ?

I've even eye-balled and cleaned the RAM module sockets, but the fault
is STILL THERE, at 14XXXXXXX !

What else I should do to locate the origin of the error ?

I know that it may be my MOBO, but I just want to know WHICH part of
the MOBO is acting up.

Many, many thanks in advance !!
 
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Penang wrote:
> I need help !!
>
> I have a PIII system, 1.3 GHZ - actually it's a Celeron. I have 3 RAM
> modules on it, each 512 MB, for total of 1.5 GB.
>
> Lately my system acted strangely, so I ran a battery of memory tests,
> both the Norton Diagnostic and Memtest told me that the sytem RAM is
> faulty.

Run memtest86 on your system with a single stick of RAM in it at a time.
Then try two.
Then all three.

You should be able to track down where the problem lies.

http://www.memtest86.com/


-WD
 

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Penang wrote:

> I need help !!
>
> I have a PIII system, 1.3 GHZ - actually it's a Celeron. I have 3 RAM
> modules on it, each 512 MB, for total of 1.5 GB.
>
> Lately my system acted strangely, so I ran a battery of memory tests,
> both the Norton Diagnostic and Memtest told me that the sytem RAM is
> faulty.
>
> The faulty memory location is at 14XXXXXXX - sometimes 144XXXXXX,
> sometimes 145XXXXXX, sometimes 146XXXXXX, everytime I reboot the
> machine, the "exact location" changed.
>
> Since it supposed to be the RAM fault, and I wanted to see which one
> is at fault, I change the location of the RAM module. To my surprise,
> the "faulty location" stationed somewhere 14XXXXXXX - even when I have
> switched the location of the 3 RAM modules.
>
> Now I got curious. So I plug in a 256MB module, and unplug the 3 512MB
> module, and ran the memtest (and Norton Diagnostic) again.
>
> Lo and behold, the "faulty location" is at 14XXXXXXX !!
>
> So, now I am facing with a "faulty memory" problem but it ain't the
> RAM !
>
> Can anyone please tell me what's going on ?
>
> I've even eye-balled and cleaned the RAM module sockets, but the fault
> is STILL THERE, at 14XXXXXXX !
>
> What else I should do to locate the origin of the error ?
>
> I know that it may be my MOBO, but I just want to know WHICH part of
> the MOBO is acting up.
>
> Many, many thanks in advance !!

Look at the capacitors (those tall, and not so tall, cans), especially
those near the memory slots. If their tops are bulging, or brown goop
is oozing out, then that's your problem.

http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/WEBONLY/resource/feb03/ncap.html

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minimize spam. Our true address is of the form che...@prodigy.net.
 
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In comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.chips Penang <penang@myrealbox.com> wrote:
> I have a PIII system, 1.3 GHZ - actually it's a Celeron. I have 3 RAM
> modules on it, each 512 MB, for total of 1.5 GB.
>
> The faulty memory location is at 14XXXXXXX - sometimes 144XXXXXX,
> sometimes 145XXXXXX, sometimes 146XXXXXX, everytime I reboot the
> machine, the "exact location" changed.
>
> Since it supposed to be the RAM fault, and I wanted to see which one
> is at fault, I change the location of the RAM module. To my surprise,
> the "faulty location" stationed somewhere 14XXXXXXX - even when I have
> switched the location of the 3 RAM modules.

Sounds like a bus error. Is your PSU good? Mobo properly grounded?
Bad caps? or noise on the 3.3V line?

-- Robert
 

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Robert Redelmeier wrote:

> In comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.chips Penang <penang@myrealbox.com> wrote:
>
>>I have a PIII system, 1.3 GHZ - actually it's a Celeron. I have 3 RAM
>>modules on it, each 512 MB, for total of 1.5 GB.
>>
>>The faulty memory location is at 14XXXXXXX - sometimes 144XXXXXX,
>>sometimes 145XXXXXX, sometimes 146XXXXXX, everytime I reboot the
>>machine, the "exact location" changed.
>>
>>Since it supposed to be the RAM fault, and I wanted to see which one
>>is at fault, I change the location of the RAM module. To my surprise,
>>the "faulty location" stationed somewhere 14XXXXXXX - even when I have
>>switched the location of the 3 RAM modules.
>
>
> Sounds like a bus error. Is your PSU good? Mobo properly grounded?
> Bad caps? or noise on the 3.3V line?
>
> -- Robert
>
Most of the things you identify would not always point to the same
location.

--
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minimize spam. Our true address is of the form che...@prodigy.net.
 
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On 28 Aug 2004 07:22:55 -0700, penang@myrealbox.com (Penang) wrote:

>I have a 1.3 GHZ Celeron. I have 3 RAM
>modules on it, each 512 MB, for total of 1.5 GB.

>Lately my system acted strangely, so I ran a battery of memory tests,
>both the Norton Diagnostic and Memtest told me that the sytem RAM is
>faulty.

>The faulty memory location is at 14XXXXXXX - sometimes 144XXXXXX,
>sometimes 145XXXXXX, sometimes 146XXXXXX, everytime I reboot the
>machine, the "exact location" changed.

Can be. Not all errors are within set locations - the error may be at
another level within the addressing logic, rather than within the data
of certain address cells.

>Since it supposed to be the RAM fault, and I wanted to see which one
>is at fault, I change the location of the RAM module. To my surprise,
>the "faulty location" stationed somewhere 14XXXXXXX - even when I have
>switched the location of the 3 RAM modules.

>Now I got curious. So I plug in a 256MB module, and unplug the 3 512MB
>module, and ran the memtest (and Norton Diagnostic) again.

>Lo and behold, the "faulty location" is at 14XXXXXXX !!

OK. At this point it's worth mentioning that the memory system isn't
just the RAM itself, but also L1 and L2 cache (in processor) and the
support logic of the motherboard's chipset, etc.

>So, now I am facing with a "faulty memory" problem but it ain't the RAM !

SiS mobo chipset? Specifically, SiS 650 I think? Always test 5 in
MemTest86, and OK in tests 0-4 and 6-7? BT, DT.

>What else I should do to locate the origin of the error ?

Swap-test processor, if possible, and check things like:
- RAM timings in CMOS
- exclude overclocking
- bad motherboard capacitors
- inadequate PSU (<235W, for Socket 370)

>I know that it may be my MOBO, but I just want to know WHICH part of
>the MOBO is acting up.

Unless it's capacitors, the parts involved will be surface-mounted and
not amenable to soldering-iron-mediated replacement.



>-------------- ---- --- -- - - - -
"I think it's time we took our
friendship to the next level"
'What, gender roles and abuse?'
>-------------- ---- --- -- - - - -
 
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On Sat, 28 Aug 2004 10:38:35 -0400, Will Dormann
>Penang wrote:

>> I have a 1.3 GHZ Celeron. I have 3 RAM
>> modules on it, each 512 MB, for total of 1.5 GB.

>> Lately my system acted strangely, so I ran a battery of memory tests,
>> both told me that the sytem RAM is faulty.

>Run memtest86 on your system with a single stick of RAM in it at a time.
>Then try two.
>Then all three.

I thought he'd done that, but if not; check mobo's manual - not all
will tolerate the electrical loading of 3 x 512M DIMMs.

Also, try putting the slowest DIMM in Slot 0. If mobo auto-adjusts
timings as per the first SPD it sees, you want that to be the slowest
one, so that timings will be conservative enough for the slowest RAM.



>---------- ----- ---- --- -- - - - -
NNA Tech Support, 2037:
"Double-click 'My Silo', click Map..."
>---------- ----- ---- --- -- - - - -
 
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cquirke (MVP Win9x) wrote:

> I thought he'd done that, but if not; check mobo's manual - not all
> will tolerate the electrical loading of 3 x 512M DIMMs.

Another issue is whether or not the RAM is registered. Usually when
systems have lots of RAM, it's required that it be registered to avoid
timing issues.


-WD
 
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The DDR memory bus on a PC is not ideally terminated - there will be
reflections and other transmission line effects. I've seen quite a few
boards where the maximum memory bus speed that could be used without
errors would change noticeably depending on which slot(s) were used
for one or two memory modules was placed. With three modules, the
memory bus will be relatively heavily loaded and this is something of
a worst case situation, especially if the modules are double sided (a
common case for 512 MB modules). I think one of the other posters
pointed out that sytems that require large amounts of memory generally
use registered memory as this allows more time for the data signals on
the memory bus to settle.

Robert


"cquirke (MVP Win9x)" <cquirkenews@nospam.mvps.org> wrote in message news:<bs07j01ghb2175j14e5233vcl8roferv18@4ax.com>...
> On 28 Aug 2004 07:22:55 -0700, penang@myrealbox.com (Penang) wrote:
>
> >I have a 1.3 GHZ Celeron. I have 3 RAM
> >modules on it, each 512 MB, for total of 1.5 GB.
>
> >Lately my system acted strangely, so I ran a battery of memory tests,
> >both the Norton Diagnostic and Memtest told me that the sytem RAM is
> >faulty.
>
> >The faulty memory location is at 14XXXXXXX - sometimes 144XXXXXX,
> >sometimes 145XXXXXX, sometimes 146XXXXXX, everytime I reboot the
> >machine, the "exact location" changed.
>
> Can be. Not all errors are within set locations - the error may be at
> another level within the addressing logic, rather than within the data
> of certain address cells.
>
> >Since it supposed to be the RAM fault, and I wanted to see which one
> >is at fault, I change the location of the RAM module. To my surprise,
> >the "faulty location" stationed somewhere 14XXXXXXX - even when I have
> >switched the location of the 3 RAM modules.
>
> >Now I got curious. So I plug in a 256MB module, and unplug the 3 512MB
> >module, and ran the memtest (and Norton Diagnostic) again.
>
> >Lo and behold, the "faulty location" is at 14XXXXXXX !!
>
> OK. At this point it's worth mentioning that the memory system isn't
> just the RAM itself, but also L1 and L2 cache (in processor) and the
> support logic of the motherboard's chipset, etc.
>
> >So, now I am facing with a "faulty memory" problem but it ain't the RAM !
>
> SiS mobo chipset? Specifically, SiS 650 I think? Always test 5 in
> MemTest86, and OK in tests 0-4 and 6-7? BT, DT.
>
> >What else I should do to locate the origin of the error ?
>
> Swap-test processor, if possible, and check things like:
> - RAM timings in CMOS
> - exclude overclocking
> - bad motherboard capacitors
> - inadequate PSU (<235W, for Socket 370)
>
> >I know that it may be my MOBO, but I just want to know WHICH part of
> >the MOBO is acting up.
>
> Unless it's capacitors, the parts involved will be surface-mounted and
> not amenable to soldering-iron-mediated replacement.
>
>
>
> >-------------- ---- --- -- - - - -
> "I think it's time we took our
> friendship to the next level"
> 'What, gender roles and abuse?'
> >-------------- ---- --- -- - - - -
 
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Will Dormann <wdormann@yahoo.com.invalid> wrote in message news:<ZeednehMHdvZBa3cRVn-rw@comcast.com>...
> Penang wrote:
> > I need help !!
> >
> > I have a PIII system, 1.3 GHZ - actually it's a Celeron. I have 3 RAM
> > modules on it, each 512 MB, for total of 1.5 GB.
> >
> > Lately my system acted strangely, so I ran a battery of memory tests,
> > both the Norton Diagnostic and Memtest told me that the sytem RAM is
> > faulty.
>
> Run memtest86 on your system with a single stick of RAM in it at a time.
> Then try two.
> Then all three.
>
> You should be able to track down where the problem lies.
>
> http://www.memtest86.com/
>
>
> -WD

I ran memtest86, and did what you say. Ran ALL the tests, standard and
extended, and memtest86 reported NO ERROR.

And when I went back to Windows, it acted strange again. Ran the
Norton Utility Diagnostic, and the memory error still appears.

Dunno what's going on. Just running out of options here !

Thanks for your help !!
 
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"cquirke (MVP Win9x)" <cquirkenews@nospam.mvps.org> wrote in message news:<j817j0h4fdch4ka2nn6u6alpibi43co424@4ax.com>...
> On Sat, 28 Aug 2004 10:38:35 -0400, Will Dormann
> >Penang wrote:
>
> >> I have a 1.3 GHZ Celeron. I have 3 RAM
> >> modules on it, each 512 MB, for total of 1.5 GB.
>
> >> Lately my system acted strangely, so I ran a battery of memory tests,
> >> both told me that the sytem RAM is faulty.
>
> >Run memtest86 on your system with a single stick of RAM in it at a time.
> >Then try two.
> >Then all three.
>
> I thought he'd done that, but if not; check mobo's manual - not all
> will tolerate the electrical loading of 3 x 512M DIMMs.
>
> Also, try putting the slowest DIMM in Slot 0. If mobo auto-adjusts
> timings as per the first SPD it sees, you want that to be the slowest
> one, so that timings will be conservative enough for the slowest RAM.
>
>
>
> >---------- ----- ---- --- -- - - - -
> NNA Tech Support, 2037:
> "Double-click 'My Silo', click Map..."
> >---------- ----- ---- --- -- - - - -


Did that, and the problem persists. Dunno what's wrong. Now at least,
after running memtest86, I am sure that there's no problem on my RAM
module. Checked the mobo's spec, no problem for 3 X 512 MB ram module.

I know something is wrong, and the only thing is that I dunno what it
is, and this is bugging me !!
 
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Will Dormann <wdormann@yahoo.com.invalid> wrote in message news:<b4KdnbnVAoazKq7cRVn-uA@comcast.com>...
> cquirke (MVP Win9x) wrote:
>
> > I thought he'd done that, but if not; check mobo's manual - not all
> > will tolerate the electrical loading of 3 x 512M DIMMs.
>
> Another issue is whether or not the RAM is registered. Usually when
> systems have lots of RAM, it's required that it be registered to avoid
> timing issues.
>
>
> -WD


I can "see" all the RAM on the bootup, because the mobo does read ALL
the 1.5 GB of the RAM. I assume all the RAM is registered. Am I right
?
 
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In comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.chips Penang <penang@myrealbox.com> wrote:
> I ran memtest86, and did what you say. Ran ALL the tests,
> standard and extended, and memtest86 reported NO ERROR.

Chris Brady's memtest86 is an excellent program to exhaustively
test all memory cells. Unfortunately, it is not very intensive
(running maximum bandwidth).

My burnMMX program is not nearly so exhaustive, but it tries
to be intense. I have a new `burnRAM` pgm that is even
higher bandwidth, but I hate porting to MS-Win32.

You might see if you can keep `burnMMX P` running for a few
hours, or how quickly it stops (when it finds an error).

-- Robert author `cpuburn` http://pages.sbcglobal.net/redelm
 
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Did anyone suggest this yet...?...

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;304943&Product=w98
Computer May Reboot Continuously with More Than 1.5 GB of RAM

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;q184447
Insufficient Memory

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;253912
"Out of Memory" Error Messages with Large Amounts of RAM Installed

(1) "START, Run, MSConfig, System.ini tab, [vcache] section".
Don't just open the section; click it to highlight.
(2) Click the "New" button
(3) Type in: "MaxFileCache=524288"
(4) Click "Apply" and "OK". Reboot.

JUST, don't exceed usable RAM, as seen at "START, Run, MSInfo32"...
376MB RAM, it says for me, because Video has grabbed away 8 MB.


--
Thanks or Good Luck,
There may be humor in this post, and,
Naturally, you will not sue,
should things get worse after this,
PCR
pcrrcp@netzero.net
"Penang" <penang@myrealbox.com> wrote in message
news:f2375275.0408312318.669e7bb2@posting.google.com...
| Will Dormann <wdormann@yahoo.com.invalid> wrote in message
news:<ZeednehMHdvZBa3cRVn-rw@comcast.com>...
| > Penang wrote:
| > > I need help !!
| > >
| > > I have a PIII system, 1.3 GHZ - actually it's a Celeron. I have 3
RAM
| > > modules on it, each 512 MB, for total of 1.5 GB.
| > >
| > > Lately my system acted strangely, so I ran a battery of memory
tests,
| > > both the Norton Diagnostic and Memtest told me that the sytem RAM
is
| > > faulty.
| >
| > Run memtest86 on your system with a single stick of RAM in it at a
time.
| > Then try two.
| > Then all three.
| >
| > You should be able to track down where the problem lies.
| >
| > http://www.memtest86.com/
| >
| >
| > -WD
|
| I ran memtest86, and did what you say. Ran ALL the tests, standard and
| extended, and memtest86 reported NO ERROR.
|
| And when I went back to Windows, it acted strange again. Ran the
| Norton Utility Diagnostic, and the memory error still appears.
|
| Dunno what's going on. Just running out of options here !
|
| Thanks for your help !!
 
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On 28 Aug 2004 07:22:55 -0700, penang@myrealbox.com (Penang) put
finger to keyboard and composed:

>I need help !!
>
>I have a PIII system, 1.3 GHZ - actually it's a Celeron. I have 3 RAM
>modules on it, each 512 MB, for total of 1.5 GB.
>
>Lately my system acted strangely, so I ran a battery of memory tests,
>both the Norton Diagnostic and Memtest told me that the sytem RAM is
>faulty.
>
>The faulty memory location is at 14XXXXXXX - sometimes 144XXXXXX,
>sometimes 145XXXXXX, sometimes 146XXXXXX, everytime I reboot the
>machine, the "exact location" changed.
>
>Since it supposed to be the RAM fault, and I wanted to see which one
>is at fault, I change the location of the RAM module. To my surprise,
>the "faulty location" stationed somewhere 14XXXXXXX - even when I have
>switched the location of the 3 RAM modules.
>
>Now I got curious. So I plug in a 256MB module, and unplug the 3 512MB
>module, and ran the memtest (and Norton Diagnostic) again.
>
>Lo and behold, the "faulty location" is at 14XXXXXXX !!
>
>So, now I am facing with a "faulty memory" problem but it ain't the
>RAM !
>
>Can anyone please tell me what's going on ?

Does your motherboard share memory with onboard video?

What about other BIOS settings such as "OS/2 Onboard Memory >64M" or
"memory holes"?

Is your faulty location 14XXXXXX or 14XXXXXXX, ie 6 or 7 Xs? Can you
see anything occupying this address space when you go to Control Panel
-> System -> Computer -> Properties -> Memory?

AFAICS, 14XXXXXX = 320MB and 14XXXXXXX = 5120MB, so this makes your
test failure with a single 256MB module appear very strange.


- Franc Zabkar
--
Please remove one 's' from my address when replying by email.
 
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> On 28 Aug 2004 07:22:55 -0700, penang@myrealbox.com (Penang) wrote
>
> >I need help !!
> >
> >I have a PIII system, 1.3 GHZ - actually it's a Celeron. I have 3 RAM
> >modules on it, each 512 MB, for total of 1.5 GB.
> >
> >Lately my system acted strangely, so I ran a battery of memory tests,
> >both the Norton Diagnostic and Memtest told me that the sytem RAM is
> >faulty.
> >
> >The faulty memory location is at 14XXXXXXX - sometimes 144XXXXXX,
> >sometimes 145XXXXXX, sometimes 146XXXXXX, everytime I reboot the
> >machine, the "exact location" changed.
> >
> >Since it supposed to be the RAM fault, and I wanted to see which one
> >is at fault, I change the location of the RAM module. To my surprise,
> >the "faulty location" stationed somewhere 14XXXXXXX - even when I have
> >switched the location of the 3 RAM modules.
> >
> >Now I got curious. So I plug in a 256MB module, and unplug the 3 512MB
> >module, and ran the memtest (and Norton Diagnostic) again.
> >
> >Lo and behold, the "faulty location" is at 14XXXXXXX !!
> >
> >So, now I am facing with a "faulty memory" problem but it ain't the
> >RAM !
> >
> >Can anyone please tell me what's going on ?

Have you tried the Norton test with just one memory stick at a time? Two
sticks at a time?

It is possible that you have a motherboard problem and that the memory is
fine. In many systems, signals along data and address lines couple to give
spurious signals on [seemingly] random at [seemingly] random times.
Sometimes this is data pattern related.

Also, was anything else running in the system when you ran Norton? If this
is a Windows program, have you tried it in safe mode?

Norm
 
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Have you tried another test:
http://home.earthlink.net/~alegr/download/memtest.htm

"Penang" <penang@myrealbox.com> wrote in message
news:f2375275.0408312321.1914d8e8@posting.google.com...
> "cquirke (MVP Win9x)" <cquirkenews@nospam.mvps.org> wrote in message
> news:<j817j0h4fdch4ka2nn6u6alpibi43co424@4ax.com>...
>> On Sat, 28 Aug 2004 10:38:35 -0400, Will Dormann
>> >Penang wrote:
>>
>> >> I have a 1.3 GHZ Celeron. I have 3 RAM
>> >> modules on it, each 512 MB, for total of 1.5 GB.
>>
>> >> Lately my system acted strangely, so I ran a battery of memory tests,
>> >> both told me that the sytem RAM is faulty.
>>
>> >Run memtest86 on your system with a single stick of RAM in it at a time.
>> >Then try two.
>> >Then all three.
>>
>> I thought he'd done that, but if not; check mobo's manual - not all
>> will tolerate the electrical loading of 3 x 512M DIMMs.
>>
>> Also, try putting the slowest DIMM in Slot 0. If mobo auto-adjusts
>> timings as per the first SPD it sees, you want that to be the slowest
>> one, so that timings will be conservative enough for the slowest RAM.
>>
>>
>>
>> >---------- ----- ---- --- -- - - - -
>> NNA Tech Support, 2037:
>> "Double-click 'My Silo', click Map..."
>> >---------- ----- ---- --- -- - - - -
>
>
> Did that, and the problem persists. Dunno what's wrong. Now at least,
> after running memtest86, I am sure that there's no problem on my RAM
> module. Checked the mobo's spec, no problem for 3 X 512 MB ram module.
>
> I know something is wrong, and the only thing is that I dunno what it
> is, and this is bugging me !!
 
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PSS 253912 and 304943 apply to Win9x only, not to NT/2K/XP.


"PCR" <pcrrcp@netzero.net> wrote in message
news:emY4CiFkEHA.3696@TK2MSFTNGP15.phx.gbl...
> Did anyone suggest this yet...?...
>
> http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;304943&Product=w98
> Computer May Reboot Continuously with More Than 1.5 GB of RAM
>
> http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;q184447
> Insufficient Memory
>
> http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;253912
> "Out of Memory" Error Messages with Large Amounts of RAM Installed
>
> (1) "START, Run, MSConfig, System.ini tab, [vcache] section".
> Don't just open the section; click it to highlight.
> (2) Click the "New" button
> (3) Type in: "MaxFileCache=524288"
> (4) Click "Apply" and "OK". Reboot.
>
> JUST, don't exceed usable RAM, as seen at "START, Run, MSInfo32"...
> 376MB RAM, it says for me, because Video has grabbed away 8 MB.
>
>
> --
> Thanks or Good Luck,
> There may be humor in this post, and,
> Naturally, you will not sue,
> should things get worse after this,
> PCR
> pcrrcp@netzero.net
> "Penang" <penang@myrealbox.com> wrote in message
> news:f2375275.0408312318.669e7bb2@posting.google.com...
> | Will Dormann <wdormann@yahoo.com.invalid> wrote in message
> news:<ZeednehMHdvZBa3cRVn-rw@comcast.com>...
> | > Penang wrote:
> | > > I need help !!
> | > >
> | > > I have a PIII system, 1.3 GHZ - actually it's a Celeron. I have 3
> RAM
> | > > modules on it, each 512 MB, for total of 1.5 GB.
> | > >
> | > > Lately my system acted strangely, so I ran a battery of memory
> tests,
> | > > both the Norton Diagnostic and Memtest told me that the sytem RAM
> is
> | > > faulty.
> | >
> | > Run memtest86 on your system with a single stick of RAM in it at a
> time.
> | > Then try two.
> | > Then all three.
> | >
> | > You should be able to track down where the problem lies.
> | >
> | > http://www.memtest86.com/
> | >
> | >
> | > -WD
> |
> | I ran memtest86, and did what you say. Ran ALL the tests, standard and
> | extended, and memtest86 reported NO ERROR.
> |
> | And when I went back to Windows, it acted strange again. Ran the
> | Norton Utility Diagnostic, and the memory error still appears.
> |
> | Dunno what's going on. Just running out of options here !
> |
> | Thanks for your help !!
>
>
 
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I don't much care about NT/2K/XP, especially XP.

--
Thanks or Good Luck,
There may be humor in this post, and,
Naturally, you will not sue,
should things get worse after this,
PCR
pcrrcp@netzero.net
"Alexander Grigoriev" <alegr@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:dTsZc.399$N4.35@newsread3.news.pas.earthlink.net...
| PSS 253912 and 304943 apply to Win9x only, not to NT/2K/XP.
|
|
| "PCR" <pcrrcp@netzero.net> wrote in message
| news:emY4CiFkEHA.3696@TK2MSFTNGP15.phx.gbl...
| > Did anyone suggest this yet...?...
| >
| >
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;304943&Product=w98
| > Computer May Reboot Continuously with More Than 1.5 GB of RAM
| >
| > http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;q184447
| > Insufficient Memory
| >
| > http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;253912
| > "Out of Memory" Error Messages with Large Amounts of RAM Installed
| >
| > (1) "START, Run, MSConfig, System.ini tab, [vcache] section".
| > Don't just open the section; click it to highlight.
| > (2) Click the "New" button
| > (3) Type in: "MaxFileCache=524288"
| > (4) Click "Apply" and "OK". Reboot.
| >
| > JUST, don't exceed usable RAM, as seen at "START, Run, MSInfo32"...
| > 376MB RAM, it says for me, because Video has grabbed away 8 MB.
| >
| >
| > --
| > Thanks or Good Luck,
| > There may be humor in this post, and,
| > Naturally, you will not sue,
| > should things get worse after this,
| > PCR
| > pcrrcp@netzero.net
| > "Penang" <penang@myrealbox.com> wrote in message
| > news:f2375275.0408312318.669e7bb2@posting.google.com...
| > | Will Dormann <wdormann@yahoo.com.invalid> wrote in message
| > news:<ZeednehMHdvZBa3cRVn-rw@comcast.com>...
| > | > Penang wrote:
| > | > > I need help !!
| > | > >
| > | > > I have a PIII system, 1.3 GHZ - actually it's a Celeron. I
have 3
| > RAM
| > | > > modules on it, each 512 MB, for total of 1.5 GB.
| > | > >
| > | > > Lately my system acted strangely, so I ran a battery of memory
| > tests,
| > | > > both the Norton Diagnostic and Memtest told me that the sytem
RAM
| > is
| > | > > faulty.
| > | >
| > | > Run memtest86 on your system with a single stick of RAM in it at
a
| > time.
| > | > Then try two.
| > | > Then all three.
| > | >
| > | > You should be able to track down where the problem lies.
| > | >
| > | > http://www.memtest86.com/
| > | >
| > | >
| > | > -WD
| > |
| > | I ran memtest86, and did what you say. Ran ALL the tests, standard
and
| > | extended, and memtest86 reported NO ERROR.
| > |
| > | And when I went back to Windows, it acted strange again. Ran the
| > | Norton Utility Diagnostic, and the memory error still appears.
| > |
| > | Dunno what's going on. Just running out of options here !
| > |
| > | Thanks for your help !!
| >
| >
|
|
 
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On Mon, 30 Aug 2004 19:27:21 -0400, Will Dormann
>cquirke (MVP Win9x) wrote:

>> I thought he'd done that, but if not; check mobo's manual - not all
>> will tolerate the electrical loading of 3 x 512M DIMMs.

>Another issue is whether or not the RAM is registered. Usually when
>systems have lots of RAM, it's required that it be registered to avoid
>timing issues.

That's interesting; more on that, please? I never did figure out what
"registered" RAM was and why it may be worth the extra cost.



>-------------- ---- --- -- - - - -
"I think it's time we took our
friendship to the next level"
'What, gender roles and abuse?'
>-------------- ---- --- -- - - - -
 
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On 1 Sep 2004 00:18:59 -0700, penang@myrealbox.com (Penang) wrote:
>Will Dormann <wdormann@yahoo.com.invalid> wrote

>> > I have a 1.3 GHz Celeron. I have 3 RAM
>> > modules on it, each 512 MB, for total of 1.5 GB.

>> > Lately my system acted strangely, so I ran a battery of memory tests,
>> > both the Norton Diagnostic and Memtest told me RAM is faulty.

>> Run memtest86 on your system with a single stick of RAM in it at a time.
>> Then try two. Then all three.

>> http://www.memtest86.com/

Look also for MemTest86+ at a different URL...

http://www.memtest.org/

AFAIK MemTest86 is open source, so anyone can delevop it further - and
the folks at memtest.org have done that, compared to memtest86.com

Also try www.simmtester.com

When using MemTest, try All tests (0-11) - press C, 2, 3, Enter.

>I ran memtest86, and did what you say. Ran ALL the tests, standard and
>extended, and memtest86 reported NO ERROR.

That suggests the processor seating and unseating the modules fixed
the problem. Dunno how confident I'd be on that, tho.

>And when I went back to Windows, it acted strange again. Ran the
>Norton Utility Diagnostic, and the memory error still appears.

Is Norton Utility Diagnostic running in Windows? I'd have little or
no confidence in that, if so.

It may be that other "untestable" hardware issues are making Windows
throw errors, etc. (or active malware, or course).

http://cquirke.mvps.org/9x/bthink.htm refers.



>--------------- ----- ---- --- -- - - -
The memes will inherit the Earth
>--------------- ----- ---- --- -- - - -
 
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cquirke (MVP Win9x) wrote:
> On Mon, 30 Aug 2004 19:27:21 -0400, Will Dormann
>
>
>>Another issue is whether or not the RAM is registered. Usually when
>>systems have lots of RAM, it's required that it be registered to avoid
>>timing issues.
>
>
> That's interesting; more on that, please? I never did figure out what
> "registered" RAM was and why it may be worth the extra cost.

Look here:
http://www.crucial.com/kb/answer.asp?qid=3669

And here:
http://www.theddrzone.com/faq.php
(near the bottom)



-WD
 
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On Mon, 06 Sep 2004 21:35:56 -0400, Will Dormann
>cquirke (MVP Win9x) wrote:

>> That's interesting; more on that, please? I never did figure out what
>> "registered" RAM was and why it may be worth the extra cost.

>http://www.crucial.com/kb/answer.asp?qid=3669

OK, that doesn't really suggest an advantage...

>http://www.theddrzone.com/faq.php

....but this clarifies; looks like a scalability thing, if you are on
the edge and can't get "normal" RAM to run reliably in large
capacities, registered RAM may help stability.

So to build a PC with (say) 256M registered RAM would be utterly
pointless, but you might find recommendations to go registered for, I
dunno, 2G+ total capacities.

I wonder where that edge is, in 2004?



>------------ ----- ---- --- -- - - - -
The most accurate diagnostic instrument
in medicine is the Retrospectoscope
>------------ ----- ---- --- -- - - - -
 
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On Wed, 08 Sep 2004 23:58:57 +0200, "cquirke (MVP Win9x)"
<cquirkenews@nospam.mvps.org> wrote:
>
>...but this clarifies; looks like a scalability thing, if you are on
>the edge and can't get "normal" RAM to run reliably in large
>capacities, registered RAM may help stability.
>
>So to build a PC with (say) 256M registered RAM would be utterly
>pointless, but you might find recommendations to go registered for, I
>dunno, 2G+ total capacities.
>
>I wonder where that edge is, in 2004?

The "edge" these days seems to be around 24 chips per memory bus (ie
dual-channel gets your twice as many), though sometimes you can load
it up to 32 chips. I've seen a few modern setups that will allow you
up to 48 chips on a single channel, though most tend to reduce your
performance if you load the bus up by that much. Unregistered memory
modules are available with anywhere from 4 to 16 chips on them.
Typical modules have either 8 chips all on one side or 8 on each side
of the module (16 total), though certainly other combinations do
exist.

These days you're mostly looking at 256Mbit or 512Mbit chips, though
1Gbit chips do exist for a bit of a price premium. Using 512Mbit
chips you can pull off 3GB on a dual-channel setup with unregistered
memory without too many difficulties, ie a pair of 1GB DIMMs and a
pair of 512MB DIMMs.

Generally speaking, registered memory is mostly used for servers while
unregistered memory is mostly used for desktops.

-------------
Tony Hill
hilla <underscore> 20 <at> yahoo <dot> ca
 

Richard

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"Norm Dresner" <ndrez@att.net> wrote in message news:<xBjZc.540644$Gx4.25336@bgtnsc04-news.ops.worldnet.att.net>...
> > On 28 Aug 2004 07:22:55 -0700, penang@myrealbox.com (Penang) wrote
> >
> > >I need help !!
> > >
> > >I have a PIII system, 1.3 GHZ - actually it's a Celeron. I have 3 RAM
> > >modules on it, each 512 MB, for total of 1.5 G.....


My problem may or may not be anything like yours...I have a PIII I'm
trying to upgrade with a powerleap 1.4 celeron, and add memory (three
sticks on an Intel SE440BX-2 mobo). I got all kinds of memory error
beeps and spent a month trying different combinations before figuring
out the system, being 5 years old, needed a new battery!