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XPS Gen 3 Memory Upgrade
Hello
I've been working on my son's system. It's been a great system for him (should have been for the original cost :) ) I'm sure he has run it through it's paces over time and. I didn't know what created the original problem, but I started out with lots of dreaded blue screens, unable to load windows, etc.
My original action was to reformat the drive and reinstall windows to give it a fresh start. All went well until the reinstall kept stalling at 12% and the dll drivers wouldn't install. Researched, worked around, throughout the process, running diagnostics, etc (I have all original CD's) it seemed to be a memory problem. I managed to get the drive reformatted & re-installed windows with 1 stick of the 512Ram being recognized. Made the assumption that the other stick was bad. Ordered 2 2GB kits direct from DELL. After much trial and error I am only able to get the system to recognize 2.5GB ram. Original 512 in slot 1 and two new 1GB in slots 3 & 4. Confusing as it's supposed to be installed in pairs, but will recognize this with the #2 slot occupied or unoccupied.
System has completely updated windows, antivirus, and all other programs reinstalled and it seems to be functioning rather well.
Unless there is some other sequence I can try (I've cleaned out as much dust as possible, reseated as many cards as possible...including the battery...which while it has always maintained system time, etc. did indicate weak when I restarted after that trial) should I just assume I have a bad memory slot and just go with the 2.5GB ram as the upgrade and use the system till the next go round? (Also, is the battery a "special Dell part" or can it be picked up anywhere to rule that out??)
Then the next question comes along, is it cost effective to return the other 2GB memory kit or do I get hit with restocking, etc???
Thanks for all the help...I've researched this board/forum and utilized many suggestions from it....just wanted to see if there were any other suggestions out there before I investigated returning the memory and had my son pick up the system.
xcator
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October 29th, 2009 23:00
a little confused what you actually have done and what was originally in the system. Although you can put in 4gb ram the amount available to the os will be less depending on such things as vid card.
I am uncertain if you are saying slot 2 is bad? Did you reseat the dimms firmly and the latches attach? was there a 512mb dimm in there to begin with? Best performance is by using matched pairs of dimms (one matched pair in slots 1-2, and the other matched pair in slots 3-4, same speed and same cl).
Do you really need more than 2gb ram in that system? Have you look at memory usage to actually see max amount it is using? NOt sure what your ram cost, but it is pretty cheap right now. 2gb (1gb in slot 1and 1gb in slot 2, ddr2 pc4200 for example) should be good.
If there is any question on bad dimms, test your memory dimms using memtest86+ from a bootable floppy. Let it go a few passes.
If you think slot 2 is bad, test with known good dimms in slot 1 and slot 2 only (remove dimms in slot 3 and4) to see if it boots with both slots occupied, and sees both memory in the bios and/or gives any diagnostic lights.