Laptop only detects half the RAM

D

Daynja

Weaksauce
Joined
Jan 1, 2005
Messages
119
A few months ago I noticed that my laptop computer was much slower so I checked the system properties, and it said 128MB of RAM. It had been running fine with 256MB of RAM for a few years. This laptop has two 144-pin sodimm slots, both with 128MB of RAM. Trial and error, I decide that one of the sticks is bad. So I buy a new one and put it in and it still says 128MB of RAM. I took out the other stick and the computer still works fine, so both sticks are fine, but it doesn't show that it has 256MB of RAM. The pheonix BIOS isn't any help...there are literally about 10 options you can change.

I updated the BIOS, still 128. I reverted back to the BIOS the computer came with...still 128.

I can not see the BIOS startup screen for more than about a quarter of a second. The laptop is made to not show the BIOS startup unless you press the enter BIOS settings button, and it shows the startup information very shortly. So I can't even see what it's saying.

Is there anything I can do?
 
Do you have an integrated graphics processor? If you are giving it 128 MB of RAM from the system, it's possible that the BIOS is only detecting the other 128 MB, although unlikely.

You could have a bad slot in your mobo, or your bios may be reporting incorrectly. Have you tried testing in Windows, or going to your control panel > performance and maintenance > system, assuming you are on XP?
 
I know this sounds corny - but did you try dusing off all the contacts and reseating both modules 100% correctly...

after that I'd run a memtest
 
[Tripod]MajorPayne said:
Do you have an integrated graphics processor? If you are giving it 128 MB of RAM from the system, it's possible that the BIOS is only detecting the other 128 MB, although unlikely.

You could have a bad slot in your mobo, or your bios may be reporting incorrectly. Have you tried testing in Windows, or going to your control panel > performance and maintenance > system, assuming you are on XP?
Click to expand...

I do have the onboard video, but I haven't found any way to adjust the memory it uses. It said it only used 11MB when I bought it. I found some properties page for the graphics and it says the memory size is 32MB, but no way to change it.

In the BIOS it always says 128 (although it used to say 256)

I don't see any performance and maintenance option in windows xp.

I did try cleaning off the contacts and I've had all the different peices of memory in and out several times.
 
[Tripod]MajorPayne said:
Have you tried testing in Windows, or going to your control panel > performance and maintenance > system, assuming you are on XP?
Click to expand...

ok I figured out what you were trying to say and yes, that also says 128MB. And it used to say 256.
 
Yeah, I figured I'd mangle what I was trying to say and it would make no sense. After those things, I can't think of anything except a bad DIMM or DIMM slot. Since you've tested the module, the slot would be the only place that I would think to look now. Good luck!
 
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