Replace DIMM Slots? or New Motherboard Needed?

Jeff34BuffJeff34Buff Lakewood, CO
edited June 2005 in Hardware
Can DIMM slots be replaced, or are they permenant?

:confused::confused:

My DIMM slots are arranged in two sets, A2 & B2 (the ones on my right) are dead.

Are the little plastic slots the memory sticks fit in replaceable? By a Do-It-Yourselfer?

I can't tell without taking everything apart & looking at it closely (I can't see the other side for one thing). I don't mind taking it apart, but I'm not sure I'd know anyway, because its beyond my experience (no point in hiding that!).

Not an emergency, but I'd like to resolve the problem. I'm guessing 2 channel memory doesn't work properly using A1 and B1 instead of A1 and A2.

Thanks for the Help, :confused:

Comments

  • GrayFoxGrayFox /dev/urandom Member
    edited June 2005
    In short NO


    In long- If you have alot of time very good soldering skills and another board kicking around you could.


    Btw with how your problem sounds it sounds like a problem with the chipset or something else.
  • edcentricedcentric near Milwaukee, Wisconsin Icrontian
    edited June 2005
    If they both went at once I would suspect the memory controler in the mobo chipset.
    You wanted a new mobo anyway, didn't you?
  • Jeff34BuffJeff34Buff Lakewood, CO
    edited June 2005
    There have been other suspicious events that I think the MOBO might have been responsible for: A hard drive went dead then came back to life, the onboard LAN will not network (if I use a USB wireless adapter everything's fine).

    Technically, the MOBO is still under warranty, but: I installed the system in a new box a few months ago (HP wasn''t generous with room for expansion or a power supply. I'd have to re-install all the original components back in the HP case, take it to the shop, wait 7-10 days (their estimate), and reassemble eveything. I'm not that thrilled with the MOBO anyway. It's a stripped down version of an ASUS PTGD1-VN called and PTGD1-LA (Grouper).

    The ASUS PTGD1-V1 however is light years ahead of the HP version. HP eliminated a lot of the functions, rendered the BIOS almost useless etc. I'm wondering how much trouble I want to go through to replace a part I'm not that happy with.

    So I'd like to consider my options. The other parts of the system:

    3.0 P4 HT CPU 800Mhz 775 socket
    3Ghz RAM (2x1024 + 2x512)
    Maxtor 120Gb SATA hard drive
    Seagate "Barracuda" 200Gb hard drive
    Lite-On DVD+RW SOHW-8225
    ASUS CD-S480/AH
    NEC 3.5 internal floppy
    ATI Raedon X700 PCI-E video
    Samsung 912n Monitor
    Compaq MV7000 Monitor
    Creative Audigy 2zs sound
    D-Link (108 mps) 624 Wireless Router (connects to RCA Cable Modem)

    Home Network currently supports my notebook on 802.11b 54g wireless.

    I use windows XP home

    Any recommendations for a motherboard?
    Budget is probably $150 - $200 max (I'll just live with what I've got if that won't cover it!).
  • TheLostSwedeTheLostSwede Trondheim, Norway Icrontian
    edited June 2005
    Jeff, is that DDR1 or DDR2 ram you have?
    If DDR1, you are pretty much limited to "old" boards.
  • Jeff34BuffJeff34Buff Lakewood, CO
    edited June 2005
    The RAM I have is all DDR-1.

    Please don't tell me that the motherboards available won't be compatible.

    I've put some money in RAM & would be disappointed if it won't work with the new boards. When I bought the computer I thought it was fairly up to date. SATA hard drive, USD 2.0, Dual Channel etc. But that was 8 months ago. How'd I get behind the curve so fast with memory. I thought DDR-1 would be supported for at least a year or two!

    If I would have to buy RAM all over again I'll just scap the project for now.

    How much difference is there? Between DDR-1 and DDR-2.


    Jeff
  • Straight_ManStraight_Man Geeky, in my own way Naples, FL Icrontian
    edited June 2005
    The "old" boards run fine and still can be purchased.

    Now, let's talk dual channel:
    B2
    A2
    B1
    A1

    Possible that right there is what you have, as labelled, or with A and B reversed. Note, for this pattern, A will be one color, B will be another color.

    I have A1 and B1 filled here, and dual channel works fine. I would have to fill all four or get rid of BOTH OF what I have here to increase RAM on my dual-channel board-- see also below, please.

    Now, to get more RAM shown, ALL FOUR have to be filled such that {A amount of RAM = B amount of RAM} OR you get two bigger sticks if board will suppport bigger sticks. Adding JUST a third stick will be useless, adding different SPEEDS will be useless. MATCH two more of same brand and grade you got (RAM size can be different than what you have now, but needs to be placed so the other things I said are also true), and things should work fine.
  • Jeff34BuffJeff34Buff Lakewood, CO
    edited June 2005
    Straight_Man wrote:
    The "old" boards run fine and still can be purchased.

    Now, let's talk dual channel:
    B2
    A2
    B1
    A1

    Possible that right there is what you have, as labelled, or with A and B reversed. Note, for this pattern, A will be one color, B will be another color.

    I have A1 and B1 filled here, and dual channel works fine. I would have to fill all four or get rid of BOTH OF what I have here to increase RAM on my dual-channel board-- see also below, please.

    Now, to get more RAM shown, ALL FOUR have to be filled such that {A amount of RAM = B amount of RAM} OR you get two bigger sticks if board will suppport bigger sticks. Adding JUST a third stick will be useless, adding different SPEEDS will be useless. MATCH two more of same brand and grade you got (RAM size can be different than what you have now, but needs to be placed so the other things I said are also true), and things should work fine.


    From the perspective you diagrammed (nice job!). I know this seems against the rules but the only configuration that works is this:
    B1
    A1

    B1
    A1

    Blue: Working DIMM Red: Dead slots


    These two slots can be used in any configuration of sticks I have available (2x256, 2x512, and 2x1024). Any of the sticks (single or paired) in the blue slots works.. They were set up like this before the problems began:
    B2 - 512mb
    A2 - 1024mb
    B1 - 512mb
    A1 - 1024mb

    The original configuration was one 256mg DIMM in A1 and A2 . The open slots (B1, B2) were filled with 512mg chips a few months down the road. The last upgrade was replacing the 256's with 1024's. Worked fine at first, but a couple of weeks ago everything went haywire. Much better now except for a few nagging details like the ram slots.

    I don't like having the "first bank full - 2nd bank empty" setup, but I can't figure a way to get the A2 & B2 slots operational.     The box is working, but I want to use as much of the 4 gig that the board is supposed to support.
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