Strange prob upgrading Dell Inspiron E1505 memory

[klopus]

My 1 year old E1505 originally came with Hynix 2x 512GB (444MHz DDR2) split between two DIMMs. I decided to upgrade to 2GB and got compatible Kingston 2x 1GB (667MHz DDR2) from MemoryUnlimited.

Dell has two DIMM slots A & B on the bottom.

1. Removed 2 old 512 DIMMs and put 2 1GB ones. Won't boot - A and Down Arrow icons flash.
2. Removed from slot B - Boots with 1GB
3. Maybe one new DIMM is bad? Switched - no problem Boots with 1GB
4. Maybe slot B went kaput? Put back 2 old 512MB DIMMs - boots with 1GB.
5. Maybe slot B want only 512MB? Put new 1GB in slot A, old 512MB into slot B. Won't boot!

So looks like there're no problems with Kingston memory nor there's a problem with Dell's slot B. Freaking thing just doesn't want more than 1GB. But how come? Dell officially states that max for this model is 2GB and even suggests to upgrade. Maybe it somehow doesn't like 667MHz?

Please help!

 

[John]

Although it shouldn't be related, have you tried flashing to the latest bios? If that doesn't help I would return the memory and buy from Crucial.

E1505 specs

 

[klopus]

Originally posted by: John
Although it shouldn't be related, have you tried flashing to the latest bios? If that doesn't help I would return the memory and buy from Crucial.

E1505 specs

Thanks for reply. I already have latest BIOS update. Somehow I don't think that Crucial memory would make any difference. Both DIMMs I have are brand new genuine Kingston DDR2 PC2-5300 667Mhz. None of the DIMMs appears to be faulty since each of them work fine in Slot A but not Slot B. Slot B also appears to work fine when I use both original 512MB DIMMs.

Problem seems to be that somehow my E-1505 doesn't want to have more than 1GB. With every combination of memory more than 1GB it fails to reboot - 2x 1GB, 1GB + 512MB. On the other hand a single 1GB in slot A or 2x 512MB (Slots A and B) work fine.

Maybe it somehow doesn't like 667MHz memory? But then it works fine with a single 1GB 667Mhz DIMM.

Any other ideas what may cause all this?

 

[John]

The fact is that even though each 1GB dimm works by itself they refuse to work together. Since your notebook supports 2GB you have a compatibility issue, so your only real option is to try two different modules. Since Crucial guarantees their memory to work that is your best option IMHO. One thing I wanted to point out is that their configurator only lists DDR2 667.

http://www.crucial.com/store/listparts.aspx?model=Inspiron+E1505

 

[Aarondeep]

have you tried to mix your old ram with the new? One stick of 512 + 1gb.

 

[John]

Originally posted by: aarondeep
have you tried to mix your old ram with the new? One stick of 512 + 1gb.

He listed his troubleshooting steps in the OP.

 

[Aarondeep]

Oops missed that =). Looks like some incompatibility like the man John said.

 

[postmortemIA]

no incompatibility here, E1505 and 2 sticks of Kingston DDR2 1GB 667MHz..got them like 2 days ago.

 

[Fraggable]

Can you run Memtest86 on each of the new modules, 1 at a time?

 

[dunderwood]

Did you ever find out what was wrong? I've got a new E1505 direct from Dell showing the same problems as you spoke of and it came from the factory that way- ordered with 2GB, only 1GB will work.

 

[gvrv]

hi. i have more or less the same problem (it is a bit different). look to the description that i posted in the dell forum:

"I've a dell inspiron e1505 which came originally with 512 Mb memory. after i bought it I added one 1Gb dimm on the free slot (it is not dell - samsung brand, 16 chips). never had a problem with it. today i decided to replace the 512Mb original dell dimm for another 1Gb dimm (kingston, 16 chips).

my problem is: after i install both dimms, windows freezes at the boot (where the blue squares are moving). BUT.... if i start the windows in safe mode, it starts normally, and the system info recognizes the 2,0 Gb of ram....
i already tried to start the windows with both 1Gb dimms alone, and both started normally.... they only make problem when together, on the "normal" windows

how can i solve this.... is there anything i need to change in the windows so that it starts normally?"

any clues? is it a kingston prob?!

 

[Athena]

If your machine is still under warranty, you should call Dell immediately and let them troubleshoot/fix it.