AboutBenedict Brand-Cotti Expertise General questions about Hardware selection, PC self-building. POST issues and boot problems, are all fine. I am also confident answering questions regarding Linux based systems.
Apple Mac is my current weakness, but I'm happy to help where I can.
Experience 15 years Building, Repairing and upgrading PC's and workstations. 5 years Supporting international customers whilst integrating a fixed wireless access systems into their networks. This includes directly training Engineers of various nationalities about our (VectaStar) equipment.
Education/Credentials Data Communications and Telecommunications at Degree Level
I apologize, you are right, I have been reading a bit too much and have mixed it up in my head...what is that saying "a little information is dangerous"?
It is DDR PC2100
I have a 256 DDR PC 2100 stick installed and want to add a further 256 stick to it ending with a total of 512.
It doesn't seem to like being added on to and beeps, however, is fine with either one stick.
What can I do to make it recognize that having two 256 sticks DDR PC2100 memory is ok?
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Followup To
Question -
I just tried to install a 256 Kingston PC133 2100 DDR Ram stick into my computer in conjunction with the already installed stick of the same.
When I turn the computer on, I receive a series of beeps. I took it out, restarted the computer...beeping....took out the old RAM, beeping, restarted again and it is fine.
So now it is running with the stick of RAM that initially caused all the beeping with no issues whatsoever.
Could this just be a matter of it not recognizing that stick off the bat and it took multiple reboots for it TO recognize or is it perhaps a bad stick. It is not a new stick of RAM, but is one that was swapped out of a different computer (exact same computer in parts, etc.). There was absolutely no issue in the other computer, however, I do understand that sometimes hardware doesn't like other hardware.
Now that the background is done above, to answer the quick questions 1 - 4....
1. Windows 2000 Professional, MO Prof Office, Corel Suite Office.
2. Trying to upgrade Memory by adding an additional stick of 256 DDR PC133 2100 to the existing of the same.
3. Increase memory to 512
4. Looking to increase memory to be able to run XP a bit smoother (as well as additional programs).
Any help in this would be much appreciated.
Dannielle
Answer -
Hi Dannielle,
You'll hate me for saying this but,
I think you've got odd sticks of RAM.
There's no such thing as DDR PC133 2100.
DDR is Double Data Rate.
PC133 refers to the fastest speed of the memory module in MHz.
2100 is usually preceeded by PC and is also relative to speed in MHz.
PC2100=266MHz(DDR266) PC2700=333MHz(DDR333) PC3200=400MHz(DDR400) PC4200=533MHz(DDR533) PC4500=566MHz(DDR566) I think the Highest at present is DDR600, but they advance every 10 minutes or so it seems!
PC133 RAM is only SDR (Single Data Rate)
When you say the Memory Modules are both the same, do you mean they share the same Kingston part number - KVR?
Or do they just look very similar?
SDR and DDR cannot usually be mixed.
I remember there were a few boards made, that had slots for both SD and DDR memory. i.e. the Asus A7A266-E has 3 SD and 2 DDR slots, but you can't populate both types simultaniously. The beeps confirm this. If your board has multiple slots for both types, SD slots are usually Black and DDR Slots are often Yellow and/or Blue.
Your PC will run smoother and faster on the DDR anyway, as it sounds like the Front Side Bus on your motherboard is 266MHz (This is the link on the board that carries data between your processor and your memory) The faster the better, hence the birth of DDR Memory. If you need to get hold of a new DDR module, if you're UK based, try http://www.cclonline.com/product-info.asp?product_id=1292&category_id=107&manufa...
ccl are very reasonable, and corsair make high quality RAM. The link is to DDR333. DDR is reverse compatible, so DDR400 will work in a DDR266 board, it will just run at 266MHz.
You are sensible to buy another 256 rather than a single 512, as 2 Sticks are faster than one.
There are a couple of other, easy ways to make your system run smoother for free. Like Virtual Memory settings for example. Just let me know if you need further help.
I hope this helps,
Kind regards,
Ben
Answer Hello again, it's not that bad really Dannielle, I've been mixed up about far worse before!
While a little information can be dangerous, there's no real harm done, and hopefully, you've gained some experience from it.
If your Motherboard does indeed have support for both SDRAM and DDR, then you need to get another stick of SDRAM or DDR. You cannot use one of each, as the SDRAM runs at 133MHz and the PC2100 DDR runs at 266MHz. So these Memory Sticks are unable to co-exist in the same system. The SDRAM is more expensive as it is less common now. DDR is Cheaper and faster.
It's not simple to explain really.
Imagine that the Front Side Bus (Motherboard connection between your memory slots and the processor) are like roads. And the Data is the traffic.
The SDRAM road is a single track one that traffic can only travel on at 30mph. The DDR Busses connect via motorways that allow traffic to travel at 70mph.
The problem here, is your traffic can't travel at 30mph and 70mph at the same time. Traffic must travel at a Uniform speed.
So you should get another stick of 256MB PC2100 DDR266 RAM and install it with the other one.
I hope this makes more sense to you.
Let me know if you need further help?
