On Thu, 18 Jan 2007 04:01:00 +0000, Amadeus W.M. wrote:

> This has nothing to do with linux, but I don't know where else to ask.
> I have an old Dell pc (about 2000) running Fedora. It only has 2x128 Mb of
> ram and with the latest versions of FC I decided to add more ram. I bought
> a single 512 Mb module of ram. The motherboard only has two memory slots,
> so I took an old 128 module out. Now I have a 512 and a 128 module
> inside. The bios detects the 512 Mb module and says the other slot is
> uninitialized. All 3 modules are PC133 sdram. Do the two memory modules
> have to be of the same size? Thanks!

That would be a possibility. Another one might be that it will only accept
two 'sides' and that the 512 is two sided.

Amadeus W.M.
was of the opinion that:

> This has nothing to do with linux, but I don't know where else to
> ask. I have an old Dell pc (about 2000) running Fedora. It only
> has 2x128 Mb of ram and with the latest versions of FC I decided
> to add more ram. I bought a single 512 Mb module of ram. The
> motherboard only has two memory slots, so I took an old 128
> module out. Now I have a 512 and a 128 module inside. The bios
> detects the 512 Mb module and says the other slot is
> uninitialized. All 3 modules are PC133 sdram. Do the two memory
> modules have to be of the same size? Thanks!

Depending on how old your motherboard is, it may not be able to
utilize more than 512 MB RAM. If so, there could be a remote
chance of finding a BIOS update, but most likely you won't.

Hans Poppe
Oslo, Norway
--
*********************
Failure is not an option!
It comes bundled with Windows.

On Wed, 17 Jan 2007 22:11:20 -0700, ray wrote:

> On Thu, 18 Jan 2007 04:01:00 +0000, Amadeus W.M. wrote:
>
>> This has nothing to do with linux, but I don't know where else to ask.
>> I have an old Dell pc (about 2000) running Fedora. It only has 2x128 Mb of
>> ram and with the latest versions of FC I decided to add more ram. I bought
>> a single 512 Mb module of ram. The motherboard only has two memory slots,
>> so I took an old 128 module out. Now I have a 512 and a 128 module
>> inside. The bios detects the 512 Mb module and says the other slot is
>> uninitialized. All 3 modules are PC133 sdram. Do the two memory modules
>> have to be of the same size? Thanks!
>
> That would be a possibility. Another one might be that it will only accept
> two 'sides' and that the 512 is two sided.

Thanks for the answer. The 512 is two sided, but so are the old 128.

On Thu, 18 Jan 2007 09:09:27 +0100, Hans Poppe wrote:

> Amadeus W.M.
> was of the opinion that:
>
>> This has nothing to do with linux, but I don't know where else to
>> ask. I have an old Dell pc (about 2000) running Fedora. It only
>> has 2x128 Mb of ram and with the latest versions of FC I decided
>> to add more ram. I bought a single 512 Mb module of ram. The
>> motherboard only has two memory slots, so I took an old 128
>> module out. Now I have a 512 and a 128 module inside. The bios
>> detects the 512 Mb module and says the other slot is
>> uninitialized. All 3 modules are PC133 sdram. Do the two memory
>> modules have to be of the same size? Thanks!
>
> Depending on how old your motherboard is, it may not be able to
> utilize more than 512 MB RAM. If so, there could be a remote
> chance of finding a BIOS update, but most likely you won't.
>
> Hans Poppe
> Oslo, Norway

Trying to upgrade the bios is not a bad idea, thanks! I'll look into it.

On Thu, 18 Jan 2007 17:29:25 +0000, Amadeus W.M. wrote:

> On Wed, 17 Jan 2007 22:11:20 -0700, ray wrote:
>
>> On Thu, 18 Jan 2007 04:01:00 +0000, Amadeus W.M. wrote:
>>
>>> This has nothing to do with linux, but I don't know where else to ask.
>>> I have an old Dell pc (about 2000) running Fedora. It only has 2x128 Mb of
>>> ram and with the latest versions of FC I decided to add more ram. I bought
>>> a single 512 Mb module of ram. The motherboard only has two memory slots,
>>> so I took an old 128 module out. Now I have a 512 and a 128 module
>>> inside. The bios detects the 512 Mb module and says the other slot is
>>> uninitialized. All 3 modules are PC133 sdram. Do the two memory modules
>>> have to be of the same size? Thanks!
>>
>> That would be a possibility. Another one might be that it will only accept
>> two 'sides' and that the 512 is two sided.
>
> Thanks for the answer. The 512 is two sided, but so are the old 128.

It's most likely another hardware limitation then. Have you checked the
mobo specs to see if it handles more than 512?

On Thu, 18 Jan 2007 17:29:25 +0000, Amadeus W.M. wrote:

> On Wed, 17 Jan 2007 22:11:20 -0700, ray wrote:
>
>> On Thu, 18 Jan 2007 04:01:00 +0000, Amadeus W.M. wrote:
>>
>>> This has nothing to do with linux, but I don't know where else to ask.
>>> I have an old Dell pc (about 2000) running Fedora. It only has 2x128 Mb of
>>> ram and with the latest versions of FC I decided to add more ram. I bought
>>> a single 512 Mb module of ram. The motherboard only has two memory slots,
>>> so I took an old 128 module out. Now I have a 512 and a 128 module
>>> inside. The bios detects the 512 Mb module and says the other slot is
>>> uninitialized. All 3 modules are PC133 sdram. Do the two memory modules
>>> have to be of the same size? Thanks!
>>
>> That would be a possibility. Another one might be that it will only accept
>> two 'sides' and that the 512 is two sided.
>
> Thanks for the answer. The 512 is two sided, but so are the old 128.

I have done some work with some 800mhz P3 Compaqs which have three slots -
the reference info from the compaq web site indicates that in the three
slots you can have a maximum of four 'sides' i.e. you could have three
single sided, one double and two singles, or two doubles. If you have two
doulbes, it will not recognize the other slot - you might look into the
system docs and see if there is a similar limitation. You should be able
to find info at dell's web site.

Amadeus W.M. wrote:

> This has nothing to do with linux, but I don't know where else to ask.
> I have an old Dell pc (about 2000) running Fedora. It only has 2x128
> Mb of ram and with the latest versions of FC I decided to add more
> ram. I bought a single 512 Mb module of ram. The motherboard only has
> two memory slots, so I took an old 128 module out. Now I have a 512
> and a 128 module inside. The bios detects the 512 Mb module and says
> the other slot is uninitialized. All 3 modules are PC133 sdram. Do the
> two memory modules have to be of the same size? Thanks!

I'd have a look at the memory selector tool from crucial.com. It is very
detailed and should be able to tell you of any limitations your PC has.

On Fri, 19 Jan 2007 11:07:41 +0000, Chris wrote:

> Amadeus W.M. wrote:
>
>> This has nothing to do with linux, but I don't know where else to ask.
>> I have an old Dell pc (about 2000) running Fedora. It only has 2x128
>> Mb of ram and with the latest versions of FC I decided to add more
>> ram. I bought a single 512 Mb module of ram. The motherboard only has
>> two memory slots, so I took an old 128 module out. Now I have a 512
>> and a 128 module inside. The bios detects the 512 Mb module and says
>> the other slot is uninitialized. All 3 modules are PC133 sdram. Do the
>> two memory modules have to be of the same size? Thanks!
>
> I'd have a look at the memory selector tool from crucial.com. It is very
> detailed and should be able to tell you of any limitations your PC has.

You're talking about crucialscan.exe?

Amadeus W.M. wrote:

>On Fri, 19 Jan 2007 11:07:41 +0000, Chris wrote:
>
>
>>Amadeus W.M. wrote:
>>
>>
>>I'd have a look at the memory selector tool from crucial.com. It is very
>>detailed and should be able to tell you of any limitations your PC has.
>>
>>
>
>You're talking about crucialscan.exe?
>

No. He means the web site. www.crucial.com sells memory and they have a
tool to let you select your specific computer and it will tell you what
can go in it for memory. It is very helpful and they make good memory.

Amadeus W.M. wrote:

> On Fri, 19 Jan 2007 11:07:41 +0000, Chris wrote:
>
>> Amadeus W.M. wrote:
>>
>>> This has nothing to do with linux, but I don't know where else to
>>> ask. I have an old Dell pc (about 2000) running Fedora. It only has
>>> 2x128 Mb of ram and with the latest versions of FC I decided to add
>>> more ram. I bought a single 512 Mb module of ram. The motherboard
>>> only has two memory slots, so I took an old 128 module out. Now I
>>> have a 512 and a 128 module inside. The bios detects the 512 Mb
>>> module and says the other slot is uninitialized. All 3 modules are
>>> PC133 sdram. Do the two memory modules have to be of the same size?
>>> Thanks!
>>
>> I'd have a look at the memory selector tool from crucial.com. It is
>> very detailed and should be able to tell you of any limitations your
>> PC has.
>
> You're talking about crucialscan.exe?

No. I mean the 'Crucial Memory Advisor Tool' on their frontpage:
http://www.crucial.com/index.asp

You click through the menus to pick your hardware and they 'recommend'
which RAM will suit you best.

On Fri, 19 Jan 2007 17:05:26 +0000, Chris wrote:

> No. I mean the 'Crucial Memory Advisor Tool' on their frontpage:
> http://www.crucial.com/index.asp
>
> You click through the menus to pick your hardware and they 'recommend'
> which RAM will suit you best.

I figured, thanks. They say I can only have 2x256Mb. Yet my motherboard
saw 1x512. Regardless, seems I'm stuck with 512.

In article , Amadeus W.M. wrote:
> I figured, thanks. They say I can only have 2x256Mb. Yet my motherboard
> saw 1x512. Regardless, seems I'm stuck with 512.
Well, if you want to try an expirement. swap the two memory
modules around. sometimes that will allow the other one to show up.
However... you may want to just count your blessings and sell the
other two on Ebay or return the other 512MB to the store you bought it
from.

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