[Larry F]

I am putting an old computer together for the kids to surf the internet.
I just put in an old st340810a seagate hard drive and installed windows 98se
on it but i am confused about the ram. I have tried two separate sticks of
pc100 sdram sticks that are suppose to be 128mb but the computer tells me
that there is only 64. I realize that the on borad videto card takes 32mb but
where did the other32 go? The computer uses an old Pentinum processor. Could
this be the problem?
Any ideas ?
Thank you

[dak]

On Fri, 24 Jun 2005 06:28:04 -0700, "Larry F"
<LarryF@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:

>I am putting an old computer together for the kids to surf the internet.
>I just put in an old st340810a seagate hard drive and installed windows 98se
>on it but i am confused about the ram. I have tried two separate sticks of
>pc100 sdram sticks that are suppose to be 128mb but the computer tells me
>that there is only 64. I realize that the on borad videto card takes 32mb but
>where did the other32 go? The computer uses an old Pentinum processor. Could
>this be the problem?
>Any ideas ?

Using the wrong type of memory is almost always the cause for what
you have described. You are probably using single-sided RAM modules
where you need double-sided RAM modules.

A memory module (a DIMM) generally has, in the case of unbuffered,
non-parity memory, 8 chips (single sided module) or 16 chips (double
sided module) on it, and 9 or 18 for parity or ECC memory.
Memory chips are rated in 'megabits' (or Mb), with common SDRAM chip
sizes being 16Mb, 64Mb, 128Mb and 256Mb. A 64MB module will usually
be comprised of 64Mb chips, will be single sided, and there will be
eight chips. A 128MB module might have sixteen 64Mb chips (double
sided module), or might have eight 128Mb chips (single sided module).
If it is single sided (memory chips on only one side), it occupies
one "bank". If it is double sided, it occupies two "banks" of memory
on your motherboard. As always, there are exceptions.

A double-sided 128MB RAM module will show as 64MB in bank 0 and 64MB
in bank 1 for a total of 128MB. A single-sided 128MB RAM module will
show as 128MB in bank 0 and empty/0MB in bank 1 for a total of 128MB.
If your system calls for double-sided RAM modules and you install a
single-sided 128MB RAM module then it will show as 64MB in bank 0 and
empty/0MB in bank 1 for a total of 64MB. Only half of the memory is
recognized.
The type and size of RAM module and bank limitations are determined
by the motherboard and BIOS. You'll need to consult your motherboard
manual for its memory specifics. If you don't have yours there are
many motherboard manuals, or their specifications, available on-line.

--
dak
My SpywareBlaster Custom Blocking List:
<http://customblockinglist.cjb.net/>