Hi all,

Have been watching these boards for a couple of weeks now, and now have a legitimate query to post... I've seen all the posts regrding PCs not recognising new RAM, but some seem to contain differing opinions.

I've just installed a 256Mb PC-133 stick, in addition to the 2x 64Mb PC 133 sticks I already have. Given that RAM is dirt cheap at the moment, I figured why not?

For whatever reason, the PC only sees 256Mb instead of 384Mb. My specs are as follows:

Celeron 500 (ewww..I know what ya thinking!), Aopen AX63 m/board (3 DIMM), 10.2 WD HDD, Win 98SE, s3 Savage 4 32Mb graphics. The Aopen website clearly states that the maximum amount of memory is 768Mb (3x 256). The m/board is here (http://english.aopen.com.tw/products/mb/ax63.htm).

At the moment, the 256 is in DIMM 3 and the two 64s are in 1 & 2. I've tried moving the 256 to DIMM 1, but upon a boot, the memory reduced to 192Mb, so I moved it to DIMM 3 again.

I've seen some replies advocating going into BIOS and changing the settings, however to say that I'm not comfortable with BIOS, is to say Bill Gates has a few dollars to his name http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/biggrin.gif

Any suggestions for me? There are no BIOS updates dealing with memory issues, and all 3 DIMMS & modules are working - I've checked that separately

Cheers

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Zed's dead baby. Zed's dead!

[This message has been edited by Boo Radley (edited 07-16-2001).]

Not much of a answer but while waiting for a better one you cold install each RAM one at a time and boot up in between to test each stick works correctly on their own, then post your results, seems almost like your 256 ram is only been seen as 128.


http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/smile.gif

Hi;

I had this problem with my Tyan board. I had to use a process of elimination.

Generally, the larger SRAM chip should go in DIMM 0 or 1 (however it is marked on your board), then in sequence from larger capacity to smaller. However, it seems that the variation in boards out there can go against the rule. In my board, I had to place the chips in only a specific order, not what the manual said necessarily. Consideratrions are;

1. Using the same brand and type of memory. That way, you are REASONABLY sure of having compatible chips on the simm card. I bought a 256 mb PNY SIMM, it would not work in mt Tyan board, but did in mt ColorPower board. The Tyan would only take Crucial memory that I bought, then rejected a second one, until I replaced it the EXACT part number, although they were the same capacity.

2. Trying one DIMM at a time, see which show their full capacity, then installing on at a time in series. You may have to insert the lower capacity DIMMS in the 1st slot first, breaking rule #1. See what combination works.

3. Try installing just the 256 alone in the 1st slot. If that works, your 1/2 way there. If not try it in another DIMM slot.

4. Make sure you consult the users manual and online help for recommended memory and configurations that youre board is designed to take. This usually solves the problem, as companies will test various brands of memory with their systems.

5. Check the bios to see if the memory is being recognized for correct type and speed rating.

5. Knowledge = time willing to be spent solving a problem X persistence

6. Buy picture frames to mount your hardware on the wall.

I hope you can appreciate the humor!

Good luck!

go to run and type " msconfig ", when it pops up look at the bottom for a tab that says " advanced "; there will be a bunch of check boxes on the left, look for wone that says" limit memory to..." make sure it is unchecked.

Yell back and let us know if anything helps. http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/wink.gif

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iisbob
"Soap and education are not as sudden as a massacre, but they are more deadly in the long run."

On Page 18 of the PDF manual for that board is a note about 2 or 4 clock memory

From the way your memory amount is changing.
I'd look at the clock of the memory. and second I think I would look at the memory amount with only the 256 dimm installed.
It's possible your board doesn't support that memory configuration.
Again on page 17 of that manual states only using memory with 16 or less chips.



[This message has been edited by Rick (edited 07-17-2001).]

Thanks for your assistance peoples. I intend on rearrnaging and trying ALL possible variations of DIMMs & look at BIOS settings on the weekend.

I have printed out the manual and will check it again...

Once again, thanks.... I'll post up the result when done

Cheers

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Zed's dead baby. Zed's dead!

Hi;

This link may help also
http://www.crucial.com/store/listparts.asp?model=AX63&DetailMB=Y

Accually, if you have 3 DIMMS, its probably the pro model
http://www.crucial.com/store/listparts.asp?model=AX63+Pro&DetailMB=Y



[This message has been edited by danleff (edited 07-17-2001).]

An up-date:-

I've tried the 256 in each of the 3 DIMM slots on its own, and in all 3 reads as 128Mb. I've also spent the past 90 minutes trawling through the Aopen m/board newsgroups, and it appears that a lot of people have the same problem with Aopen boards. Only problem is, there are a lot of unanswered queries relating to either 256 or 512 sticks. My m/board is definitely the AX63, it was clearly marked on the board itself, although, curiously, it has the same colored Printer port colour as the AX63 Pro..

The AX63 m/board definitely supports 256 memory sticks. The manual suggests
using only DIMMS of less than 16 sticks. I presume that refers to the little black squares on the memory stick itself? If so, there are 16 on the 256Mb stick, but I'm curious as to how else you would reach 256, if not by 16x16?

Finally (almost), relating to the BIOS. What exactly does resetting the default do? The only change I've made to BIOS is to disable COM 2 to prevent a modem/soundcard IRQ conflict. If the BIOS is reset to default, will COM 2 be re-enabled?

My BIOS is R1.23. The next version is R1.24 which does the following:

Fixes incorrect size detection of some SDRAM at DIMM slot #3 (eg. Apacer 128MB single side, chip: WINBOND )
Changes ACPI vversion from 1.00 to 1.00B to install Win98 SE and Win2000 in ACPI mode by default.
Updates CPU microcodes.
Supports ZIP 250 devices.
Supports Wake_On_Mouse for 4 frame PS2 mouse.

Might this fix it, with particular reference to the first entry?

Given I'm only running Win 98SE, I'm guessing that although it should read a total of 384Mb, 256Mb isn't too bad!! http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/smile.gif

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Zed's dead baby. Zed's dead!