Installed RAM, System Continually Reboots

dgridley · 01-30-2006, 04:51 PM

I just installed two 512mb RAM modules today that I received from an eBay auction. The RAM looked new when I received it but I believe one module is bad. It will boot fine with one particular module but it I put both in the comp at the same time or the "bad" module by itself, it will make the comp contunually reboot.

I contact the seller and he insists the module is good but my computer "doesn't support the latency", as he put it.. it's a brand new comp. What does he mean anyway?

And the "bad" module won't work even by itself.

**Lyte** · 01-30-2006, 05:34 PM

Hey D,

I think your module is hosed. Either it was hosed before it was sent to you or it was hosed when it was installed... static. :eek: "Latency is the time it takes for a package or packet of data to move across a network connection." Are the two modules the same (mfg?) or different?

Lyte

McDaddy · 01-30-2006, 05:57 PM

ok it sounds like you have a bad stick of ram. as for the whole latency thing, he is full of sh*t. in this case latency is the amount of time your memory is doing nothing. it is the amount of time in between when your memory sends the information out , and then gets new informations back in. as you can imagine the smaller this time is, the faster your memory will work. one other point is that the latency, the amount of memory, and the speed of the memory are all seperate, but all affect eachother in terms of preformance.

in my opinion the guy on e-bay either is throwing a big word at you trying to sound like he konw somthing, and confuse you, or has no idea what in the H3LL he is talking about.

dgridley · 01-31-2006, 12:53 AM

I've changed plenty of RAM in the past so I don't think I had anything to do with it.. and I didn't check the sticks too closely but wouldn't be surprised if they were different mfg at least.
As for latency, I was pretty sure he was full of it.. just didn't want to cough up a refund.

I blogged about it here: www.lookwhatdavefound.info and gave him a neg feedback on eBay. Of course, I got one in return but it was principle with me...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lyte

Hey D,

I think your module is hosed. Either it was hosed before it was sent to you or it was hosed when it was installed... static. :eek: "Latency is the time it takes for a package or packet of data to move across a network connection." Are the two modules the same (mfg?) or different?

Lyte

joey · 02-08-2006, 11:14 PM

I'd download, burn and run Memtest86 on it.

http://www.memtest86.com/

dgridley · 02-09-2006, 12:01 AM

Seeing as the system won't even boot with that stick of RAM installed.. that'd be hard to do!

Quote:

Originally Posted by joey

I'd download, burn and run Memtest86 on it.

http://www.memtest86.com/

terrises · 02-10-2006, 05:45 PM

I assume that you bought both RAM chips together an they are the same type of chip? That could happen if the RAM chip is NOT compatiable with you machine, but if both chips are the SAME it sounds like the one chip is bad.

dgridley · 02-10-2006, 09:55 PM

I bought them as a matched pair so assumed they were.. I think the chip is bad anyway as the one chip works alone, but the other one doesn't.

Quote:

Originally Posted by terrises

I assume that you bought both RAM chips together an they are the same type of chip? That could happen if the RAM chip is NOT compatiable with you machine, but if both chips are the SAME it sounds like the one chip is bad.