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memory (simm) halved on Biostar 8500TUC mb

Posted: Sat Oct 02, 2004 4:04 am
by trofim
Hello!
I`ve just resurrected an old computer and the bios is halving the amount of memory. No mater if there are 2 or 4 simms. I`ve tried replacing, changing simms - the result is the same. No matter if it was 4,8 or 16 MB per simm it was always halved. The system (win98se) seems to work fine.
I`m trying to result in 64MB of RAM
Configuration:
mb - Biostar 8500 TUC - A ver3.2 (that`s written on mb)
proc - Intel P54C 133 MHz
ID string: 51-0117-001223-00111111-071595-82439HX-F
bios ver: 0221 D

Any ideas?
Lukasz

note: I encountered problems while flashing the BIOS. While using AMIflasher I got the response: "unable to flash - disable USB" - actually the function was disabled in bios and I didn`t find any hardware possibilites to disable/enable it . Uniflasher did the same "error - unable to flash" without giving any reason.
I used the combination of Ctrl+Home keys pressed while switching on and it ended with succsess (?)

Posted: Sat Oct 02, 2004 4:45 am
by Denniss
Maybe Bios Bootblock protected by Jumper ?
-> Check manual

i430HX should not have any problems with SIMMs as long as always two identical stick are installed per memory bank

Posted: Sat Oct 02, 2004 9:01 am
by trofim
Sorry - don`t have the manual and accordindg to what I`ve read in biostar archives there is no such jumper?

But without instruction I couldn`t find even "clear CMOS" JP11 on the board

The simms in one bank are identical. Any other ideas?

greetz
Lukasz

Posted: Sat Oct 02, 2004 3:00 pm
by Rainbow
Check what's printed on your BIOS chip (if there's a sticker, peel it off and check there) - should be 27xxxx or 28xxxx or 29xxxx, then check JP10.
ftp://ftp.biostar-usa.com/manuals/8500T ... manual.htm

Posted: Sat Oct 02, 2004 7:46 pm
by trofim
Thank you Rainbow!

the BIOS chip is:
P28F001
BXT150
U6341602

should it have 5 or 12 Volt?

still don`t know where is the JP11 responsible for clearing CMOS

Posted: Sat Oct 02, 2004 8:34 pm
by Denniss
Flashrom is an Intel flashrom with 12V so JP10 to 1-2
All jumpers should be clearly marked -please have a closer look !
It's possible your mainboard is damaged or the L2-CAche is damaged or it's a Bios problem .
Try to disable L2-Cache in Bios

Posted: Sun Oct 03, 2004 12:33 am
by trofim
Thanks Denniss
the problem with clearing CMOS is solved. Using a flashlight I found that the jumper that I thought to be JP8 was JP11 (description JP8 was above and JP11 not visible at all, close to the jumper side).
For now the BIOS is flashed (id: TUC0530B), CMOS was cleared but the problem remains the same.
After disabling L2 - Cache in BIOS nothing changed.
Are there any ways confirm what is damaged (cache or mb?)

Posted: Tue Oct 05, 2004 2:47 pm
by KachiWachi
Try MemTest86 or MemTest86+.

It seems odd that the HX is only recognizing 1/2 of the memory, and since the HX needs pairs to operate, you know the slots are good at least...

Maybe an address line is bad or open on the motherboard. MemTest would show this once you look at the pattern of errors it will produce.

Also check the slots for debris...maybe there is a short in one of the unused (or used) ones.

Posted: Tue Mar 08, 2005 11:53 am
by liteFun
trofim wrote:The simms in one bank are identical. Any other ideas?
I would point that.. So, there are only 2 of these SIMMs identical, and other 2 are different in size or chip count?

Posted: Tue Mar 08, 2005 11:02 pm
by trofim
liteFun wrote: I would point that.. So, there are only 2 of these SIMMs identical, and other 2 are different in size or chip count?
That is true. Since the computer is no longer in my house I cannot check it right now. But the same SIMM configuration worked just fine on other motherboards (SIMMs in pairs are the same but pairs are different).