[NTLUG:Discuss] OT:strange memory activity

[kbrannen@gte.net]

Wayne Dahl wrote:
...
> 
> The computer came back up seeing only 64 Megs of memory.  I thought
> maybe it was either a bad stick or was possibly a 64 Meg stick packaged
> in a 128 Meg blister pack.  At any rate, it was enough to install the
> software, so I let it go.

I've seen that before in a computer.  It's been long enough that I don't 
remember the cause clearly, but I think it was because the MB only supported 
up to a certain size DIMM and anything over that was just simply ignored.  So 
since there were 3 slots and it wouldn't take anything over 128M sticks, the 
max was 384M for the machine--period--no other options.

> 
> ...   Before I installed that memory, I saw her computer was now
> seeing 128 Megs of memory instead of the 64 it was seeing before. 
> Sometime since I installed that stick, the computer magically started
> seeing it for what it was.  Being the idiot I am, instead of just
> installing the software for her, ...

Well then my experience may not be yours here.  Steve's idea would seem to fix 
the facts.  I've seen a machine that would only run for 5 minutes standing up, 
but would run perfectly for many days if laying flat; probably a crack in the 
MB was the culprit.

Kevin