Memory Upgrade not "Seen"

[jparks1994]

Presario 5304 (400 megaherz AMD K6-2) running Win 98SE showed 92 MB of RAM, in two slots (64 in one, 32 in the second), with a third slot open. Replaced 64 MB card with 128 MB, everything compatible, no other changes. My Computer still shows 92 MB of RAM. What happened to the 64 MB? Can't find any BIOS settings for RAM.

 

[tech4hire]

why did you replace the 64mb stick of ram when there was a 3rd slot open. Then why did you replace the 64mb instead of the 32mb stick?

 

[ekÆsine]

i would recommend that too. it sounds as if his BIOS was not refreshing what memory is installed. maybe try to disable Quick power on self test so the memory is checked at POST? after it checks okay switch back to quick POST.

 

[preet2u]

why did you replace the 64mb stick of ram when there was a 3rd slot open. Then why did you replace the 64mb instead of the 32mb stick?

Seriously ..i'm curious too :beard:

 

[RoyalW]

For the record, it looks that you have 2MB shared VGA.

Try installing the 128MB stick and the 64MB stick together.
If the total amount adds up to 190MB its most likley because each DIMM slot has a maximum read of 64MB

This would mean you cant use anything higher than a 64MB stick on that board.
This also means your RAM maxout is 192MB
This also means you need an upgrade
This also means real bad

 

[Apokalipse]

could you list your mobo type so we can see what is compatible

 

[Famous]

Yeah, I was wondering if maybe your max is 64 BM per slot. If you have 3 slots, then you can get to 192 MB which is not too bad for an old computer.

 

[jparks1994]

Thanks for the input. I'm digging as fast as I can.

First, some ancient folklore said memory cards should go from the inside out, e.g, slot 1: 128 MB, slot 2: 64 MB, slot 3: 32 MB, etc. This is where I was headed. The folklore may be useless, and I plan to try some other options as soon as I can get to it. It's very difficult to reach the cards in this old Compaq sucker, so I have to take it slowly.

Second, I was also wondering about the 64 MB max per slot constraint. The literature I have is a little fuzzy on that, but if that's the case, I won't go buy two more 128 MB cards to max it out.

Third, Belarc Adviser reports the Main Circuit Board as:
Board: Compaq 05E4h
Bus Clock: 100 megaherz
BIOS: Compaq 686U2 04/26/99