memory confusion

[ron2368]

I have an old dell dimension that I am stuck with. It has a intel 810 based board and the memory shown is pc100 sdram.
I have some pc 66 but it will not even boot with it.

I put some pc 133 in it today and the beginning of the bios post showed the 256mb of memory but then the monitor went blank and it just sat. I took this memory out and put the original stick in and it started right up.

Am I wrong in using the pc133,? Any ideas on why it would not fully boot ? thanks

 

[Lord Evermore]

PC66 won't work if the system requires only PC100 memory. PC133 ought to work, but it may not if it's not programmed with the SPD information for settings at PC100 speeds. Depending on the way the BIOS is set up, the system may not be capable of falling back to PC66 speed with the particular CPU you have (it might only run at matched speeds). It's unlikely that the Dell BIOS allows you to manually set the memory speed but you can check.

You may also just need to clear the CMOS settings on the mainboard after you install the PC133 module, that might allow it to redetect the memory and work. Should be a jumper somewhere on the board, or just pull the battery while the system is unplugged.

 

[jackschmittusa]

A lot of older mbs cannot use current pc 133 ram as they do not know how to handle high density sticks.

 

[Lord Evermore]

That's a possibility, although whether it's a speed issue or a density issue, it's strange that it booted at all.

 

[ron2368]

The density on my kingston chips is the same as the dell requirements. I will look at the bios to see if there is a memory setting or just do a reset. thank you

 

[ron2368]

There is no bios setting, even though the kingston lists at 133, 100 it will not boot.

The pc66 I put in it would not boot, it is really picky.