Anybody got spares in the closet?

Post #306,475 by drook 3/31/09 11:13:48 AM Reply	Anybody got spares in the closet? I'm looking for a couple sticks of 256MB SDRAM. Since that's two-generations-old tech, it's listing for $45 new. Which bugs the hell out of me, since I've seen new memory for $20/GB on sale. Anyone got something gathering dust they wouldn't mind parting with for a more reasonable price? -- Drew
Post #306,476 by Andrew Grygus 3/31/09 11:16:25 AM Reply	Probably have some . . . . . I'll take a look this morning.
Post #306,477 by drook 3/31/09 11:20:47 AM Reply	Groovy, danke -- Drew
Post #306,487 by Andrew Grygus 3/31/09 2:39:32 PM Reply	Re: Groovy, danke Looks like I have a matched pair of 3200
Post #306,488 by drook 3/31/09 2:54:58 PM Reply	Neat Hit me at drewk98 yahoo I'll send you the mailing address. Thanks. -- Drew
Post #306,505 by scoenye 3/31/09 8:17:13 PM Reply	Wrong memory type?? According to Gateway, that model only takes up to 3 PC100/PC133 SDRAMs of up to 128 MB each. Max. capacity is 384 MB.
Post #306,517 by Andrew Grygus 3/31/09 9:05:37 PM Reply	Well, that's easy to check. If the memory modules have two notches it's PC100/133. If only one it's PC2100/2700/3200
Post #306,519 by drook 3/31/09 9:16:50 PM Reply	Two notches -- Drew
Post #306,520 by Andrew Grygus 3/31/09 9:20:31 PM Reply	256s are pretty scarce in that format. I know I have one, but I'll have to look around and see if I can find any more. I have plenty of 64s and 128s.
Post #306,524 by drook 3/31/09 9:28:32 PM Reply	Great timing I guess they came out with the next style of RAM just as 256 was coming out. And that's the board I got. Sweet. -- Drew
Post #306,528 by Andrew Grygus 3/31/09 9:37:37 PM Reply	A check of eBAY, PC133 256 . . . . . comes up with a slew of them between $5 and $12, including some listed as "new". Most require PayPal payment.
Post #306,531 by drook 3/31/09 9:53:02 PM Reply	Don't know what I was searching for before But apparently it was the wrong thing, and way more expensive. -- Drew
Post #306,533 by Andrew Grygus 3/31/09 10:14:52 PM Reply	Oh, they'll be expensive through normal distribution . . . . . like Tech Data, etc. - but it looks like a lot of folks got caught with the latest PC133s just as the mother board makers switched to PC2100. The secondary market has plenty of them at good prices.
Post #306,518 by Another Scott 3/31/09 9:10:40 PM Reply	If that's the case... and some others mention that it is the case (e.g. http://www.motherboa...0ba95560d3a0e550c ), then you can get 128 MB sticks from Crucial for $23 each, or $15 each at MemoryX ( http://www.memoryx.net/axd.html ). That first link mentions installing a "Slot T Celeron" upgrade. It apparently was fairly popular years ago - it wouldn't be worth the money today (assuming you could find it). http://www.duhvoodoo.../LFL/Slot-T_1.htm Cheers, Scott.
Post #306,522 by drook 3/31/09 9:23:08 PM Reply	It's already got 2 x 128 And it's maxed out as soon as Gnome launches. -- Drew
Post #306,523 by folkert 3/31/09 9:26:05 PM Reply	XFCE... dude
Post #306,527 by drook 3/31/09 9:33:50 PM Reply	Performance is a hardware issue Even if I have to buy the RAM new, it'll eventually be worth it to not have to learn a whole new way to work. -- Drew
Post #306,530 by Another Scott 3/31/09 9:48:18 PM Reply	You might want to bite the bullet. Even moving up one generation would make a huge performance difference. Your time is worth something - don't be too cheap. E.g. a 3 GHz Dell P4 (1 GB/4 GB Max, etc., etc.) small form factor box for $145 - http://www.usedcompu...tem.asp?ID=185254 Look around a little. Or tell us your budget and let us look around for you. :-) Good luck. Cheers, Scott.
Post #306,532 by drook 3/31/09 10:01:07 PM Reply	Well damn Wish I had known about that site a few days ago. I just got a an HP dc7100 for $99 and ordered some more memory. Would have liked a system that could hold the full-height DVD burner. Oh well. -- Drew
Post #306,478 by folkert 3/31/09 11:38:29 AM Reply	What motherboard is it going in?
Post #306,480 by drook 3/31/09 11:56:00 AM Reply	Re: What motherboard is it going in? Base Board Information Manufacturer: GATEWAY Product Name: Tabor MP440BX Version: Tabor 4000444-304 Serial Number: B -- Drew
Post #306,506 by folkert 3/31/09 8:25:27 PM Reply	Drookenstein? Oh my... I'll have to look. I know I've stuffed 256MB sticks in that model of motherboard before. I've got 8 - 512MB PC133 sticks hanging around, but I know those won't work.
Post #306,515 by drook 3/31/09 9:04:26 PM 3/31/09 9:05:31 PM Reply	Yup, docs on the board say 256MB max -- Drew Edited by drook March 31, 2009, 09:05:31 PM EDT Expand All History
Post #306,521 by folkert 3/31/09 9:20:32 PM Reply	Re: Yup, docs on the board say 256MB max Yes, I know. BIOS upgrade... and I had a Motherboard that had 768 MB of memory in it... that same model. I might even still have it.
Post #306,479 by Another Scott 3/31/09 11:42:43 AM Reply	I'll check too, when I get home.
Post #306,483 by beepster 3/31/09 12:43:34 PM Reply	I have one..think its pc 2100? Still in the static bag. You want? I will choose a path that's clear. I will choose freewill.
Post #306,489 by drook 3/31/09 2:55:35 PM Reply	Thanks, looks like Andrew's got twins I've always wanted twins. -- Drew
Post #306,504 by lincoln 3/31/09 7:38:19 PM Reply	Re: Anybody got spares in the closet? I've got a 184 pin 512 Mg PC 1600 (or 2100) DDR SDRAM if you're interested. "Chicago to my mind was the only place to be. ... I above all liked the city because it was filled with people all a-bustle, and the clatter of hooves and carriages, and with delivery wagons and drays and peddlers and the boom and clank of freight trains. And when those black clouds came sailing in from the west, pouring thunderstorms upon us so that you couldn't hear the cries or curses of humankind, I liked that best of all. Chicago could stand up to the worst God had to offer. I understood why it was built--a place for trade, of course, with railroads and ships and so on, but mostly to give all of us a magnitude of defiance that is not provided by one house on the plains. And the plains is where those storms come from." -- E.L. Doctorow
Post #306,516 by drook 3/31/09 9:04:42 PM Reply	See above, docs say 256MB max -- Drew
Post #306,526 by Another Scott 3/31/09 9:32:24 PM Reply	Take a drive to Lorain? http://cleveland.cra...s/1100323226.html - $5 a stick. This fellow says he has a "large quantity" of 256 MB sticks - http://cleveland.cra...s/1100181270.html $10 each, or less if in bulk. Good luck! Cheers, Scott.
Post #306,529 by drook 3/31/09 9:48:17 PM 4/1/09 9:03:28 PM Reply	Great googly moogly I never thing about Craigslist. Thanks for the pointer. [update] And I'm back with three brand-new sticks of 256MB for $10 each. The guy had a whole tray of them he found in his home office when he started packing to move. But ... I installed them and they didn't work. System wouldn't even POST. Little research suggests I need to update the BIOS. Okay, let's see if I can find a floppy. Ah, there they are, now are they any good? Gosh, can't tell, the box doesn't see the floppy drive. Of course, why should anything work the first time. So 15 minutes of research, nothing working. Laptop doesn't have a floppy drive. Wait! The old laptop from four jobs back, that has a floppy. And a bad battery. And the USB never worked. And I don't know if I can even get it online any more. Okay, let's try booting from CD. Download the new BIOS, write to CD, reboot, and ... nothing. If you've done this before you know why. A CD with all the right system files is not the same as a bootable CD. So ... research how to make it bootable. Second disk, mount loopback, blah blah blah ... reboot, and ... can't select anything from the menu. Because of course the DRDOS boot image I grabbed doesn't support USB, which is what my keyboard is using. [sigh] Into the closet, yup, got an old keyboard. Plug it in and ... new BIOS! Yay! And holy crap it's 7:45 and I haven't had dinner yet. Will be swapping the memory out again shortly. Please-please-please-please-please-please-please-please-please let it work. [update2] Four beeps on POST, no video. Various docs report as either memory or timer issue. I hate computers. -- Drew Edited by drook April 1, 2009, 08:25:59 PM EDT Edited by drook April 1, 2009, 09:03:28 PM EDT Expand All History
Post #306,591 by drook 4/2/09 9:38:41 AM Reply	Oh well, just lost $30 Turns out the Tabor MP440BX had several revisions. Mine is the 4000444. The 4000569 (or maybe 4000560) revision supported faster CPUs and more memory. I can't find any documentation saying it should take more memory, but saw forum threads where people had that board and tried the memory and it worked. Mine does have a memory controller that can handle the 256MB sticks, but the board itself won't. I suspect that the hardware might actually be able to handle it, but the latest available BIOS update is dated 11/30/1999. Once the newer boards were out, they stopped updating the BIOS. -- Drew
Post #306,592 by Another Scott 4/2/09 10:05:16 AM Reply	:-( I know what you mean about hating computers. Will he take them back? Maybe throw in a pizza to sweeten the offer? ;-) Cheers, Scott.
Post #306,594 by drook 4/2/09 10:14:41 AM Reply	With half a tray full of them he's still trying to sell? I'm not sure how many were in that pack to start, but I'd guess he's still got at least ten more of them he's trying to unload. I'll just take it as a learning experience, and maybe list them on ebay myself, try to recover some of it. -- Drew

Welcome to IWETHEY!