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Solved How do I bring PC back To Life

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on the current sticks, the sticker will show the speed.
so make sure you get the same in the new sticks.
so if you already have 1GB stick at 533Mhz speed, get more of the same.
also nice to match latency timings too, so look at the CL number on the new ones and match it to the old ones.
OR - just get 4 new ones, all the same. :)

did you install Win10 32bit or 654bit?
if 32bit, only 3GB of memory is addressable.
to access more than 3GB, you have to install a 64bit OS which in turn requires a 64bit processor.
 
Hi Bruce ,
looking in the System info -
System type - 64 bit operating system - x64 based processor
At the bottom of screen under Windows Activation
saying Windows is activated - how did that happen ???

Just took out one of the Ram cards ( both card numbers match except the long number beginning with M ) - details are
Samsung 1GB 1Rx8 PC2 - 6400u - 666 - 12 - ZZ
Made in China M378T2863RZS - CF7 0841.

No CL number .

What would I need to look for to match existing RAM
Or would there be any benefit in putting in 2GB RAM cards ?

Many Thanks
Brian
 
Activation is an automatic thing if MS detects a valid Product Key and you pass all the requirements - which you obviously have.

as to extra HHD, yep no issues there, just need a spare power cable and SATA cable and SATA port on the mobo.

I'm a bit 'nervous' providing RAM suggestions because there is a good chance a new stick may not be compatible. what with the age of the system and the limited availability of DDR2 sticks.

yes 2GB sticks should work but I read somewhere for your mobo that if getting 800Mhz speeds than 2GB wasn't an option - or something like that.

have you tried re-using all the sticks it originally came with or was there an issue with one of them?
a better option may be to take it into a PC store as they can install the sticks while you wait and if not compatible they can keep trying until a set does work. otherwise i fear it will be a suck-it-and-see exercise.

if you like, take a pic of your memory sticks, showing the label and we can look at those for you.
 
Hi Bruce,

Please find attached pictures of RAM sticks - these are the two I removed from the PC as they were causing issues.
They are identical to the two in the PC - only difference is the long number beginning with M' and the four digit number far right above the barcode.
On these two the numbers are 0803 and 0902. The two in the PC both have the number 0841.
There seem to be plenty of sellers on ebay selling DDR2 sticks.
I am not really near any computer stores - I live in the middle of the countryside in Northern Ireland - nearest buildings are farms with plenty of cows,sheep,and a few horses.:)
Many Thanks
Brian
 

Attachments

  • Samsung Memory sticks web.jpg
    Samsung Memory sticks web.jpg
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the long M number is the serial number, pretty much ignore that.
the top right series is the important one, it's all the timings.
the 6400 is the speed and the 12 is the latency or CL number.
it's those two numbers the really need to match up on all your sticks.

having not the same numbers can sometimes work, but the PC will use the lowest/slowest number as the baseline for the remaining sticks but over-arching all that, you start seeing incompatibility issues mixing up sticks that way.

so definitely those two identical sticks for the time being.
Win10 will be fine with that, more would be better, but with the age of the system and model of processor, it's never going to be a blazingly fast unit anyway and i fear you may be wasting time and money on RAM that will not have a huge impact on overall performance.

but if the used DDR2 is at a good price, hell, be a worth while isolation/lock-down exercise if nothing else. :)
 
Hi Bruce,
Originally there were 4 1GB sticks in this PC - When I originally turned it on I got a beep code and error numbers illuminated on the case.
Trial and error I ended up removing two of the sticks to get the PC to come on with no error codes.
So I assumed two sticks were OK and two not
I was thinking more about this RAM situation - Oh No - i hear you say :).
So being of an inquisitive nature I took all of the RAM out.
I then put one of the two sticks that I thought were not working into DIMM slot ONE
The PC started.
So I removed that stick and put the other - bad ? - stick into slot one.
The PC started.
Then I put the second stick into slot 2 - we now have the two sticks I thought were bad in the PC (slots 1 and 2)
The PC started.
Hmm !!
Then put one of two known good sticks into Slot 3
The PC started.
Then put the last (good)stick into slot 4 - got a beep code and error numbers 3 - 4 illuminated.
Interesting - so I then swapped the sticks in slots 3 and 4 over.
So the stick that was in slot 3 was now in slot 4 and vice versa.

The PC started up OK
I then ran the internal Windows memory Diagnostic tool to check for bad memory.
The results said no errors were found in the memory.

PC started up fine this morning . System>Task Manager > Performance>Memory indicates 4GB of RAM.
Not sure what to think !
Brian
 
welcome to the world of computers!
ours is not to reason why......

it simply may have been 'dirty' sticks - that is, either there was dust on the stick circuitry or they were making bad/no contact to the motherboard.
the contact points on the stick can oxidise and not make a good connection with its slot on the mobo.
removing, wiping the contacts and the mobo slot with a brush and reseating is sometimes all that is required.

let's count this as a win and speak of it no more! :)
 
Just a final note to thank you for all of your valuable help and patience with me.
So there is now a working PC that otherwise would have added to Landfill - a small victory.
Take care
Many thanks
Brian :thumbsup:
 
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