[Jose Jimenez]

I will start by listing my computer:

Sony Vaio
PCV-RS430G

The factory specs on the computer for RAM was 512mb, pc2700, 333mhz....upgradeable to 2gb. I recently upgraded to (4) Kingston RAM chips, each 512mb, pc2700, 333mhz. Right away, the computer started having problems with freezing up. I would be in the middle of a project, and the screen would freeze, then go black, then come back on, go black again, and then restart. It has done this repeatedly, so I finally took out the Kingston RAM and installed the original RAM. As soon as I did this, the problem stopped.

The only thing I can think of is that the Kingston RAM said it wasn't "dual channel compatible." The factory specs on my computer didn't specify if it was dual channel RAM. Could this be the problem? If not, then what would the correct RAM upgrade be?

Edited by Jose Jimenez, 23 September 2005 - 08:24 PM.

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Welcome to G2G

Theres no such thing as dual channel ram modules. To run dual channel, you need a motherboard that supports dual channel but you just use ordinary ram modules. If you see hardware vendors selling dual channel memory kits, all that means is its 2 identical ram modules. That is the only real criteria for the ram itself - all the modules should be identical.

It does sound though like the ram you bought may not be 100% compatible with your system or with each other. If you want to buy some ram thats guaranteed 100% compatible with your system, go to www.crucial.com and use their memory advisor.
Either let it scan your system or manually select your make/model of computer from the list, and it will return of selection of ram thats guaranteed compatible.

[Samm]

Welcome to G2G

Theres no such thing as dual channel ram modules. To run dual channel, you need a motherboard that supports dual channel but you just use ordinary ram modules. If you see hardware vendors selling dual channel memory kits, all that means is its 2 identical ram modules. That is the only real criteria for the ram itself - all the modules should be identical.

It does sound though like the ram you bought may not be 100% compatible with your system or with each other. If you want to buy some ram thats guaranteed 100% compatible with your system, go to www.crucial.com and use their memory advisor.
Either let it scan your system or manually select your make/model of computer from the list, and it will return of selection of ram thats guaranteed compatible.

[Jose Jimenez]

Samm, thanks for the response and suggestions. I went to that site and took a look at what they recommended. It looks as though they are recommending the same kind that I had purchased:

Module Details:
Module Size: 1GB kit (512MBx2)
Package: 184-pin DIMM
Feature: DDR PC2700
Configuration: 64Meg x 64
DIMM Type: UNBUFFERED
Error Checking: NON-ECC
Speed: 333
SDRAM Timings: CL=2.5
Specs: DDR PC2700 • CL=2.5 • UNBUFFERED • NON-ECC • DDR333 • 2.5V • 64Meg x 64

That's the kind I installed. They were the same specs for each of the 4 chips. Perhaps one or all of them were bad? I thought Kingston was supposed to be good quality, but I guess anything is possible.

[Jose Jimenez]

Is there any way to test if the module(s) are bad?

[Kurt_Aust]

Go to www.memtest86.org and burn the .iso to cd. Boot from it and let run, if there are no errors after a couple of passes your memory is OK.

[Samm]

Kurt_Aust is right, memtest is about the best utility available for testing ram with. They also offer a floppy disk ISO as well which creates a bootable floppy with memtest on, if you find this easier.
Be warned though, to test that amount of ram thoroughly, you will probably need to leave memtest running overnight.