RAM help....

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Originally Posted By: Rand
windows 10 runs fine on my 1GB tablet.. I wouldnt bother upgrading memory past 4GB
or spending over 50$ fixing it.

Memory errors can also be caused by motherboard.
Which memory chip was bad since you have 2 you can pull 1 and retest each 1 at a time.

If both test bad.. its probably the motherboard.
8GB@70$ is a good price but still expensive
considering ddr4 is down to 16GB for ~50$


FWIW Windows 10 memory minimum system requirements are...

32 Bit = 1GB RAM
64 Bit = 2 GB RAM

OP's system is a 64 bit so he needs at least 2GB. Maxing out to 8GB would help a lot and seeing as it is under $70 to do so it is a no brainer to me.
 
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Originally Posted By: NHHEMI


FWIW Windows 10 memory minimum system requirements are...

32 Bit = 1GB RAM
64 Bit = 2 GB RAM

OP's system is a 64 bit so he needs at least 2GB. Maxing out to 8GB would help a lot and seeing as it is under $70 to do so it is a no brainer to me.


Since this computer wasnt diagnosed fully we dont know that this is a "no brainer"

These computers were really finicky about 4 sticks of ram. I owned 2 of them.

They can work with 2 sticks and not work with 4 sticks. Do to how the computer interacts with the memory, voltages, timing etc.

The OP never narrowed down which ram stick is bad. Both being bad.. very unlikely.

Could be motherboard or other issues.. until he gets it working with 1 chip I wouldn't go "lack of brainer" and order parts that might end up not fixing the issue.

After that he can decide if he wants to try "fixing it" with 1 chip back to 4gb.. or buying 4 new chips.
 
Originally Posted By: Rand
Originally Posted By: NHHEMI


FWIW Windows 10 memory minimum system requirements are...

32 Bit = 1GB RAM
64 Bit = 2 GB RAM

OP's system is a 64 bit so he needs at least 2GB. Maxing out to 8GB would help a lot and seeing as it is under $70 to do so it is a no brainer to me.


Since this computer wasnt diagnosed fully we dont know that this is a "no brainer"

These computers were really finicky about 4 sticks of ram. I owned 2 of them.

They can work with 2 sticks and not work with 4 sticks. Do to how the computer interacts with the memory, voltages, timing etc.

The OP never narrowed down which ram stick is bad. Both being bad.. very unlikely.

Could be motherboard or other issues.. until he gets it working with 1 chip I wouldn't go "lack of brainer" and order parts that might end up not fixing the issue.

After that he can decide if he wants to try "fixing it" with 1 chip back to 4gb.. or buying 4 new chips.



I am simply going by what he posted as far as computer model, problem, and desired future use. He has a Gateway FX7026 computer, with bad memory, and his wife wants to keep it and use Windows 10 eventually.

My response is a good one for what he posted. If you have more detailed info on his issue or particular system I won't argue. I am simply responding to what he posted.
 
Yeah, he wad right-forgot to mention that I figured out what stick it was. NOt sure if I should replace the other one and get all new ones or not.

This bad boy has already been through a few Video cards and a power supply. Still thinking if it was the motherboard that it would have flat died by now. Plus, I always wondered if I might have hurt the memory when I took it out a while back....


As much as I don't want to, I'm going to make the wife happy and pony the 50-70 bucks needed to get this thing going again. Worse case, if it just blows down the road, I'll just give the ram to my dad.....
 
Take the good stick and test it in each slot. For that matter test the bad stick in other slots as well. I had a mobo maxed out at 4x1 DDR1, that would no run with one of the sticks in a particular slot. Reconfigure and it would run great.

It could be a bad stick, a bad slot, or just finicky.

FWIW, I got lucky and picked up a 2x1GB pair for $10 on CL. Used works great, as RAM does not commonly go bad.
 
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Some good Replies in here
NHHemi: I agree with your reply.

ASAND: I would certainly agree that 2 sticks esp. don't normally go bad at same time.

wrcsixeight: While possible I'd confirm the bad memory works in another slot. You can gently use a pencil eraser on the memory chip contacts before special ordering cleaner.

I've had plenty of memory sticks die but it isn't common.

That MOBO in particular can have issues pushing 4 sticks of ram esp if they aren't matched... kind of hit or miss.

I would take the known working stick and retest it in all 4 ram slots. If it still works in all 4 slots.. you might consider buying upto 4 sticks of ram.

Funny Story:
I remember refurbishing a HP once around 2002. I wanted a new motherboard and ram.. HP only sent me ram. Put new ram stick in and it caught on fire. Then I called dealer support and had to argue with the clown from India telling me to just insert the restore disk and turn on the PC for 15min... YES that was HP retail Dealer support line. You have no idea how long it took me to convince them to send me motherboard, ram, and processor.
 
I have ran mixed RAM in every PC I've ever owned and never had a problem. Currently running 2x2gb 1333 + 2x4gb 1600 ddr3, and CPUz reports that it's running in dual channel. No problems whatsoever. I have yet to see this urban myth proven true.
 
It was more common with DDR ram, and some DDR2 ram.

I had quite a few(10+) q6600 based computers and most would run 2 sticks at near 1ghz, but with 4 you would have to loosen the ram timing and drop it to the stock speed.

Some wouldn't run at all with 2 different pairs or have weird memory issues crop up.

Eventually I went to upgrading 1 computer with 2x4GB chips and taking the 2 chips and putting it in another for 4x2GB chips.. worked alot better.

I even had one that wouldn't push 4 chips at all.

By comparison I have not had many DDR3 issues at all except for a couple sticks dying and some that got loose when the computers were relocated.
 
Running a Core 2 Duo in an nForce 680i sli with two different pairs of 1g ddr2. Soon I'll be upgrading that to Q6600.

I had an Asus K8N running 2x256 + 1x512. All different brands, timings, and speeds. I guess I have been lucky.
 
Update: It was the RAM! Pulled out the old stuff...installed another 4GB of RAM....and she fired up with no issues at all! Have the desktop doing some stuff...but so far so good!


Huge shout out and thank you to Danno for the help!!!
grin.gif



Wife will be excited to see this....think I may hunt for another 2GB card for it and call it a day...


Wanted to upload the pic, but it was too big....
frown.gif
 
Originally Posted By: Bottom_Feeder
And DDR2 will be expensive nowadays.


Not to be picky, but 4gb DDR2 is expensive. 2gb sticks are still quite inexpensive.

Unfortunately, if you have limited memory slots the 4gb sticks are your only realistic option and that DOES add up quickly.

My main desktop computer uses DDR-2, but but fortunately for me(now) it takes Registered ECC DDR-2 and also has 8 slots. Registered RAM tends to be inexpensive on the secondary market because of all the now retired servers that have had their RAM stripped. I opted for 8x2gb of "proper" RAM for the system(which has huge heatsinks on it) and it didn't cost me a whole lot. I could go as high as 64gb for about $200 with 8gb sticks, although it doesn't have the big honking huge heatsinks. 16gb is more than enough for me, though-it runs great with that and an SSD.

Unfortunately, this faithful beast will reach EOL in terms of security updates in roughly 2 1/2 more years. It actually was officially EOLed about 2 years ago, but it has been possible to keep it chugging along with some work-arounds since then. As of this fall, there will be no work-arounds to install a new OS on it.

Still, though, 2018 isn't bad for a computer made in 2006
smile.gif
. Granted I've upgraded the processors, RAM, hard drives, and video card, but it's still a testament to longevity.
 
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