Odd Memory Problem

Post #48,837 by deSitter 8/9/02 2:02:18 PM Reply	Odd Memory Problem Tecra 8000, 1 128Mb SODIMM (PC100). Pop in another 128Mb SODIMM, no booty. Play with BIOS, cache, etc. - no joy. Fails SuSE "memtest86". Backflash the BIOS from 9.3 to 8.2 (pre-PIII, PII only) - yeah baby! All fine. Any idea why this happened? No mention of Toshiba site. -drl
Post #48,847 by orion 8/9/02 4:07:28 PM Reply	Re: Odd Memory Problem Some sort of DRAM refresh rate or code in the new BIOS that trashes the new RAM chip? I've seen this happen to video cards my brother had a Geforce card that had to have the BIOS downgraded to an earlier version. The newer BIOS somehow had VGA routines that clobbered the card he bought. He sent it back and got a different brand, same GeForce chipset, and it worked fine with the newer BIOS. Go figure that one out? *[link\|http://games.speakeasy.net/data/files/khan.jpg\|"Khan!!!" -Kirk]*
Post #48,879 by deSitter 8/9/02 8:22:36 PM Reply	Can't Be Each SODIMM worked fine alone, in either slot. The new SODIMM was the exact same spec as the old one, same size, same manufacturer - but different part number. The order mattered in the end. I started from scratch (=boot the CDROM and install) and everything was fine after reflashing the BIOS. The machine was just as fast as before, other than a little extra time to boot (memory check no doubt). Very strange problem. BTW I was not unproud of this diagnosis. -drl
Post #48,848 by Another Scott 8/9/02 4:10:36 PM Reply	Timings changed by BIOS? About all I can think of.
Post #48,854 by a6l6e6x 8/9/02 5:11:10 PM Reply	Makes sense to me as well. New BIOS is more talented in... setting up the timing of memory bus. Alex "Television: chewing gum for the eyes." -- Frank Lloyd Wright
Post #48,881 by deSitter 8/9/02 8:26:09 PM Reply	I was thinking... ..that there was some conflict with the display device framebuffer address, and reflashing the BIOS made the oversight go away. I want to go back to the other BIOS to see what happens. More conservative timings would make the machine seem sluggish. It's not. -drl

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