RAM problems

[Dufrane]

I recently bought an extra stick of 256 ddr pc 2100 generic non ecc ram to add to my system. My system consists of a soyo dragon plus sy k7v motherboard. An xp 1600, 256 of pc2100 ddr generic non ecc ram, a wd 7200 40 gb hdd, and an antec 350 watt power supply, a geforce 4 ti 4400. All of this is running on windows ME. Before I added the extra 256 of ram, my system was rock solid. After I added the ram programs would cut out. Meaning I would be playing Age of Empires II and the game would stop and I would be taken back to the desk top. I also would get random blue (death) error screens. So I took out the extra ram and all the problems were solved. I believe that the extra ram is good because I ran it alone in my system with no apparent problem. The problem occurs when I combine the two sticks. I have a friend who has an Identical problem.

Does anyone have any answers/solutions to my problem. I would love to run my system with 512 of ram if possible. I see on here that people have systems similar to mine and they are running 512 of ram. Do the ram sticks have to be of the same manufactuer??? Are the problems because I am combining two sticks of generic ram?????


Please help.

 

[Dufrane]

bump

 

[Dufrane]

I know there is someone out there with a suggestion or an answer.

 

[amdskip]

The generic part and the Windows ME are your problems. Generic memory is alright but not that good for performance at all. Windows ME is just a failure by microsoft. Run win 2k or xp instead.

 

[NuLLxXx]

So you have 2 sticks of 256mb DDR each alone run with no problems! But if both are used Blue screens
and crashing!

Like amdskip said the key word is "generic"..... Yes sticks from the same company of the same
type would be the right choice.... But strange things happen! Have you run the system much with the
new stick of ram alone? Some memory just doesnt play well with others.....

I buy mostly Crucial and Corsair memory products..... I stay away from the cheap generic brands for
compatibility issues....

 

[vinayag]

I had the same problem and it took some time to figure out !!!
Both sticks do not work together, but either of them alone is rock solid. Right ?

The answer is that the memory speed is set to auto in your bios and the PROBLEM IS THAT one of the sticks is capable of doing a better speed than the other. Often happens when you buy differcnt sticks over time. Set the clock speed in the Bios to cas 3 or maybe cas 2.5 and then try. Should work out.

 

[Dufrane]

Thanks for the replies. I set my cas to 2.5 and things are running fine so far. What does CAS mean anyway. My bios was ste to 2.0. What is the difference between cas 2.0, 2.5 and 3.0?????

 

[Dufrane]

bump

 

[eplebnista]

AT CAS FAQ

 

[wizdum]

Sometimes when you buy ghetto generic RAM, the SPD is wrong. For example, one time I bought ghetto generic 'PC2700' RAM. So when I got it i stuck it in and error after error after error! So, I set the speed down to 133(PC2100), and it worked fine. So the SPD inside the RAM was set to 166MHz(PC2700), but in actuality it was PC2100 RAM. So, the SPD on your ghetto generic RAM might have said CAS 2 but it could only run stably at CAS 2.5. Which is no big problem. Just set the CAS to 2.5 and forget about it.

 

[Dufrane]

Thanks guys. You have been a great help. I think my system it tip top now.