Emachines T1150 w/Lomita mobo, won't recognize new ram

[cp]

Recommended by Wim's BIOS...

[cp]

you shouldn't blame system sellers for chipset manufacturers' faults.
this is what you can do:

1. set the DRAM timings to conservative setting in the bios
2. insert ONE module
3. boot memtest86+ (http://www.memtest.org/) and test the memory
4. repeat 3. and 4. as long as there are untested modules
5. report back with the results

Explain #1 please

Ok, I restarted the computer with the one module in and the memtest floppy in all it did was went to the beep code first thing. It didnt even read my floppy drive at all.

Ok, got a response from eMachines help, which turns out to be Gateway lol who knew, they sent me to this website about the beep codes. A 1-3-3-1 code is "28 autosize DRAM" whatever that means.

[cp]

set the dram settings to AUTO or high values when it comes to timings.
interesting article:
http://www.tomshardware.com/2006/01/04/ ... age13.html

I dont know how to set the DRAM settings.

Also found out that with the Phoenix BIOS you cannot access alot of the settings. Just a basic BIOS screen about how much RAM you have and the drives that are installed. Ive been talking to eMachines tech support and after 4 times they finally tell me that if the RAM is not bad then it isnt compatible with the MB. even though in the same sentence they said that the RAM specs from the module i bought look compatible. They then told me to contact the RAM's manufacturer.

You know, the only memory I have ever gotten to work in my eMachine was memory out of another eMachine. I bought another from my sister just to steal the memory, the hard drive, and the power supply. Guess what, memory worked fine. I recently purchased a Compaq (far superior) that was a little newer than the eMachine, all the memory I purchased worked in it. I have 640meg of RAM in it that wouldn't work in the eMachine.

*shrug*

[cp]

don't get me wrong but the intel 440bx and i810 are known to cause trouble when some inexperienced users try to upgrade them with ram. there is a reason having a machine taken to a shop where professionals take care of the problem. and YES, it is worth the extra money.
when it comes to those online memory configurators: they are only as good as the database they work on. i've seen some recommending 512MB PC133 for a plain Intel 440BX chipset. DUH!

I've been working on my daughters T1150 that had the mother board fry from over heating. I found a cheap replacement mother board and also updated the Celeron 1.3 ghz processor to a Pentium III 1.4 ghz at a cost of about $120. I got the machine up and running but it just seemed to be clunking along, long boot up times, long time during updates and other slow downs. I was running 256 mb of ram, one original 128 mb emachine module and one TwinMOS 128 mb module that were working fine. I decided to take a chance and upgrade to 2X 256 mb Kingston modules at a cost of about $80 then I read the posts here and got a little worried. The new RAM arrived yesterday (Friday) and I installed it into the machine and hit the power button. WOW! The machine booted up in less that 90 secs. and even had the Norton 360 up and running. Needless to say I was very happy that the machine recognized the new RAM and is now whizzing along like a new computer once again. Is it possible that the upgraded processor is what did the trick? Maybe someone else can do the same upgrade and post back.

[edwin]

$80 is about the right price to pay for 2 pieces of low-density 440BX/i810 compatible 256MB SDRAM memory modules with 16 chips on them. If you know 256MB high-density SDRAM is costing as little as $15 you can see where the problem comes from: people trying to save money the wrong way. Good job on getting the right modules this time

[cp]

i really hope this is some kind of joke. $200 gone for an old and slow system and just for a cpu/ram upgrade! for the same amount of money you could have bought a brand new system. a very good example of spending money the wrong way :(

[edwin]

If you count in the hours it might take to reinstall and transfer all the stuff I can see where this was coming from. Anyway, I do agree it's possible to buy a brand new system including a licensed OS for that kind of money.