My Dell Inspiron deson't show the 8gig RAM I've just installed

[Shamz R]

Hi all,

I've had my Dell laptop (Inspiron 1564) for a couple of years now. It came with 4GB of Ram (2 X 2GB). You can a snap shot of my specs here: http://screencast.com/t/H8MVD2VNT8C

I purchased 8GIG of ram from Crucial http://www.crucial.com/upgrade/Dell-memory/Inspiron+Laptops%2FNotebooks/Inspiron+15+%281564%29-upgrades.html as it does that my Dell machine does indeed support 8GB.

However, after installing the RAM, I reboot my laptop and I see in my system it only shows 4GB. The BIOS also shows 4GB. So my questions are why can't I see 8GB? It is in use, but the laptop can't read it? How can I get this to work?

Although this issue isn't uncommon, I don't see a solution to this particular issue with my machine online anywhere.

All thoughts and suggestions are appreciated.

Thank you,

Shamz

 

[JeauxBleaux]

Make certain you are at BIOS rev A13, available here -> http://www.dell.com/support/drivers/us/en/19/DriverDetails/Product/inspiron-1564?driverId=R301036&fileId=2731118546&osCode=W764#OldVersion

Choose the File Name: "FLASHME_v103_Win_1194_4M_1564A13.exe" and select "download file", then "Single File Download" (FFS, don't use Dell's download manager!) You can run this BIOS upgrade directly from your desktop.

If you are already at that BIOS revision, then pull just one SODIMM module and replace it with an old 2GB module. If you have 6GB RAM, then you know the 4GB module you pulled is bad. If you have 2 GB of RAM, then you can guess that the still-installed-4GB module is bad. OR, you can just pull a 4GB module (leaving 4GB in) and boot. See if it posts to BIOS with 4GB. Then swap the 4GB SODIMMs and do it again, one of them should fail.

 

[Shamz R]

I'll try this later on tonight and post the results. Thanks for that.

 

[Shamz R]

BTW, I updated the BIOS but still joy. I will start the the process you described later on tonight. (friend of mine is coming over with tools to open up my laptop).

 

[JeauxBleaux]

I'll assume you meant "no joy'. What's to open? A #1 phillips and three screws and you're in there.

And don't forget to remove the battery and power cord before you start.

 

[Shamz R]

'No Joy' means I had no luck with resolving the issue. However, I've now resolved it. The problem was I simply didn't fit one of the sticks in the slot correctly. I didn't 'click it in' correctly.

Thanks for everybody's help here.