[SGVLUG] Memory and External HD Questions

[Dan Buthusiem]

Good stuff. =]


On Fri, Jul 5, 2013 at 6:58 PM, Rob Wilcox <e320r837i4031j316 at yahoo.com>wrote:

> Well here's what happened, I put in 2 of the 2GB cards,
> did a memory check for maybe 1/3 of the total,
> then rebooted and wah lah !!!
>
> It works with the 2 sticks of 2GB reading 2014 MB from HTOP.
> Now I can add 2 more because it can hold 4GB max.
>
> Will tell you more details about the EXT HD
> and the backup of the other computer at Burger Cont. next Thurs.
>
> Rob
>
>
>   ------------------------------
>  *From:* Dan Buthusiem <dan.buthusiem at gmail.com>
> *To:* SGVLUG Discussion List. <sgvlug at sgvlug.net>
> *Sent:* Thursday, July 4, 2013 9:54 PM
> *Subject:* Re: [SGVLUG] Memory and External HD Questions
>
> 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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