Memory Upgrade Problem

[timdog4life]

Ok, first I apologize. I tried to put this thread in the RAM section but it wouldnt let me for some reason. I also tried running a search but I didnt see anything about this specific problem.

I have an HP Pavillion 7940 pc. It only has 128mb of RAM and so I purchased 2 sticks of 256mb RAM from a buddy of mine from one of the many HP computers he has.

Problem is when I install the RAM in the computer it beeps at me during POST which indicates that its not finding it. And when I install one of the 256mb sticks with the original 128 one the computer will start up, but will only find the 128mb one.

I've already gone to the HP website and downloaded the most recent BIOS update and installed it. I also checked a couple of other computer forums and it seems like this is a fairly common problem for my computer model.

The most recent posts I was able to find dated back to 2003. After that I cant find much mention of the problem. And anyone that did fix their problem never posted back to explain what they did.

Any ideas?

 

[Mental Liberator]

uhmm the motherboard probably isn't compatable with the RAM speed like
pc-2700
pc-3200
and so on

 

[timdog4life]

my computer says that its capable of pc100 and pc133 according to crucial

the ram that I purchased is pc133

is this what you mean by ram speed?

 

[Mental Liberator]

oh.... crap then i dont know... HP uses really really discount mobos but this is just sickning

 

[Swift1]

PC133?? WOW.. that's crap compared to today's good RAM

 

[TRDCorolla1]

Your PC can only handle a maximum of 512MB of RAM. Your memory speed is PC100. Try that. Some mobos don't handle well when mixed with stock PC100 with an aftermarket PC133.

You only have 2 memory sockets right? I would take out the 128MB and purchase 2x256MB 168 pin SDRAM PC100. I guarantee that would work.

 

[timdog4life]

yeah I only have two memory sockets.

Im confused though. Why would crucial say that pc133 would work when I would really need pc100?

 

[TRDCorolla1]

PC133 is suppose to have backward compatibility with slower PC100 sockets. I tried before and fortunately, it works for me on my older PC. If the memory in your PC is PC100 and you use PC133, your memory will step down to your PC100 speed and still work fine in some cases. If not, you know you have to use the PC100 and not the PC133. It's got to work that way or there's something screwy with your computer.