Dennis wrote:
> I have Version 1 according to the book. I also have a e-G-force FX 5500
> video card. With one 512 mg DDR it worked fine. With two 512 mg
> DDR it seemed to work ok. I took out a 512 and added a 1 gig DDR.
> In one slot it won't even post. The screen stays black and I get one
> beep like the normal post but nothing on the screen. If I switch
> the position of the memory sticks it will boot up to the screen where
> I pick which OS, because it is a dual boot system, but I have no
> keyboard function.
> If I get it to boot up in Win 98SE it says there is a problem with
> the video system. If I change any setting, on reboot I get a blank
> screen. It will boot up in win 98 in safe mode.
> It seems to work in XP with 1.5 gig of ram but seems noticeably
> slower than with the two 512 mg of memory.
>
> Any help appreciated.
With Win98, there is a known issue. (WinXP is OK with more RAM.)
1) <512MB, no problems
2) >512MB but <1024MB, need entry in a system file, to avoid address space problem.
Modifying the Vcache setting helps.
3) >1024MB, need a second entry which restricts how much physical memory the
system will even recognize. MaxPhysPage is in hexidecimal, and 40000 is 1GB.
If set to 40000, then the memory from 1GB to 1.5GB would be ignored by Win98.
Search terms - salt to taste
system.ini , [Vcache] Maxfilecache=524288, [386Enh] MaxPhysPage=20000
http://groups.google.ca/group/alt.co...8?dmode=source
With RAM, Ebay carries a lot of this 1GB DDR memory, which is a few bucks
cheaper than elsewhere. The trick of that stuff is, it uses 128Mx4 chips.
The chips are four bits wide, so the entire 16 chips are needed to form one
rank of memory. (So it doesn't behave like other double sided memory, as
far as the memory controller is concerned.) My own personal opinion, is if
you see this in the advert, buy your memory elsewhere. (I want to buy memory
that works with everything, not have to deal with a restricted chipset list.
Mushkin used to have a web page, where they tested this module concept, and
found only one desktop motherboard, that would drive three sticks of x4
unbuffered memory on a single channel motherboard. Since they stopped testing
some time ago, it is possible the Athlon64 motherboards do a better job of
driving it. Hard to say, but not work wasting time on, to find out.
Just stay away...)
# Known to work with:
#
# *.VIA P4X266A,
# *.VIA KT266/333 (except ASUS KT266/333)
# *.VIA KT600 (except ASUS KT600)
# *.VIA PT800
# *.SIS 645
# *.SIS 648
# * 648FX
# *.SIS 746FX
# * KM400 <----- sure, it is in the list. Why doesn't it work smooth ?
# * K8T800
# * KT 880
# * KT 400 (except ASUS KT400)
# * KT 400A
# * SIS 661FX
# * SIS 655
# * SIS 650GX
# * SIS 650
# * NFORCE 250GB
# * ULI CHIPSETS
# * INTEL 915
# * NFORCE 4 SLI
# * VIA APPOLLO P4X400
* VIA K8M800
* VIA K8M890
* VIA K8N800
* VIA K8N890
* VIA K8T800
* VIA K8T890
* VIA K8T900
* VIA PT800
* VIA PT880
* VIA PT890
* VIA P4M800
* VIA P4M800 PRO
* VIA P4M890
* VIA P4M900
* VIA PN800
* SIS 648
* SIS 649
* SIS 650
* SIS 651
* SIS 656
* SIS 661
* SIS 748
* SIS 750
* SIS 755
* SIS 756
The above list has no Intel chipsets. Since Intel provides datasheets
for their chipsets, you can even see in the datasheet, that x8 and x16
chips are supported, but x4 memory chips are not (for unbuffered DDR).
One thing you'll notice about those Ebay memory products. The chips
may have a brand printed on them, like Samsung (the chip maker doesn't
control how their products are used). But the modules themselves are unbranded.
Branded DIMM manufacturers, for the most part, won't be caught dead making
the "Ebay module". Only one module on Newegg is suspected of violating
this rule. Otherwise, branded module makers are pretty good about
sticking with the tried and true 64Mx8 chips when making 1GB DDR.
For example, if you go to Crucial.com, you can use their search engine to
find a compatible memory for the KM4M-V or KM4M-L. Kingston.com also
features a search engine.
I've never had a problem with the Crucial memory purchased to date
direct from Crucial (knock on wood). I've had two batches of generic
"on sale" RAM, bought in local computer stores, go bad after roughly
a year of usage.
Good luck,
Paul
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