BleepingComputer.com: Memory Issue

I have (2) 1GB memory sticks installed in my computer but both My Computer and Task Manager indicate I have only 1GB. I ran a test via Crucial and it also indicates I have 2GB with 4GB potential. Is it possible I have one bad stick?

Thank you.

If the memory didn't come in the computer from the manufacturer, or you aren't sure , remove 1 stick & start the computer .
If it shows 512MB memory you have "high density" memory & it is not supported by the computer .
If high densisty memory is put on a motherboard that requires low density memory it will usually work but only half will be used.

[If you remove a stick of memory be sure to turn the computer off & unplug it]

I seriously doubt that 1 stick of memory is bad.
If it were you would be having a lot of problems .

...and you could always run Memtest to check things out.

MemTest Manual - http://hcidesign.com/memtest/manual.html

Memtest86.com - Memory Diagnostic - http://www.memtest86.com/

Louis

fairjoeblue, on May 12 2009, 11:52 AM, said:

Thank you for responding to my post. You are right... When I remove one of the 1GB memory sticks, the computer indicates only 512MB remaining.

How do I verify that the memory I purchase is low memory? Is it a standard attribute among memory?

Thanks again for your help.

Where did you buy the memory ?

What brand is it ?

If only half of the memory is being recognized there is no doubt that it is high densty memory .

fairjoeblue, on May 12 2009, 11:05 PM, said:

I purchased the memory (as well as the rest of the parts) from Tiger Direct. About 2-3 years ago, I built this one myself. I was interested in how computers were built and decided to give it a try. However, I did not know enough to make sure I had the proper density memory. My initial thought was I set up something wrong at the very beginning.

These are the specs from the Crucial scan:
Maximum Memory Capacity: 4096MB
Currently Installed Memory: 2GB
Available Memory Slots: 2
Number of Banks: 4
Dual Channel Support: Yes
CPU Manufacturer: AuthenticAMD
CPU Family: AMD Athlon™ 64 Processor 3200+ Model 15, Stepping 2
CPU Speed: 2010 MHz

I'm just not sure how to differentiate low vs high density memory.

Thanks.
Mike

The "density" of the memory is determined by how the individual chips are constructed.

http://74.125.113.132/search?q=cache:a29iG...us&ie=UTF-8


BTW, A lot of memory manufacturers don't mention if the memory is high or low density.
They also don't mention the chip configuration.

Not long ago I got stuck with 2 1GB high density sticks because G.Skill didn'y give the info needed to avoid high density memory.

Luckly I had another unit I changed memory with & it worked out for me.

Thank you for the link. I will search for the low density memory today.

You've been a big help and I appreciate you taking the time.

Here is a much better article on the subject,

http://www.1ststop.net/

I wanted to let you know I installed (2) 1gb, low-density memory sticks. I moved the existing 1gb memory sticks into the other slots available on the board. These happened to be orange slots.

Now my computer recognizes 4 gb memory. Maybe I just had them installed in the incorrect slots the whole time. Maybe the board has two low-density and two high-density slots.

IN any event, my computer runs well with the additional memory.

Thanks again for your help.