Baumblog EST 1968 - A blog for the Baumbachs who originated in Syracuse, NY

I have finally gotten around to upgrading the memory in my computer. I think that I have, once again, ordered the wrong thing online. I seem to be getting good at that. I still have those dang 14 inch tires from tirerack.com.

I ordered what I thought was what I was supposed to: Corsair Memory Value Select for PC 3200 1 GB. I ordered item number N82E16820145505 from NewEgg.com

I opened my computer and found the slots where I was supposed to install the stick. I started scratching my head, because there are 2 slots that look identical, so which one do I uninstall? I took them both out to see the difference and couldn't really tell, so I decided to put my new one in the lower slot. Humm...the notch in the stick appears to be too small for the key. Not good.

I did a trouble shooting google search and found some amusing YouTube instructional videos, telling me how freaking easy it is to install more memory. After I recovered from this insult, I googled some FAQ's and saw something about Dual this or that. I'm thinking that I should have ordered something that came with 2 sticks, not 1?

Thoughts anyone? Also, how important is it really that I have some sort of grounding device when I do this...?

Steve said about 2 hours later

Hey Kristen,

Are you sure the notch is too small? Sometimes memory can take some force to install it (not too much, but some). If you look on the memory sticks, it should tell you what it is. Confirm that your new memory and the memory in the computer is all the same - PC3200/DDR400.

As for the grounding strap, I've never used one, and never had a problem, but I also don't build my computers while standing on a carpet, and try to touch something metal once on the non-carpeted floor before touching the computer to try to discharge any static electricity build up. I'm not saying that's good practice, just that's what I do.

Steve said about 2 hours later

Oh, and as for ordering 2 sticks versus 1, if your computer is running PC3200, it probably doesn't need two identical sized (MB/GB) memory sticks. It does need two identical SPEED memory sticks though. They usually don't need to be the same make of memory either. Um, wait, all that goes for AMD processors anyway. I'm thinking that those picky Intel processors might want identical size and speed memory in pairs. Marc should be able to answer that for you.
Marc said about 3 hours later

The big thing to check is like Steve said, make sure the memory you bought is the same speed/type. PC3200/DDR400 was popular around the time you got your computer. Then again, so was RDRAM, which could account for why it doesn't fit. RDRAM is a whole different breed than the PCxxxx. Check the old memory and give me as much info as you can and I'll look into it.

In terms of size and speed differences, Intels could care less. I would recommend to stay as similar as possible for sanity. Because if your old memory was PC3200/DDR333 and your new memory is PC3200/DDR400, you would expect the new memory to help out a lot since, it's DDR400 and a little bit faster. Unfortunately, like a team, memory works as fast as it's teammates. Your DDR400 will downclock to DDR333, so you might not get as big of a boost.

Basically, look at your old memory, and match the first part (PC3200 or RDRAM 800) and then the second part (DDR400) get equal to or greater than your old memory (Which shouldn't be hard since it's newer ;)).

NOTE: Unless your memory says DDR-II or DDR-2, do not get DDR-2. DDR-2 will NOT work with DDR. Like RDRAM, they are a whole different breed.
GJ said about 5 hours later

Generally, notches aren't different sizes. You only have a problem when you have a mismatch in the number of notches. The notches are there to ensure you orient the memory in the right way.

One thing to look at: does you new memory have the same notch footprint as your old memory?
Kristen said about 6 hours later

Ok, here's what is written on my old memory: 256MB/8 RIMM 4200 (Samsung) It doesn't have any D's on there at all. I had saved all my paperwork but I don't have any packaging from the memory...though I do have the motherboard info.

My new memory says DDR1. And the notches do look different--the new one looks narrower to me. Maybe I don't have PC3200 after all?

Oh, and next time I will install it on my hardwood floor, instead of my living room carpet. Thanks for the tip!
Kristen said about 6 hours later

I just found Corsair 4200 on new egg, I guess that's the one I probably need. At least it's cheaper! Let me know if I'm on the right track there.

Also, I feel stupid asking this, but since I am replacing memory, do I need to back-up what I want to save somewhere, like my spreadsheets and pictures? The how-to's online did not seem to indicate this. I'm wondering if that stuff is somewhere else...I take it the "hard-drive" is something else?
GJ said about 14 hours later

Quick five minute lesson:

Memory (RAM) is the storage used by the CPU when the computer is on. Hard drives are magnetic platters that can store data without a source of power being applied constantly. So, memory is considered temporary storage, and hard drives are permanent storage.

The computer loads data from the hard drive to the memory chips on startup--mostly, because it can read and write to memory far, far faster than it can to a disk drive. When you perform a save in an application, data is written from memory to the hdd. If you computer crashes, this is why you can lose things--memory chips lose their contents shortly after their power supply is terminated.

OK, back to notches. As I said before--notch size is not the problem. It's their location and number that will be the problem. You have "fingers" in the memory socket that are meant to line up with the notches in the memory, which will prevent you from a) putting in different architecture memory and b) putting in memory backwards. That's why I said to compare your old memory to you new memory--see if the notches line up with the two of them.

Now for the bad news...you do not have PC3200. Because it says RIMM, I believe you have RDRAM, so this new memory won't work. Here comes the 15% restocking fee. :)

How many memory slots do you have available on the machine? Are you trying to add new memory to the existing memory, or replace existing memory with higher density chips? Finally, how much memory are you trying to get to (and better yet, what problem are you trying to fix?) Memory can fix some problems, but only if you're short on memory to begin with.

Go ahead and call my cell if you want to talk live.
Geoff said about 15 hours later

Kristen, your better off throwing your computer out the window and starting from scratch. :)
Marc said about 17 hours later

You have RDRAM Kristen. That's the problem. RIMM is another acronym associated with RDRAM. Here's an ebay search for your kind of memory:

http://computers.search.ebay.com/rimm_Other_W0QQsacatZ172

I would look for ebay to buy this stuff. Unfortunately, as great as RDRAM was, it's very hard to find and thus can be expensive. You'll get more bang for your buck when you do upgrade over regular SDRAM/DDR. The problem with RDRAM is you DO need to buy them in twos. So if you want to add 1GB of RDRAM, you'll need two 512MB. Typically people will sell them in twos, you'll see that even on eBay. Keep note however, if you already are using all four, you'll be replacing two, so if you have these four:

128MB
128MB
128MB
128MB

And you get 2 512's, you'll have:

512MB
128MB
512MB
128MB

Notice the order I did those in. RDRAM typically is installed that way. But once you get the right stuff, just google RDRAM installation, or ask me and I'll find a good tutorial.
Kristen said about 18 hours later

Ok, yes, here comes that 15% restocking fee. Good thing I saved this task for the summer when I have some time. Geoff, I am secretly hoping that my school will forget that they loaned me this laptop mac, because even though I still can't figure out how to cut and paste w/o a mouse, it doesn't take 20 minutes to load up.

I wanted to put some more memory into my computer basically so it will run faster. I seriously have to turn it on and then walk away for at least 10 minutes to get it to finish starting up. That's not cool when I just want to hop on and check my email. I tried taking off programs that I don't use and defragging it. I really don't have much on there. The internet runs really slow too--much slower than the connection I have right now through the same source.

I have 2 memory slots (the slots with the white securing things), not 4. Does that mean I'm really screwed? LOL I guess the most I could do is 512 MB with 128 MB. I guess all that does really is add 256 MB. That's not much. Starting to sound like it's not worth it. Humph.
GJ said about 19 hours later

You have 512MB of ram now, if one of your sticks says 256MB. You don't need *really* need more ram to run normal apps...I'd only go to 1GB if I was running really nasty apps like big games or development tools. You'll be fine running browsers and office-style applications with half a gig.

Even if you had 256MB of ram, this would be enough. If your machine is running slow, I can think of a bunch of reasons:

1. Swap file is likely fragmented. Nope, windows defragger won't fix this. I have a program that does.
2. Disk drive is nearly full. Windows no like this. You want your main C drive no more than 75% full, ever.
3. 10 minute startup: likely, you are loaded a ton of start up apps. Most apps today do things like "check for updates automatically" and as a result, chew up memory and load at startup. Alternately, your machine could be timing out, waiting for a device to respond for up to five minutes.
4. Web browser speed: this is dictated more by your internet connection than anything else. Do a bandwidth test here, and see if yours measures up.

There are all sorts of other things to check, but these are the biggies I can think of offhand. Always check with your geeky brothers on this sort of thing! ;)

I'd buy the memory from you, except that I'm running DDR2 (apparently, I can't learn from my own advice about buying one-off architecture RAM).
GJ said about 19 hours later

Oh, also, we could possibly set up a connection between your machine and mine, and I could help tweak your box that way. Just a thought.
Kristen said 1 day later

Ok, let me put my computer back together either later tonight or tomorrow and then I'll see. I have to print my RMA anyways:)

I don't know how a direct internet connection could be less effective than wireless--maybe something in my configurations. I'll let you know what the test says when i hook this thing back up when I get back from work. Did I mention that I got a part time job at my gym? Gotta save up for a down payment--the prices are finally falling enough for me to afford a townhouse maybe in January. Unfortunately the banks want you to pony up some money up front first though!
GJ said 1 day later

The whole internet thing, if there is a problem, isn't necessarily something wrong with your computer. A super-saturated network could be the problem, so that bandwidth test would help identify if that's one of the culprits. Not much you can do about it, though, other than find another provider if yours isn't, well, providing. :)
Kristen said 1 day later

New problema now--reinstalled my memory and now when i turn it on it yells at me, saying something like "system memory failure". I'm having flashbacks to LOST. I think for now I'm going to hook up my printer to this computer. Just wish I could access my iTunes. I hope to God I didn't erase that or my purse business stuff. I'll be pretty screwed. Though that stuff should be on the hard drive....
Marc said 1 day later

You probably don't have one of the sticks all the way in. That would be my guess. So you get a system memory failure, but you can still use the computer?
GJ said 2 days later

Like Marc said--very likely, one or both of the chips are not seated properly. Try reseating them.

If they still don't work...you may have found why grounding straps are a good thing--as memory tends to be the second most sensitive item in the PC, next to the CPU itself.
Kristen said 2 days later

I'm good--Good thing Andrea's boyfriend is a computer techie! One of the sticks wasn't in all the way, but I didn't want to force it or mess with it too much b/c I thought I'd damage it. He tooled around with it and eventually it hooked in ok. Loading slower than molasses, so I'll go through and try those websites.

Checked the C drive disk space: only using 25%. Good there. I looked into defragging and it said that I didn't need to.

Bandwidth test: 2486.3 Kbps connection speed. Between a Full T1 and N x T1. That looks pretty good. And like I said, the Mac I'm on using the same connection is going superfast, and my roommate's connection is hooked up to the same thingee and hers is fast.

I do have this hardware wizard that pops up every time I turn on the computer: some multimedia audio controller or something. I think I have the disk for that. I'll try that next time it pops up. I also have yahoo instant messenger that pops up, but I can't imagine that would be causing the problem.

Maybe later next weekend I can hook my computer up to yours GJ, so you can take a joyride and figure out the deal.
GJ said 2 days later

Good to see it's back up and running. Truth to be told, I've only cooked a handful of devices over the years due to electro-shock damage (esd) out of the hundreds of items I've played with. So...anyhow...

I'll show you a few things on my laptop that you can take a look at on your computer. And yes, next weekend we could look into setting up that "virutal advisor" hookup.