Notebook RAM upgrade gone wrong?

[DahDee]

I have an Acer Aspire 3009WLCI (essentially a rebadged 3003WLCI) that came with 512 (2 x 256) PC2700 SODIMM RAM. I decided to upgrade the memory when Best Buy put PNY Optima PC2700 1GB SODIMM RAM on sale this week, bought 2 sticks. The PNY configurator told me beforehand that this RAM (retail part # N1GBD27OPT, matching the same info on the packaging I'm looking at) was the right part for my laptop. I took out the 256 sticks, put in the 1GB sticks, and it wouldn't boot up (blank screen). Put the 256 sticks, everything works fine. 1GB stick by itself, won't boot. 1GB with a 256, nothing. Put the 256 sticks back in, it's running fine again. What the heck is up???? I sure would appreciate any help! Thanks!

 

[DahDee]

I really would be very thankful for any help -- I'm baffled. Thanks.

 

[thescreensavers]

ya that means that ram is not compatible with your laptop or your not installing it correctly or it could be defective. Get Corshair or samsung ram next time PNY, OCZ are rally not that good for laptops.

 

[DahDee]

Thank you very much for the info/advice!

 

[RebateMonger]

Note the the el-cheapo memory (like PNY's generic RAM) are NOT guaranteed compatible with "name-brand" computers. There can be some serious compatibility issues with generic RAM in laptop computers. While generic RAM usually works fine in desktop PCs, the same is NOT true for laptops.

PNY, for instance, sells an entirely different line of RAM that is guaranteed compatible with specific name-brand computers. And it's twice the price.

The safest thing to do is buy either RAM that is recommended by the manufacturer of the laptop (which is always pricey), or buy RAM that is GUARANTEED compatible with your laptop.

 

[Fardringle]

I have a 3003WLCI and another laptop I'm working on for a client happens to have a PNY 1GB memory chip in it so I put that chip in my laptop to see what would happen after reading this thread, and I got the same results as you did so I would suspect that the PNY RAM simply isn't compatible with the laptop.

 

[DahDee]

Thanks for the additional posts; it's reassuring to see somebody else replicated the same problem with this model laptop and that maybe it's not just me being a dolt! My 3003WLCI came with Hynix memory, so does that mean that 1GB Hynix sticks would definitely work? I've also heard that Crucial makes good memory that's not too expensive, but not sure how to check whether it's compatible with my laptop -- after all, the PNY website configurator named this "Optima" memory that I bought as the one to get for this Acer model....

 

[RebateMonger]

If Crucial-recommended RAM isn't too pricey for you, it's a pretty safe bet. Crucial memory is first-class, and if they have a recommended module for your laptop, it's a pretty good bet it'll work properly.

The last time I went through this was with a Toshiba laptop. I needed a 1GB module, and the "recommended" modules were over $500. Crucial was $350. Several emails to customer support of major memory providers gave only a couple who would guarantee compatibility with my Toshiba.

I finally bought a module from a reputable dealer on Ebay, who guaranteed compatibility, for $200. That module worked great.

My original memory purchase was a pair of PNY modules. These gave anywhere from hundreds to thousands of errors in Memtest 86+ in just a couple of hours. Others who'd purchased this same (on sale) Toshiba had the same experience.