[Hexzar]

Hello,

I have a IBM T23 Laptop. It has 2 Ram slots, both are filled with (2 x 256mb cards). But there's a problem, sometimes when I boot my laptop it only reads one of the cards, so instead of reading 512mb it only reads 256mb. I temporarily fix this problem by simply switching the ram cards over with each other (i know its weird but it works) so the next boot it reads all 512mb, however after a few boots later it'll only start reading 256mb only and I have to repeat.

I dont know whether the problem is with one of the memory cards or with an actual ram slot.

Anyways I want to upgrade to 1gig Ram (which is the max for my Laptop). My question is, whether I should buy (2 x 512mb cards) or just (1 x 1gig card).

I want to buy only 1 x 1gig card because I don't want to buy 2 x 512mb and then find out I have to do the ram switching again because it only reads 1 card for some reason.

So I wanted to ask If i can do that? Buy a 1x 1gig ram card, put it into one of the slots and use that, ofcourse this would mean that one of the other ram slots will be empty but I wanna just know if this will work.

Thanks.

Edited by Hexzar, 26 October 2010 - 06:50 PM.

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The best way to find out is to check what the actual configuration that your system can use. You can do this by following the below instructions.
Go to HERE and run the Crucial online scanner.
This will give you the exact memory configuration for your system.
You do not have to buy the memory from there, but write down the information and if you need assistance in purchasing the upgrade memory GTG can assist with suggestions also.

[rshaffer61]

The best way to find out is to check what the actual configuration that your system can use. You can do this by following the below instructions.
Go to HERE and run the Crucial online scanner.
This will give you the exact memory configuration for your system.
You do not have to buy the memory from there, but write down the information and if you need assistance in purchasing the upgrade memory GTG can assist with suggestions also.

[Hexzar]

The best way to find out is to check what the actual configuration that your system can use. You can do this by following the below instructions.
Go to HERE and run the Crucial online scanner.
This will give you the exact memory configuration for your system.
You do not have to buy the memory from there, but write down the information and if you need assistance in purchasing the upgrade memory GTG can assist with suggestions also.

http://www.crucial.c...74E6A8231D926C3

It says one slot is empty... But it really isnt, just for some reason it wont read the card. If I buy 2 x 512mb cards, will it definitly read both cards?

Or can I just get 1 card x 1gig and use up only 1 slot?

[rshaffer61]

If I buy 2 x 512mb cards, will it definitly read both cards?

I can't say for sure as it could be a faulty memory slot and not the memory itself.
Have you ran any type of memory diagnostics to check it like Memtest86 or Windows Memory Diagnostics?
Below I will include instructions for both and you can try either one to test your memory itself.


Download Windows Memory Diagnostic
If you have Winrar or another third party compression utility installed it may associate the file to itself and it may look like a Rar or ZIP.
Do not unzip or unrar the file as it will not work correctly if you do
There is a really easy to follow WMD Guide here on GTG

If you don't have a burning program that will burn .ISO files then download Burncdcc from my signature below.
Note: Do not put a cd in until Burncdcc opens the tray for you.

1) Start Burncdcc
2) Browse to the saved ISO file on your Desktop...in this case Windiag.iso. Winrar may associate the file to itself and it may look like a Rar or ZIP. Do not unzip or unrar the file as it will not work correctly if you do.
3) Select the Iso file
4) Click on Start

Leave the CD in the drive and reboot the system. Now you will need to change the Boot Sequence in Bios
To change Boot Sequence in your BIOS

• Reboot the system and at the first post screen (where it is counting up memory) watch the screen to find out which KEY button or Combination to click to enter Setup.
• Find the Advanced area and click Enter
• Look for Boot Sequence or Boot Options and highlight that click Enter
• Now highlight the first drive and follow the directions on the bottom of the screen on how to modify it and change it to CDrom or Floppy depending on which way you are running the test.
• Change the second drive to the C or Main Drive
• Once that is done then click F10 to Save and Exit
• You will prompted to enter Y to verify Save and Exit. Click Y and the system will now reboot with the new settings.


When the system boots you will now allow the Windows Memory Diagnostic to run.

• Allow the program to run for at at least Two Complete passes
• There are Six Tests that the program will run on each Pass
• This will take some time but allow it to run
• If at anytime there appears a Failed Message at the bottom of the screen, then you can Exit the program by clicking the X
• If After it has run the required passes and there are no error messages then just click the X to exit the program and reboot.
• When the system reboots then please go back into the bios and reset the Boot Sequence so that the HDD0 is the first boot device.
• Make the CD Rom the Second boot device.
• Click F10 to Save and Exit and then Y to verify the Save and Exit


The system will now boot up again. Once these are complete then reply back with the results of the test.



MEMTEST86



If you have more than one RAM module installed, try starting computer with one RAM stick at a time.

NOTE Keep in mind, the manual check listed above is always superior to the software check, listed below. DO NOT proceed with memtest, if you can go with option A

B. If you have only one RAM stick installed...
...run memtest...

1. Download - Pre-Compiled Bootable ISO (.zip)
2. Unzip downloaded memtest86+-2.11.iso.zip file.
3. Inside, you'll find memtest86+-2.11.iso file.
4. Download, and install ImgBurn: http://www.imgburn.com/
5. Insert blank CD into your CD drive.
6. Open ImgBurn, and click on Write image file to disc
7. Click on Browse for a file... icon:



8. Locate memtest86+-2.11.iso file, and click Open button.
9. Click on ImgBurn green arrow to start burning bootable memtest86 CD:



10. Once the CD is created, boot from it, and memtest will automatically start to run. You may have to change the boot sequence in your BIOS to make it work right.

To change Boot Sequence in your BIOS

Reboot the system and at the first post screen (where it is counting up memory) start tapping the DEL button
This will enter you into the Bios\Cmos area.
Find the Advanced area and click Enter
Look for Boot Sequence or Boot Options and highlight that click Enter
Now highlight the first drive and follow the directions on the bottom of the screen on how to modify it and change it to CDrom.
Change the second drive to the C or Main Drive
Once that is done then click F10 to Save and Exit
You will prompted to enter Y to verify Save and Exit. Click Y and the system will now reboot with the new settings.


The running program will look something like this depending on the size and number of ram modules installed:




It's recommended to run 5-6 passes. Each pass contains very same 8 tests.

This will show the progress of the test. It can take a while. Be patient, or leave it running overnight.



The following image is the test results area:



The most important item here is the “errors” line. If you see ANY errors, even one, most likely, you have bad RAM.

[Hexzar]

I guess it's hopeless.. This laptop doesn't have a cd burner =/

[rshaffer61]

Does it have a cd player on it?
Do you have access to another system with a burner in it?

[123Runner]

I dont know whether the problem is with one of the memory cards or with an actual ram slot.

It would be a tough call as to which is bad.
Have you inspected the ram slots real good/
Any dust or debris in them?
Does the ram seem to fit ok?

Without running a memory test we can't make a educated guess.

A suggestion would be to use only 1 stick and see how the laptop performs. Then use the other stick and see what happens. This would involve a lot of playing around.

[Hexzar]

I dont know whether the problem is with one of the memory cards or with an actual ram slot.

It would be a tough call as to which is bad.
Have you inspected the ram slots real good/
Any dust or debris in them?
Does the ram seem to fit ok?

Without running a memory test we can't make a educated guess.

A suggestion would be to use only 1 stick and see how the laptop performs. Then use the other stick and see what happens. This would involve a lot of playing around.

What I feared worst has been confirmed, through the trial and error method to see what the problem is, I found out that both memory cards are fine, however one of the memory slots (top one) doesn't work... Well, it doesn't read the card.

Don't know if there's even a fix to this problem, have tried blowing into it but to no avail. I guess this means the maximum memory i can have in this laptop is only 512mb, since I can buy that on 1 memory stick since only 1 memory slot works.

Could you please suggest where I can buy the upgraded memory from based on this?

Also, sometimes my laptop boots up with a bios error (something about time configuration) and i have to set the date/time in bios again. Is this problem due to my laptop battery cell not working?

Thanks for any response.

[123Runner]

I suspect that since you have 2 ram slots and the maximum is 1gb of ram that you can only use a 512kb in each slot.
Since 1 slot is bad, then your upgrade would be to 512kb only.

Here is what 4Allmemory shows for you

Also, sometimes my laptop boots up with a bios error (something about time configuration) and i have to set the date/time in bios again. Is this problem due to my laptop battery cell not working?

If your laptop battery is not holding a charge while the power is off then that will be your problem. The battery holds the settings.

[rshaffer61]

Sounds like a cmos battery issue now

[123Runner]

It doesn't seem to be a coin type battery.

Amazon
Apexbattery

T23 manual
Looks like it is under a cover that is retained by a screw. Check page 152 number 11.

[rshaffer61]

Looks like a simple connection once you find it. Once installed you would have to go into the bios and setup the defaults again and make sure the time and date are correct also.