New RAM kicks out old RAM!

[TechPlex]

Dudes and Pals, just a few minutes ago before I screwed out the cover plate beneath my laptop, the RAM combo was 1GB + 512MB. I had bought the 1GB chip few months back and the 512MB one was default from the OEM (2,3 years old). I replaced the 512MB chip with a new 2GB one so that the previous combo of RAM which was- 1GB + 512MB = 1.5GB should change to 1GB + 2GB = 3GB.

After I turned on the laptop, everything went good till the end of POST process. After that, the display lagged continuously. Then I replaced the 1GB chip with the OEM's 512MB one and the 2GB + 512MB combo worked well.

But I had bought the 2GB chip to achieve 3GB of total RAM. Please friends help. I am losing to play NFS ProStreet with just 0.5 Windows Experience Index. And many other important Appz and tasks will still be left out of my machine's reach.

[mithun_mrg]

Try updating the BIOS & see maybe ur Laptop dosent support 3GB how old is it

[TechPlex]

Man, it's just three years old. I bought it in the fall of 2008. It should work. Everything is fine. Both chips are DDR2 SO-DIMM 667Mhz CL5. Only difference I saw was their physical design. The 2GB one had 8 chips on both sides and the 1GB has four on either sides. That's not a problem as much as I know. It happens because 2GB is just the double of 1GB and hence double the number of chips.

A BIOS update? Well the manufacturer's website of the motherboard, that is VIA, gives a link to some nonsense software. What was that? Yes! It was BIOSAgent. I tried it two times and the program hung while loading and also hung the system with itself. That's my problem. I will try searching any other source for BIOS update.

[mithun_mrg]

Is it a VIA Laptop what is the OEM can u please gie the Details of the Laptop

[TechPlex]

Alright! It's a HCL LX Infiniti Powerlite 9200GM. I got it from the OEM with the following configs:-
512 MB DDR2 RAM 667 MHz, 80GB HDD, 15" TFT. Has got a soldered GPU and that's a VIA VT8237A with two buffer options, 128 MB and 256 MB.

I think this might be enough for you to find it on the internet. And is there any application that scans the hardware on our PC and gives details about it. And another thing. The current BIOS is from Phoenix Technologies. This will help to find an accurate result.

[pimpom]

Originally Posted by TechPlex

Man, it's just three years old. I bought it in the fall of 2008. It should work. Everything is fine. Both chips are DDR2 SO-DIMM 667Mhz CL5. Only difference I saw was their physical design. The 2GB one had 8 chips on both sides and the 1GB has four on either sides. That's not a problem as much as I know. It happens because 2GB is just the double of 1GB and hence double the number of chips.

It's not quite that simple. Besides the physical layout, there's a difference in the interface between single-sided and double-sided memory. Some motherboards cannot use double-sided memory at all, but this doesn't seem to be the case with your laptop.

Is the 512MB stick single- or double-sided? Maybe your mobo doesn't like certain combinations. I'm not sure if this is at the root of the problem as I'm not familiar with your computer, but it's a possibility that should be investigated. I suggest you check the manual.

[mithun_mrg]

Originally Posted by TechPlex

Alright! It's a HCL LX Infiniti Powerlite 9200GM. I got it from the OEM with the following configs:-
512 MB DDR2 RAM 667 MHz, 80GB HDD, 15" TFT. Has got a soldered GPU and that's a VIA VT8237A with two buffer options, 128 MB and 256 MB.

I think this might be enough for you to find it on the internet. And is there any application that scans the hardware on our PC and gives details about it. And another thing. The current BIOS is from Phoenix Technologies. This will help to find an accurate result.

Hcl??? ur laptop is not listed in the drivers download site
u can try calling thier customer care & ask for help 1860-1800-425

HCL Infosystems Ltd.

without the manufaturers information it is difficult to tell anything try calling them maybe they will help out even if urs warranty expired

Thats why after sales service & support matters & we as a customer fall in to save few Bucks

For system info u can use CPUZ or Speccy

[TechPlex]

Originally Posted by pimpom

It's not quite that simple. Besides the physical layout, there's a difference in the interface between single-sided and double-sided memory. Some motherboards cannot use double-sided memory at all, but this doesn't seem to be the case with your laptop.

Is the 512MB stick single- or double-sided? Maybe your mobo doesn't like certain combinations. I'm not sure if this is at the root of the problem as I'm not familiar with your computer, but it's a possibility that should be investigated. I suggest you check the manual.

The 512 MB one is single sided.

Ok! I think I did not explain the problem in a correct manner. What I meant to say with the display lagging continuously was that the OS (Windows 7 Home Basic) loaded as usual. Only the picture, I mean the display was not a proper one. Like it happens when Your VGA cable is loose of something related to GPU is incorrect. So I think it's a GPU related problem. I think the south bridge is not able to address both the RAM chips at the same time.

Will swapping the slots for both the chips work?

[pimpom]

Swapping the slots is worth a try. It's a bit hard to understand what you mean when you say that the display was not proper. Anyway, if the GPU is using shared memory, the display problem could be caused by a problem in accessing the system memory.

BTW, before working on the insides of a computer - desktop or laptop - make sure everything's turned off and the power plug is detached, and discharge yourself of any static electricity by touching a grounded object like a metal water pipe.

[TechPlex]

Originally Posted by pimpom

Swapping the slots is worth a try. It's a bit hard to understand what you mean when you say that the display was not proper. Anyway, if the GPU is using shared memory, the display problem could be caused by a problem in accessing the system memory.

BTW, before working on the insides of a computer - desktop or laptop - make sure everything's turned off and the power plug is detached, and discharge yourself of any static electricity by touching a grounded object like a metal water pipe.

Man, what you said in the first paragraph sounds important. Please explain it further. I think you have caught the deal. If I am not wrong, by shared memory do you mean ON BOARD graphics (like soldered chips that acquire some amount of RAM to process graphics). And sure! I do unplug the charger and remove the battery while I am bare feet on the floor.

Hear what happens when the logon screen appears.

First of all, the beautiful soothing blue screen appears like as if there is no GPU on my PC.
Then suddenly and error pop ups. I remember only a small part: 'Failed to write memory'. It was something like this.
And many windows logon components failed to load.