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Motherboard / Ram Fried? Question.

I

instant

Member
Hi,

Is it most likely for the memory chips, or the motherboard, to have become 'fried' if you have
placed all three DDR (PC2100) memory chips the wrong way in the memory slots? 🙂

my ASUS A7V266-E motherboard (KT266a chipset) will no longer boot with these memory
chips in place, and when they are out the motherboard just beeps, is this a sign
that the motherboard still works, only that it does'nt have any memory, or is it just
some basic function still working?

When I boot with the memory chips inserted I just get a black screen, the disk lights
light all the time, and it seems like the drives/cd-rom/floppy are "restarted" every
second or so.. forever.

Any ideas?

I have to buy either a new motherboard, or new ram tomorrow, but it would suck
if I bought new memory and the motherboard was fried, and vice versa, and I have
no way to check which is broken and which is not.. or will a A7V-E motherboard
be able to use PC2100 memory? (using PC133 memory now)

 
hard telling, but usually the ram dies on that particular boo-boo. And no, the A7V motherboard will not use that ram; 184 pin DDR will not fit into a 168 pin slot any better than it goes in backwards.
 
Damn.. I cant believe I Fried 1GB of memory just to 'save time' last night.. damn damn damn.
Oh whell, maybe I can dig up a memory chip tomorrow morning, so I dont have to buy a new
motherboard to replace an already working one.

Question: If the motherboard is broken, will it ruin a new set of memory chips If I install them?
(I need to test to see if the motherboard or the memory is broken.. )
 
This is really expirimental stuff, do it at your own risk, but I think the mobo is OK, and the ram is toast. Just my opinion, based on those beep codes you were telling us.
 
Its all VIa's fault.. if their chipset had'nt sucked so much i would'nt have had to 'test' with my memory in the first place.
I'll never buy another VIA chipset motherboard, thats for sure. 🙂

i'll try borrowing some memory tomorrow.. if the computer boots I'll just buy some twinmos memory.. if it fails, i'll have to buy a new motherboard (AND RAM).. argh.

Thanks for the help.. If anyone else has a suggestion/idea/knowledge - feel free 🙂
(Atleast now I can play on my XBOX.. have'nt had a chance to do that lately due to homeworld2😉 )
 
just be carefull.

From understandings with cpu's....

I bet you could create a distaster for yourself if your not paying attention.

Put fried ram into a motherboard, fry that motherboard.

Test new RAM in fried motherboard, fry that new RAM.

Test New/recently fried RAM in New motherboard, fry that new motherboard..

etc etc.
 
How did you put the RAM in backwards? They have notches which prevent this from happening, so you couldn't possibly do that. 😕

The beeping while the RAM is not installed is normal, telling you that the RAM isn't installed or recognized. See your mobo manual for descriptions of the beep codes.

First, remove/disconnect all internal components (PCI, IDE, floppy) except for the RAM and CPU (with HeatSink + Fan). Make sure all electrical connectors and fans on the mobo are connected. Try one stick of RAM at a time, making sure they are seated properly and the retainers are completely locked. If the computer won't boot, clear the CMOS (see your motherboard manual for instructions) and try again. If it still doesn't boot, try the RAM in different slots.

If it boots without any error beeps, install the video card (don't forget to connect the monitor 😉) and boot again. Make sure that the BIOS settings are correct for your CPU and RAM, then install the remaining components one at a time verifying that the computer still boots with each new part installed.

Originally posted by: instant
Its all VIa's fault.. if their chipset had'nt sucked so much i would'nt have had to 'test' with my memory in the first place.
I'll never buy another VIA chipset motherboard, thats for sure. 🙂
Click to expand...
How did their chipset suck? Did you have problems initially, or did you just assume that it would have problems? While it is common knowledge that VIA has had problems in the past, they do seem to be quite stable now. The initial versions of their chipsets (KT133, KT266) were buggy but the revisions (KT133a, KT266a) weren't. FWIW, I had a Shuttle AK31A (VIA KT266a) for two years until lightning damaged it, and I was quite pleased with it. It ran 24/7 for the last 1.5 years and survived many incremental upgrades. 🙂 Also, my MSI K7Turbo (VIA KT133a) mobo lasted 2+ years before giving me RAM errors, which I replaced it with a VIA KM266a mobo which is also stable and running 24/7.
 
Well, I took a chance and tried the Corsair XMS Memory stick in another motherboard, and it worked there. So I must assume that my motherboard was the only thing that got fried.

Yes, there are notches.. but if you apply enough pressure ;-) they will fit both ways. all 3 of them. .. 🙂)

Well, my via motherboard ran very unstable with 2 memory sticks, and I had even more trouble with 3 of them (2 same type, 1 of 'better type'. I was unable to run 133:133 with three sticks, and could not run at agressive memory timings (2-2-2-5-cas2) either. So I was forced to run 100:133 , cas2.5, 3-3-3-6 with 3 chips.

 
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