Problems with RAM

[Neve]

Okay, I recently bought 2GB of memory. Unfortunately, as everything I try and do with PCs, it doesn't work. I've put in the RAM following the instruction, but all I get when I start up is six beeps - one beep, followed by a short pause, followed by three beeps, followed by a short pause, followed by two beeps (i.e. 1-3-2).

There seemed to be several tables of beep codes when I looked on the internet. The most likely one of these seemed to be the table of 'Phoenix BIOS Beep Codes', as it listed beep codes with pauses, which the others didn't. According to the table, I have a "64KB RAM failure" - apparently the explanation for this is that "The test of the first 64KB RAM has failed to start" whatever the hell that means.

The RAM I bought was:
2 x 1GB
PC3200
DDR RAM
184PIN

And my pc is a Dell Dimension 3000. I know that it has a PC2700 motherboard, but according to the site I got it from, it was backwards compatable with PC2700 and PC2100 motherboards.

I would be very grateful to anyone who can help me seeing as it was fairly expensive and I'm very annoyed that it doesn't work.

[Chrono Detector]

Looks like your RAM is broken, since you bought it recently, you could get it replaced. So I suggest you bring it to the computer store and have it checked out.

[MazdaRxEight]

can you provide a link to the product? but im thinkning that... it is not faulty ram... however usually the solution to that error is replacing the memory/motherboard T-T... i hope im wrong but...

well here is a checklist.

did you mix up the old ram stick(s) with a new one? ^^

do you ahve enough power to fuel the new memory?

static can easily fry the sticks of ram T-T though it rarely happens

call dell support and see if that model can support 2 gigs of ram

are you sure they are secured on their slots? are the clips that hold them locked?

try it without the old ram if you haven't

make sure the rams are facing the same direction, or flip them from their current positions, which sometimes sovles the problem

if you have 4 ram slots ex: (1 2 3 4), place the new ram you got on 1 and 3... and NOT 1 and 2

well assuming all those are correct... i believe that your motherboard simply cant support 2gigs of ram

edit: to check it... try just inserting 1 stick of ram to see if it works... same error, try the other stick if that works then it means faulty ram ^^

[Sanzora]

Well I know that the sequence of beeps is telling you what is wrong with the computer, unfortunately I don't speak beep ^_^ But ask someone in the field if the can interpret it... maybe it's just clashing with something

[Chrono Detector]

It could be that the RAM your using on your motherboard isn't compatible, try it with another computer.

[Azalea]

Hmm.. yeah i suffered the same thing with my laptop a few years back. I was putting on a 512 MB RAM (which was quite huge at that time for a laptop) when the said problem occured. I solved it by replacing both the processor (from pentium III - centrino) and replacing the motherboard :D

[Neve]

Thanks for all your comments =D.

@ Mazda - thanks for such a detailed response:
did you mix up the old ram stick(s) with a new one? ^^
Nope ^^
do you ahve enough power to fuel the new memory?
hmm...I'm not sure...how do you tell?
static can easily fry the sticks of ram T-T though it rarely happens
I did make sure to earth myself beforehand...but it's a possibility...
call dell support and see if that model can support 2 gigs of ram
Yep - I did a thorought check up before I bought it - dimension 3000 and its motherboard can definitely support 2gb...and I'm pretty sure it can support this type of RAM...
are you sure they are secured on their slots? are the clips that hold them locked?
I'm pretty sure they are (or were...I had to put the old RAM back in to be able to type this)
try it without the old ram if you haven't
I only have two slots, and both were filled with the new RAM
make sure the rams are facing the same direction, or flip them from their current positions, which sometimes sovles the problem
I've tried flipping them round - you can't put them in different directions on my motherboard
if you have 4 ram slots ex: (1 2 3 4), place the new ram you got on 1 and 3... and NOT 1 and 2
Nope - only 2 slots
edit: to check it... try just inserting 1 stick of ram to see if it works... same error, try the other stick if that works then it means faulty ram ^^
I'll try that now

I bought the RAM new from e-bay - here's the item: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NEW-2GB-2-x-1GB-PC3200-2700-2100-DDR-RAM-MEMORY-184PIN_W0QQitemZ230007648218QQihZ013QQcategoryZ74942QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

@ Thunderbolt - I would try it with another computer, but I don't have another =(.

[Chrono Detector]

Oh, shit, thats bad when you bought the RAM from Ebay, now you can't even return it. Note, never buy hardware from Ebay, you don't know if the seller is even selling you faulty items. Always best to purchase it from your computer vendor.

[Neve]

It's okay - he has a 10 day return policy, so I can return it provided the problem isn't that I fried it with static =D.

[Ashtefere]

For a start, done buy a dell. Ever.
Unless its that leet laptop/pc hybrid, then it rocks.
There is nothing actually wrong with the high end stuff, but the cheap crap is really bad.
The problem is MOST PROBABLY this.
Look at your old ram. Are the chips on just one side or two?
now look at your new ram? one side or two?
now you understand?
dells are compatible with dell ram only, which means it is probably only the single sided variety. This is done to prevent people putting non dell stuff in, thus making dell miss out on money.
Welcome to american corporate greed.
No way to fix it really, your stuck with a dell.
-Ash

[Chrono Detector]

Yeah, well known PC companies can totally screw you up in the end, it sucks that if you want to upgrade your machine, you'll need that hardware from that manufacturer. Evil bastards. Of course, all companies are like that. Think of cheap sneaky ways to cheat money out of unsuspecting customers, I've been a victim of companies like that.

[Neve]

You're right - chips on one side on the old RAM, both sides on the new RAM. The bastards. And 2GB of Dell RAM is £237 as opposed to the £60 I paid for this one. Ah well...I'll send back this RAM and e-mail dell a lot of furious insults.

[AznPoi]

There's nothing wrong with the RAM.

Blame Dell for making crappy comps.

[dragoneyes001]

a 64kb failure means one of the chips on the stick has failed although if you have 2x1Gig sticks its 16X64kb chips 8 on each side of the stick or they use 8X128kb chips with 4 on each side

[Nichigo]

I second what Dragoneyes just said. And i refute that dell computers only work with dell chips. It's not true. As long as you have the right ram that has bus size, and power requirements, you should be fine. As dragoneyes stated, your chips are chips with 16 bit memory slots. You need to check if the front bus interface is the right size. Not all RAM chips are compatible with all computers because of the bus size.

EDIt: i take back what i said about dell memories..i just thought about it, and one way dell can keep you from upgrading with non-dell memory is by storing the BIOS in it's RAM chips as opposed to storing it in an internal 1MB space. In other words, if you change out the dell RAM and use a generic RAM, you won't be able to start up cuz there's no BIOS information for your computer. I think that might be why you're getting that weird BIOS error. hmm...

[Chrono Detector]

See, never buy Dell or any computer with a brand name. You'll end up getting screwed at the end.