G.Skill 4gb notebook stick problem

[YellowCowboy]

First of all I'd like to say hi to everyone as I am new to these forums. I own a:
Dell XPS M1710

Intel Core 2 CPU
T7200 @ 2.00GHz
2.00GHz, 3.00 GB of RAM

I have recently purchased 4gb of RAM (4gb-DDR2 667 x 1) off of newegg. I know it was a gamble as 4gb sticks are fairly new and most computers say they aren't compatible, but after reading the reviews I was convinced that I could make it work on my computer. Currently I am using a 1gb and a 2gb (667) stick for a total of 3 gb. My computer is running Windows XP Professional w/ SP2. The XPS manual tells me that I can only max out at 4gb which is what I had originally intended to do using this 4gb stick (I was going to give the 3gb to my girlfriend who is only using 2 512mb sticks in her laptop).

Upon inserting the 4gb stick into my computer, I found that I can no longer boot up. When I press the power on all I get is a black screen. Now after searching for answers to what might be causing this I heard that I need to run matching pairs of memory in order for my dual channel to function properly. Can anyone back this up? All of the memory stick are running at the same speed and are clocking at the same rate (5-5-5-15) so I don't understand why my 2gb and 1 gb sticks work together but I can't get my 4gb stick to function with any of them. Please help me, if this doesn't work I think I'll just return the memory stick and see if I can get a refund.

 

[YellowCowboy]

Also forgot to mention that in the near future I am planning on upgrading to a 64 bit OS.

 

[w153r]

Did you go the dell website and confirm that your memory would work? You could of also emailed Dell and G. Skill the simple question of will that memory work my laptop. Instead it seems you went out on a whim, bought something online (what a pain in the ass it is to return isn't it) without doing any MEANINGFUL research. Doesn't surprise me, laptops are picky, that's why you check with the manufacturer of both products... good one nub.

 

[scudst0rm]

does the manual specify max capacity per slot? If it just says max 4gb and there's two slots its usually implied its max 2gb per slot.

 

[runswindows95]

http://crucial.com/store/listparts.aspx?model=XPS%20M1710

Max each slot can handle is 2GB. It's amazing how a few minutes of research can save you so much trouble.

 

[YellowCowboy]

No, listen I checked it out before, and yes i did go out on a whim. I admit I took a gamble when I bought this, but I had multiple reports of people saying they have gotten their computers to work with it, even though Dell (or some other company) had originally told them it was not compatible. I was just wondering if anyone else who had purchased it could give me some advice as to why it isn't working properly.

 

[YellowCowboy]

And in response to what was said before, I haven't seen these 4gb sticks out that long, so I doubt my manual or anywhere else would even mention if they could fit the 4gb sticks. So yeah I was kind of hoping that it would work with my computer. Other Dell computers (roughly the same as mine) were getting better luck than I was.

Maybe I was mislead but when I was doing the research some guy said he got 8gb working on his Latitude 830 laptop which also has a 4gb limiter on it (so this was my hope). Hoping one of you guys could tell me why...

The G.Skill website already said that they will not say anything that might go against the manual of the computer manufacturer. Even if their product does work, they will only put what is specified in the manual.

 

[cjl]

I've got 4GB working in my XPS M1710, but I am using 2x2GB sticks, not a single 4GB. I have doubts about whether it supports a single 4GB stick, as they are far newer than the XPS (and its chipset).

 

[YellowCowboy]

Ok, I placed the 4gb stick in to my girlfriend's HP dv2000 laptop (AMD Sempron 1.59Ghz, 1 GB of RAM [512MB x 2]) and it works fine. Now after reviewing the specs for her computer, it's only supposed to take up to 2GB max, but xp reads it as if there were 3gb of ram in the computer. Is it because she isn't using a duo core processor?