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I cannot increase the memory beyong 64MB or what is actually the problem? ANd it cannot take any other RAM except the ones labelled EDO.
akins
We need your Dell system model number. There is a label on the case somewhere with the specific model number on it. If it is a laptop, the label is often on the bottom of the case.
If you have an really old computer, it could be you can install no more than 64mb of ram - that is far below the recommended minimum for XP, and 1/4 of what it takes for XP to run as it should (256mb minimum) in it's default configuration. In that case you would be much better off using Win ME or less. If it takes EDO ram, it can always also take FPM ram, but if you install FPM ram, all the ram will run at FPM speeds - up to 15% or so less than EDO speeds. It could be you can install EDO or FPM ram in it, but not SDRam, if your ram is 5 volt rather than the much more common 3.3 volt.
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Hi,
Please advise the exact model Dell
Unless the machine is more than four or five years old you should be able to increase the memory.
Use the Crucial memory selector page
http://www.crucial.com/store/listProductLine.asp?cat=RAM&mfr=Dell&submit=Go
to determine how much memory the machine can take.
Remember Dell computers are picky about the quaility of memory that is installed. It may be cheap and may work in another machine, but it may not work in a Dell.
hth
Ceri
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"Remember Dell computers are picky about the quaility of memory that is installed. It may be cheap and may work in another machine, but it may not work in a Dell."
The quality of the ram or what you pay for it has little or nothing to do with whether a ram module is compatible with a particular computer mboard, as long as it meets minimum requirements. Ram compatibilty is mostly dependant on which chipset is on the mboard, how it is wired to the mboard, and what ram module configurations will work with that situation. Some chipsets will accept more different types of modules.
It is not a Dell brand mboard requirement specifically - it is a universal requirement. Dell and most other brand name system builders do not make their own mboards - they are made by mboard manufacturers and supplied oem to the system builders.
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And if these are 72-pin SIMMs, don't forget that they must be installed in matched pairs. Also, if this is a socket 7 board based on an old Intel chipset (for example, 430TX, 430FX, 430VX), only 64MB will be cached.
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jam I couldn't resist asking do you know of any similar limits on socket 7 boards with via chipsets. I'm current working with one a neighbor trashed. I had 4 32mb simms I put in it, a p200 mmx & an old voodoo 3 card I had. formated the drive & install 98se. I connected an usr external modem, and was supprised how well it ran.
larry
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Win 98SE runs quite well even with a 200mhz or slower cpu if it has 128mb of ram to work with. 96mb is just barely enough for it to work as it should. With 64mb or less there is a lot of disk thrashing, and the hard drive can't achieve its maximum speed (I did some tests with Sisoft Sandra a while back).
See response 6 in this, regarding onboard L2 cache vs. how much of the ram is cached:
http://www.computing.net/hardware/wwwboard/forum/41007.html
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This is from a (no longer there) mature processor page from Intel:
"It is possible for you to also see a performance increase by dropping to 64MB of memory. This does depend on your operating system, and the requirements for your applications, but it is a possibility. The only PCIset that we manufactured for the Pentium processor line, which can cache more than 64 MB of memory, is the 430HX."
I think the 'This does depend on your operating system' is significant. I have no doubt you're better off with more than 64 meg in any P-I system running 9x or higher.
I've noticed many of the intel P-I motherboards made for Gateway, Dell and Micron had 2 DIMM slots. I never got one of those to see more than 32 meg per stick, for a total of 64 meg. I imagine that's the reason you're stuck at 64 meg. Their older boards with SIMMs memory would have no problem seeing 4 sticks of 32 meg for a total of 128.
It would see one-sided ram sticks as no more than 16 meg even if, for example, it was 64 meg stick. It would see double sided sticks as no more than 32 meg.
I couldn't see that it was limited to EDO DIMMs, although EDO is older and may be easier for the motherboard to see. You may be trying newer SDRAM that it can't see at all.
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wande:
Are you still looking at this thread? If you are, post something! Our posts are an exercise in futility without further info from you!DAVEINCAPS:
There were some Intel chipsets (e.g. one of the Triton ones?) that were extremely picky about which 64mb DIMM modules you used, yet they had no problem with most 32mb or smaller.
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It's possible there were higher capacity sticks that would have worked with those boards. But the ones I tried, usually a fairly good supply pulled from other boards, never worked.
And when it got down to P-I's that I'd be selling for $25 or $30 it didn't make sense to load them up with ram, especially with the chipset chaching limitiation. So I stopped trying to figure it out and just kept them at 64.
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I guess I should have gotten into a little more detail about the old Intel chipsets. I see the 430HX was mentioned...it *could* cache up to 512MB memory, but a specific type of "TAG RAM" had to be installed on the board. If the correct TAG RAM wasn't present, the HX only cached up to 64MB like all the rest.
Reading from L2 cache is MUCH faster than reading from uncached RAM (directly from the RAM module), but reading from the RAM module is preferrable to "thrashing" (using virtual memory/swap file on the HDD). Theoretically, keeping within the cacheable limit would give best performance, but 64MB simply isn't enough to do much with anymore & thrashing definitely isn't desireable, so installing more RAM & running uncached is the only alternative.
This site explains & also has a chart of many old chipsets, including the socket 7 chipsets by VIA:
http://www.makeitsimple.com/articles/ramguide/ramguidep6.htm
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