SOLVED RAM Issues

[clifford_cooley]

Switch slots with the 2GB sticks and see if CPU-Z reports differently. And double check them to make sure they are properly inserted. If one side or the other is not all the way down, the module will not work. Yeah that will also work as TM suggest using the other two slots.

 

[Annie6246]

Ok, will do tomorrow. One other thing. Can I still use my original stick with these 2, although they're not Kingston, all the stats are the same. Then I wouldn't need but one more stick to get my 8GB once I change to the 64 bit OS.
If I can figure out what happened to my #1 slot. If the 2 and 4 slots work, the ppl I got the sticks from will be happy not to have to refund my money. Thanks for the program. It really helped out a lot.

 

[TrainableMan]

Does slot 1 work for an old stick by itself? If nothing at all works in Slot #1 then your motherboard is bad.

To use what you have now on a 64-bit OS you can put the 1GB DIMMs in slot 1&3 and the 2GB DIMMs in slot 2&4. If the slots and chips all work you should have a total of 6GB. To increase to 8GB you will eventually have to pull the 2x1GB and put in 2x2GB there but quite honestly, unless you are playing some intense games, running dual GPUs or processing CAD CAM designs, 6GB should do the job quite well.

 

[Annie6246]

Well what I actually have on hand is 3-2GB sticks. Was just assuming the other sticks were 1GB, because I was just getting a reading of 2GB installed. Strange that the slot would go bad right after I took the old stick out, because slot 1 was working fine then.

 

[TrainableMan]

If it works for one and not the other Clifford's idea that it may not be mounting correctly is a good possibility. Make sure nothing is in the slot and then make sure it goes in far enough that you are able to properly lock down both ends. Boot with the single new DIMM in Slot 1, if that works put the match in Slot 3.

NOTE: I assume you know, when working with RAM you should always short yourself on a metal lamp, to release any static electricity, before touching the RAM chips or motherboard.

 

[Annie6246]

Yes I'm quite aware of removing static before going into my machine. I will let you all know how everything turns out tomorrow. Thanks for all you help.

 

[Annie6246]

Update. The two new 2GB sticks are working fine in slots 2 and 4. Still can't get anything to read in slot 1. I did manage to blow some trash out of the slot with some canned air, before trying my original stick back in there, but still nothing. I am going to put my other stick into slot 3 and hope for the best. I spent the day changing my OS to a 64 bit and getting all my drivers back. I do appreciate all of you helping me with this issue. Still confused about the #1 slot not working. Don't understand how something goes out just like that. Hopefully if I can get the other stick to work in the 3rd slot, I will, at least, have 6GB of RAM to work with. If need, I'll just invest in larger sticks, but they are very expensive for my old machine.

 

[clifford_cooley]

If need, I'll just invest in larger sticks, but they are very expensive for my old machine.

What is the largest memory module your PC will support? The machine may not support 4GB sticks.

 

[TrainableMan]

Pretty sure when I looked up that board Max RAM was 2GB per slot for total of 8, so if you can't fix slot 1 you will have your limit at 6

 

[Annie6246]

Yep, that's what the mobo box says. So 6GBs it is for now. So what is a 1066 MHz stick? It might support a 4GB stick, but only 2 of them. I know it won't support over 8GB.

 

[clifford_cooley]

The way it works is each slot has a limit. And the number of slots multiplied by that limit gives you the total memory supported.

 

[TrainableMan]

1066MHz sticks run at a higher frequency so they are faster, process more in the same amount of time.

You would need to check the RAM charts for that MOBO to see specifically what chips/speeds/sizes are supported and also if any need to be in a specific slot (sometimes higher speeds are limited to, for example, blue slots only). I tried to find the RAM guide but was sent to a broken link.

 

[clifford_cooley]

English manual for "K9A2GM-FD / FIH / FIH-S" - http://dl.msi.com/download_files/mnu_exe/E7501v1.0.zip

Amongst all the confusion the following shows to be a tested module for the board listed on MSI. It is a 4GB module and shows to pass with all 4 modules installed. What is confusing is I can't seem to figure out if they are actually referring to the 2x2GB kit instead. The kit would have the model "KVR800D2N6K2/4G", instead of "KVR800D2N6/4G".

Kingston 4GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Desktop Memory Model KVR800D2N6/4G

 

[Annie6246]

Oh boy, more searching. I love it. I'll be honest, though. I probably can't afford the 4GB sticks anyway. It seems the more obsolete they get, the higher the price. I'll be happy with my 6GB for now. I don't believe my 1GB video card I plan on getting soon will cause that much problem. I do thank you all for all of your help and info. Also, thanks, TrainableMan for the links on another page for the Windows 7 64 bit download. I wasn't looking forward to having to buy another copy of Windows 7 just to get the 64 bit. It worked great. Hoping to make this system last another 5 yrs.