Utilizing BAD RAM

[thejoshi]

I have a 128MB DDR, installing which the Mobo beeps after testing 112MB RAM. I know that the memory is bad but can i utilize the good part i.e. 64MB or 92MB. Is there any way I can tell the mobo to use just 64/92MB of that DDR.

-Mahesh Joshi, Bhopal

 

[Amaroque]

No

 

[Spikesoldier]

pry off the offending chips it will work if you dont damage the PCB

sicne the ram is scrap anyway why not give it a shot, you have a 1/16 chance of eliminating the bad chip

 

[thejoshi]

Off course the RAM should be thrown or shot. But there should be a way to utilize these modules, say a system with two 128MB modules and one is gone. I we can utilize the bad modules working 64/92MB a system with only 128MB and a system with 128+64/128+92MB will definately outperform the previous one as there will less swapping.

-Mahesh Joshi, Bhopal, IND

 

[stevty2889]

bad ram = bad ram

 

[VirtualLarry]

Yes, you can use "bad DIMMs", both in Linux and in Win9x. Look up the "badram" driver for Linux, I think it needs to be compiled into the kernel, but it can be used to map out ranges of physical memory to avoid being used.

Similarly, with a little EMM386/HIMEM/RAMDISK/SMARTDRV magic, you can map out a bad chunk of RAM under DOS, and Win9x as it boots will respect and import the memory-usage tables set up by those drivers under DOS mode.

There is no such solution that I am aware of for NT-based OSes like W2K/XP, although there is a way to limit the total maximum physical memory that the OSes will use, that might work if the bad range of memory addresses are near the end.