Hi everyone,
I have a Dell Dimension 4600 (about a year and a half old) that originally
came with 512 MB RAM. To be specific, 2x256 MB, DDR SDRAM, 400 MHz PC3200,
32x64, CL3 (made by Micron). I finally decided to upgrade my RAM to 2 GB,
so I purchased two 1GB RAM chips of the same specs...2x1024 MB, DDR SDRAM,
400 MHz PC3200, CL3, from Corsair. With me so far? Did I miss something?
Anyway, after I installed it and booted the PC, nothing happens except for 6
beeps: 1-3-2. Tried it in various ways, swapping in and out of the various
slots, with and without the original RAM. Nothing, Nada, Zilch. Same 6 beeps
upon POST. BIOS is Dell BIOS version A07, dated 11/6/03. So I had to return
the RAM.
So I call up Dell Tech Support (Ha-ha), g
ot some gobbledygook answer and
basically said that I had to purchase the RAM from Dell. After explaining to
the sales rep what I had (400 MHZ, etc) I order two new chips. So what did I
get? 2x1024 MB, DDR SDRAM, 333 MHz, PC2700, CL 2.5, 128x64, made by Micron.
Plugged them in and they work fine... with and without the original RAM.
OK, so my question is why didn't the Corsair RAM chips work, were they BOTH
bad? Is there something else that I am not aware of? Is it OK to run the PC
with 2560 MB RAM... the two original 512 MB (at 400 MHZ) plus the two new
chips at 333 MHz? Or should I take out the old chips and just go with the
two new ones?
One more thing, before I started, I checked what the BIOS said...under
the "System Memory Speed" was 333 MHz. And this was with the original
400 MHz chips installed. Was this part of the problem? Right now, I'm running
it with the two
original 256 MB chips @400 MHz, and the two new 1 GB chips at
333 MHz, with the "System Memory Speed" @ 333 MHz. Is this OK?
System specs...
Dell Dimension 4600
2.7 GHz Intel P4 "80532" processor
533 MHz FSB,
80 GB Seagate HD 7200 rpm
MB ? just says "DELL"
Thanks,
Steve Snyder
(sorry this post was so lengthy.)
PCBUILD's List Owners:
Bob Wright<[log in to unmask]>
Drew Dunn<[log in to unmask]>
|
