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Old December 2nd 08, 08:27 PM posted to alt.sys.pc-clone.compaq
poachedeggs
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Posts: 34
Default Ram test enquiry - bad RAM?

I recently bought some eBay RAM from someone with a good rep there,
100%. I've had the chip in for about 10 days and I thought everything
was fine. It seems to show up, i.e from when I first put it in and
the BIOS amended itself. And it shows up as having gone from 256 mb
to 512 when I look at Control Panel System.

Just now I used Ramtester by a Mark Gathering and it says about (a
fluctuating) 320 mb available there. I wouldn't know if that's normal
- I'm thinking as this runs from Windows, unlike Memtest 86+ which I
couldn't get to work, that that might just mean it can't test what
Windows is using.

So I took the newer Ram stick out and started up the machine. All was
fine, though with Ramtester between 80 mb and 140 mb was available, it
fluctuated, and haven't used this sort of program before to know if
that's normal, I imagine so.

Then I tried the eBay-bought chip (first in the other chip's slot and
then in the slot it's normally in, i.e.the first slot was blank), and
got the Compaq beep code for bad RAM (one short, two longer). Does
this necessarily mean it's bad RAM, or not ideal, or what? The only
difference of their spec is that the eBay chip is CL2 - I had misread
the other. I only thought that if you used two different bits CL-wise
that both would run at the lesser... speed?

Is this defintely dud RAM, and if so, why is it showing up as 512 mb
when I first put it in and viewing through Control Panel System and,
more importantly perhaps, why isn't it making the bad RAM beeps when
it's in there with the original?

According to Crucial.com this machine - Deskpro 886 EN Short Form
something or other - should have up to three 128 mb chips in, though I
was happy to go by what I was told here in this forum, that it could
have two 256mb chips or one 512mb chip.

Should I have put another CL3 in instead of CL2? Or would the CL2
work if I add another CL2 and don't use the original CL3?

Would I run into problems if I replaced all the RAM with three 128mb
chips, and in that case should they be CL2 or mightn't the machine not
manage CL2, if that has anything to do with it? What would you
recommend?

I hadn't noticed any performance improvement, e.g. online Flashplayer
is a bit glitchy (possibly unconnected apparently), and recording with
a USB microphone, that's why I became curious - maybe the eBay fella's
customers are all people who don't check the RAM. I will in the
meantime see how he reacts to relacing the RAM - though if the problem
is that I bought CL2 then I'd accept it's my fault.

All thoughts appreciated. Thanks. (Try not to say you think both
chips are bad!)