Hardware Ram Problems

ackers

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OK, so I ordered Ram from Offtek.co.uk, which supposedly has a good reputation. My Tecra 9100 512mb Ram has arrived and it's in my laptop now. Once again, the Ram has completely slowed down my laptop. Boot time takes over 10mins compared to 5mins with my original Ram and everything is less responsive.

FYI I tried Ram from Crucial.co.uk months ago. It was Tecra 9100 512mb PC 2700. Apparently compitable with my laptop, it did nothing but slow down my laptop. I sent it back and bought another, thinking it was just faulty. Again, the 2nd Ram slowed down my laptop so I then ran a Memory Diagnostic test revealing the Ram to be in perfect working order. So the first Ram I bought from them must've been fine but it simply did not give my laptop the boost it should have.

My original Ram is Toshiba 256mb PC 2100. It runs fine without a hitch. I just wanted to make my laptop even faster but for some strange reason it just wont happen.

Luckily, Offtek wrongly sent me another Ram with the manufacture code that many have recommended for my laptop. I shall try it soon.

---------

Well that's basically what I posted in the Toshiba forums and no one has really been of help. I thought I'd post here for the chance someone might have a solution. It's a very strange situation; adding extra Ram which decreases performance. Fingers crossed the other Ram will work...

I just did some boot time tests using a stop-watch. I stop it when all my apps have loaded in the taskbar:

Toshiba PC2100 256mb Ram (original): 4mins

ELPIDA PC2100/PC2700 512mb Ram (new): 13mins (this Ram is guaranteed to work with Tecra 9100's according to Offtek.)

Other ELPIDA PC2100/PC2700 512mb Ram (new): 10mins (this Ram, according to some at the Toshiba forums, has the manufacture number which they recommended to me. However, I believe I should have received Toshiba branded Ram, not ELPIDA.)

ELPIDA PC2100/PC2700 512mb Ram (new) in Slot 1 + Toshiba PC2100 256mb Ram (original) in Slot 2: 11mins 35secs

I don't see the point in testing the other Ram with my original as will be slow still.
 

xcalibur

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The only possible answer is that the new Ram you bought runs at a slower speed than your original Ram.
Your Ram then gets downclocked to match the new Ram.

Get Cpu-Z and give me the speed of your Ram with and without the new Ram inserted.
 

ackers

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The only possible answer is that the new Ram you bought runs at a slower speed than your original Ram.
Your Ram then gets downclocked to match the new Ram.

Get Cpu-Z and give me the speed of your Ram with and without the new Ram inserted.

Each Ram module runs at 1.99Ghz. My CPU runs at 2.00Ghz.

Well it turns out the other Ram which Offtek accidentally sent me is just as useless as the other. Very annoying. This is the 4th Ram which has failed to speed up my laptop. What I don't understand it that all these sites are claiming the Ram works with my laptop. Well it works alright but makes my laptop twice as slow rather than twice as fast! GAAAAAAAYYYY

Edit: My original Ram, Toshiba branded PC2100 SDRAM 256mb, runs like a dream now that I've just put it back in my laptop. What I need is the exact same module but in 512mb. So why on Earth has no one else complained of this problem on the internet??? Am I the only one with bad luck? I don't see anyone else complaining that the PC2700 Ram "guaranteed to work with Tecra 9100's" isn't slowing down their rig.
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wacko.gif
 

xcalibur

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The only possible answer is that the new Ram you bought runs at a slower speed than your original Ram.
Your Ram then gets downclocked to match the new Ram.

Get Cpu-Z and give me the speed of your Ram with and without the new Ram inserted.


Each Ram module runs at 1.99Ghz. My CPU runs at 2.00Ghz.

Well it turns out the other Ram which Offtek accidentally sent me is just as useless as the other. Very annoying. This is the 4th Ram which has failed to speed up my laptop. What I don't understand it that all these sites are claiming the Ram works with my laptop. Well it works alright but makes my laptop twice as slow rather than twice as fast! GAAAAAAAYYYY

Edit: My original Ram, Toshiba branded PC2100 SDRAM 256mb, runs like a dream now that I've just put it back in my laptop. What I need is the exact same module but in 512mb. So why on Earth has no one else complained of this problem on the internet??? Am I the only one with bad luck? I don't see anyone else complaining that the PC2700 Ram "guaranteed to work with Tecra 9100's" isn't slowing down their rig.
wacko.gif
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Thats wrong, I think you misunderstood me. Ram couldn't possibly run that fast.

78597558vp0.png


What does it say in this tab?
Especially in DRAM Frequency.
Post result with and without your new Ram sticks inserted.
 

ackers

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These are the results of my original 256mb Ram. I cannot be bothered to go through the hell of having to insert my other modules again so I'll just leave it at that. One of the modules is ready to be taken back and the other one which they accidentally sent me will go on eBay for all the trouble.

untitled2.jpg


FYI I not long ago ordered decent Ram this time, Ram that I'm almost certain will work. It's Kingston branded and it's PC2100. I think all the modules which failed on me were PC2700 (even tho everyone is adamant this type should work).
 

ackers

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Here's an update on my situation:

Received the Kingston Ram and it didn't even let me turn my laptop on. Only the LEDs on the front lit up, nothing else. Very strange. I was told it should work for my laptop by a couple of people on Toshiba forums. Maybe it's faulty? Probably not.

Returned the crap that was the Tecra 9100 Ram from Offtek. Not sure if they've refunded my money yet, haven't got access to bank account.

Decided to try the other Ram Offtek sent me, the one which also slowed down my laptop. Here's a screenshot of the results with my original Ram and the other piece of crap I received from Offtek.

untitled-1.jpg
 

Psyfira

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I found memory compatibility tables to be rubbish, they only know what kind of RAM card will physically fit in your laptop slots and how many slots it has, then they just guess that each slot will take the largest card they sell. They get the specs for my laptop totally wrong, which according to the manual has a maximum limit on the amount of RAM it can handle.

What is your laptop's model number? Might be easier to help if we know what we're dealing with here
smile.gif
 

James B.

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Maybe you bought 1 stick of DDR2, instead of buying the 2 matching pairs? I'm not sure, but this could be a problem.
 

Kiljaeden

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Have you found out what the memory specs for the laptop are? eg. 2GB max. up to PC-2700?
If you have 2 mismatched memory speeds, it will run at the lower end. Maybe try the 512MB stick in the first slot and boot up? Then if that works alright, get a matched stick with the same speed, eg. another Kingston
 

ackers

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All five Ram modules I've tried I put in Slot 1 on their own and then with my original Ram in Slot 2 (although adding my original Ram to the mix of the Ram in Slot 1 seems to make no difference). All the modules eventually boot my laptop (except the Kingston one which didn't even let me turn it on) but they all drastically slowed it down. A 10mins start-up just isn't right and everything was major laggy.

My Tecra 9100 instruction manual calls for PC2100 Ram. According to all these Ram matching websites like Crucial and Offtek, they claim PC2700 works just as fine but faster than PC2100 and is compatible with my system. All the PC2700 modules I tried just didn't seem to like my laptop. The Kingston Ram I recently tried was the first PC2100 module I bought, as I had lost all hope in PC2700 types.

I as well as others on the Toshiba forum are confused as to why the Kingston Ram didn't work.

Here's the link to my thread if you're interested.

NB:
Original Toshiba Ram - 256mb PC2100 (works great)
All other Ram modules (not by Toshiba) - 512mb PC2700 (worked but slowed down laptop)
Kingston Ram - 512mb PC2100 (doesn't boot up laptop which is strange)
 

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