Name: Jeannette Date: July 31, 2006 at 12:53:14 Pacific Subject: What would happen if too much RAM? OS: 98 CPU/Ram: had 64mgs Model/Manufacturer: HP Pavilion 6630
Comment:
I met my sister for a family reunion and told her to bring her computer so I could put more RAM in her HP Pavilion 6630 computer. All she had was 64 mgs at the time. It was a rushed decision to bring her computer so I did not know what type of computer she had. I took a chance and grabbed two sticks of SDRAM one a 256/133 and the other a 64/133 and brought them along. I installed both ...replacing the one bank of 64/100 her computer had. It worked fine in the amount of testing I was able to do while still trying to participate in the family reunion activities :o) I decided to write down all other information from her computer.i.e. model, serial number, etc. Now that I'm home and looked up her model, I see that her computer takes 256 megs maximum. or two banks of 128/100. What could happen to her computer if the 256 + 64/133= ( total of 320 mgs at 133) SDRAM I put is left as is? Would BIOS take only what is needed or allowed and disregard the rest? I took a chance and assumed that her computer should take the extra memory. She is now back home 11 hours away. Sorry long story ... any advice is greatly appreciated.
There was a period when 256 Mbs RAM modules first came on the market where MB manufacturers stipulated 128 MB modules as the maximum possible. However, you could install 256 MB modules but reliability could not be guaranteed.
The only thing you can say with certainty is that it might work, but on the other hand it might not. Ham30's assessment seems the most likely outcome.
If the motherboard is designed to take PC100 RAM, installing PC133 RAM should still work, but only at PC100 speeds.
One thing that won't happen though is that you will damage anything. If it doesn't work and the computer fails to boot or constantly crashes, then you just remove it and go back to the original configuration.
Hi, Since the limiting factor is lack of enough Address lines to address more memory, the result may be failure to use more than it can handle. May work at the board's max value. Never tried it.
Thank you all for your help. You've reassured me that I should not panic since my sister knows very little about computers and could not change back to the original memory bank. If the system does start crashing. I will then have to, somehow, get her computer to replace the RAM. (ham30) I could not reach her yesterday so she could check how much RAM showed in her System. I'll try again today. I very much appreciate all your replies. You guys are great to take the time to help :o)
Jennifer: I asked her what type of computer she had and all she could say is that it had a label IBM Celeron. Usually, that's the first thing I do is go to the manufacturer's web site. I did go to IBM's site to try and find what she described... no luck. It was a rushed last minute decision to pack her computer and I took a chance knowing that most computers, that I worked on, could at least take the RAM I chose. But, a lesson learned...I will not guess next time. I hope you are right that I got lucky... this time :o) Time will tell if her system doesn't lock up. Thanks Jen.. :o)
The information below is from th HP Support site: Maximum 256 MB (2 x 128 MB DIMM) Speed 100 MHz synchronous Sockets Two 168-pin DIMMs Size 16, 32, 64, and 128 MB DIMMs I Have a HP Pavilion 6465 that said the same thing. But I put 2 256MB PC100 ram chips in it with no problems at all.Now running 512MB ans it is running Windows98FE.
JPW :o) I very much appreciate the info. I feel better knowing that you put 512MB with no problems. Thanks for taking the time to answer...best to you :o)
Just don't exceed 512Meg with '95/'98... otherwise you will have "a little tweaking" to do...
And for '98, 64Meg is usually adequate; 128 more than enough; 256-512 more than enough (overkill?) - unless you're running really heavy memory user items...
You evidently haven't seen the "Terminator" movies. If you give the computer too much memory, it will eventually become self-aware, going on a killing spree, launching nuclear missles, & starting World War III.
Call your sister immediately & tell her to use extreme caution if she attempts to turn the PC off. It could go into defensive mode & electrocute her via the power switch.
I'll be watching the evening news to see how she makes out.
HTH
Dave
If a turtle doesn't have a shell, is he homeless or naked?
trvr:) thanks for that extra info. my sister was running on 64mgs ever since she got the computer, some years, ago but always complained how slow it was. I printed and will keep your info :)
Dave357>>>>> what have you been smoking.??? There's always a 'joker' in every forum....When people write to this forum for expert help, it's because they don't know what to do...as in my case. I've had phenominal help in the past years that got me out of some serious messes.... I can't thank them enough.
hang on there... Dave 357 was only doing what we all occasionally do - a bit if "joshing" as was once called in the oldw days...? He frequently offers excellent input to those who come here... Not averse to a bit of leg-pulling/joshing myself on occasion here...
'trvlr'...To me 'Dave357' came across like he was making fun of me and made me feel like an air-head. Dave, I am sorry for taking it the wrong way but at the time, I was worried and I did not feel the humor. Once again,... I'm sorry.
Seldom does anyone (not the least Dave357) here intend to make a poster feel they're an airhead...; invariably anything but. Yet (as I said earlier) there are occasions when a few of us get "a little naughty..." and can't resist the opportunity to leg pull etc... But it's all too easy to forget that the target/poster (urgently seeking help) may not always realise they're having their leg pulled..., or see the humour in the comment(s).
Which having said, I did enjoy a chuckle when I read Dave357's caveat/warning... The image of a windows PC becoming intelligent etc...; that'll be the day...
i have a similair question. what would happen if a mobo was built for pc133 and was given pc100? i ask because i just got a mobo and processor at a thrift store and the only ram i have is the ram from my 1999/2000 gateway 500mhz p3 which i suspect is pc 100. as a follow up is there anyway to tell if the ram is pc100 or pc133 just by looking at it?
