[SGVLUG] Memory and External HD Questions

[Dan Buthusiem]

1) Double check the RAM's label. I know they exist, but I'm not used to
seeing 400 MHz DDR2, which has 240 pins. If the label says it's DDR2, and
the motherboard also says it takes DDR2, then you should be able to use the
RAM. If you want to be extra certain, look up the specs for your
motherboard. A quick search of your motherboard's model number should bring
up the info. Generally, the advertised speed is the max speed, but it
should fall down to the fastest *supported* speed of the components - 800
MHz DDR2 should fall back to 533 MHz if that's the fastest the motherboard
/ CPU can handle.

2) No overheating should occur in the memory chips provided you have
adequate cooling (a standard case fan or two should be plenty), and you are
*not* overclocking the RAM. Overclocking requires manual override settings
in the BIOS. If you're not sure if you're doing it, it's safe to say this
shouldn't be a concern.

3) As a general rule of thumb, do not mix RAM of different speeds. Ideally,
don't mix RAM of different CAS latencies. I've gotten random Windows
crashes / BSOD from certain motherboards when using say... a 800 MHz DDR2
with CAS 4 and CAS 5 at the same time. If both of your 1 GB sticks have the
same label, you should be fine. You should see something like 4-4-4-8 on
the label (numbers could be different). That's your CAS latency. Just make
sure they both match and you'll be fine.

4) From what I understand, you have an external 750 GB USB HDD, which was
formatted into NTFS using Win 7, correct? From what I remember, the NTFS
version of Windows 7 is newer than XP. That *could* be causing a sort of
compatibility issue with XP. I think there was a patch for XP for
supporting it, but I might be mixed up with exFAT support. Win 7 can format
large drives with exFAT, which has support for larger drives than FAT32.
Win XP needs a hotfix for exFAT support. Search microsoft.com for KB955704
for the patch. =]

5) If you're having boot issues with the PC while the external HDD is
connected, it could be that the BIOS is set to boot external volumes (check
your BIOS under boot settings, you may have to dig a bit to find it), and
the partition on the external is set to be an "active" or bootable
partition. You may want to use a utility to remove the boot flag from it. I
like to use Palimpsest or Gparted for this (Linux utilities, but this is a
Linux mailing list haha).

I hope these things help you out. If nothing else, you'll have a bit of
research to do, and hopefully you'll learn something new! If you have more
questions, I'm up for answering them. =]

Take Care,
Dan B.


On Thu, Jul 4, 2013 at 11:59 PM, Doug <dougvargas at sbcglobal.net> wrote:

> I just put some mixed ram in a computer and it's not having any problems.
> Ymmv but it should be safe.
>
>
> Rob Wilcox <e320r837i4031j316 at yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> What happens when you install a 400 MHZ 1GB 240 PIN memory card
> into a slot for a 533 MHz of the same?
> Will it try to speed up the 400 to 533?
> Overheat the memory card?
> Or nothing at all and it's no problem?
>
> I have 2x 1GB 400 MHZ 240 pins memory cards from
> an old computer and want to put them both into a computer
> with a 533 MHz requirement for that computer.
> It's presently running 512 MB RAM which is too slow and since
> I already have 2 GB of memory why not put it in
> and see what happens. That's why I'm asking 1st.
>
>
> Also would a new 750 GB Hard Drive mess up
> a computer that originally had XP and that BIOS?
> After I used this external HD I got a screen freeze 3 times
> and the next boot up didn't bootup. Nothing!!!
> The HD is formatted for Win 7 and it's NTFS.
>
> This EXT HD does work on my old iBook so now I think it might be computer
> related.
>
> So can a HD mess up a computer so it won't even bootup???
>
> I'll talk to some of you next Thursday 7-11 at Burger Continental.
>
> Thanks,
> Rob Wilcox
>
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