511mb RAM, Where did my 1mb go?

I had 256MB of ram. I upgraded another 256mb, but in device manager it says 511.0. What happend to the othe 1mb? I've seen on others where it said a little higher then what was in, but never less then. What happend to my 1mb? Thanks, Chris.

 

It was lost in transit, left in the box or it could have fallen on the factory floor. While you are right, most of the time we will see more, not less - this is not all that uncommon. Sure, you can give up 2, 4, 8,16,32, whatever to onboard video, but this isn't your case. You are probably going to need to contact Mr Lee or Mr Chin to find out who got that missing MB.

 

If you have on-board video, that is where it is.

 

That happens from time to time. I just never worried about it.

 

Also, my BIOS said 0+0 (0 RAM in both banks) with 256mb installed. When I put the 2nd 256mb in, it said, 0+256mb. The BIOS only sees 1, but windows sees both. No BIOS updates available. Why would Windows see both, but the BIOS only see one?

 

Ahah - now you post something of considerably more interest. My first inclination would be one of suspicion re: quality of the first (not read) memory module. Second inclination - speculation that you are mixing memory. Combined with your original concern about that lost meg of memory from the 512th Taiwanese brigade, you may want to try a few things. Clean the conacts on your modules with a pencil eraser and alcohol and reseat it. Try different memory slots and try changing the position of module one with module two. You can also select between auto detect and manual memory settings - set it manually. If you are running DDR, back down to a 3-6-3 setting with T2 timings. Also, can you set the CAS latency - are both modules matched re: latency? Have you tried running 2.5 at 2? how about bumping your memory voltage if your MB permits it.

Chris, I'm not trying to tell you to do all of this or telling you to try everything at once - you have a lot of individual things to try in an attempt to identify what's really going on. Check it out - experiment a little if you aren't satisfied with your machine's performance. Not to over- simplify, there are several things that can be tweaked if necessary. But, Caution!

If you are not having any real operating problems , I wouldn't worry about it too much. On the other hand, if you start getting Blue screen Fatal exception errors or having problems with virtual device drivers (.vxd's), then we are back to Mr Lee and Mr Chin - something is going to have to be done to fix it.

 

Thanks for replying. I have a few settings I'm not sure of.
1. DRAM CLOCK/DRIVE CONTROL
Options are in it's sub-minu

2.Another setting I'm not sure of is

DRAM CLOCK
This item allows you to control the DRAM speed
The Choece: 100Mhz, 133Mhz, or by SPD
When CPU speed set to 100MHz, DRAM speed can be set to 100MHz (by host clock), or 133MHz (by host clock+33MHz).
When CPU speed set to 133MHz, DRAM speed only set to 133 (by host clock)

I can set eather 2 or 2.5 CAS (I woner why it says "Do not reset this field from the default value specified by the system designer)? My Ram is 2.5

3. BANK INTERLEAVE
The interleave number of internal banks, can be set to 2 way. 4 way interleave or disabled. For VCM and 16mb type dram chips, the bank interleave is fixed at 2 way interleave.

When the dram timing is selected by SPD, it will be set by the value on SPD of the RAM module(SDR).

The choise: Disabled, 2 Bank, or 4 Bank.

4.You also suggested the comand rate T2. Not sure what mine is set at (I will after this).

Can you explane what this stuff means? Thank you very much.

On the board before my last one was a FIC, VA503+. I found a unofficial VA503 Page that explaned everything about the board. Plus had updates. I can't find very much on this board at all. I thought someone would have something on this. I tried to run my Buss at 166 but got someting about windows files something. If you know anybody who has a board like this or a web site that knows some more tweaks, let me know.
Try to explane my questions, Thanks again, Chris.

 

What's your current MB?

 

I have a shuttle AK32A V2.1

 

I changed my 2.5 CAS L to 2. It runs fine, but just saw my procressor load is 58%. Could that be related?

 

Come on, don't leave me hanging!

 

Chris:
I don't think anybody is leaving you hanging. Last I heard you were running fine after resetting latency to Cas 2. You never said what was the latest on your BIOS recognizing both modules or just one and you haven't indicated what did or didn't happen with any of my other suggestions. My last post still reflects my best guidance absent any other information.

I did take a look at your motherboard but am not familiar with it on a first hand basis. You can probably go to a 4 way interleave setting and if your MB permits it, you may want to move your memory voltage slightly north of the default which is 2.5V

It sounds like you are running PC2100 and from what you described for initial symptoms, my bet would be that you have one decent module and one thats on the low end of the food chain. What happened when you flipped slots?

Personally, I wouldn't recommend mixing modules if that is in fact the case. If you want to spend some money, get a couple of OCZ PC2400 2-2-2 256MB modules which can be overclocked very easily and run at a true Cas2. These are a good buy and are great for 266mhz MB's.

If things are running satisfactory - up to your expectations - leave well enough alone. I've spent as much as 4-5 hours tweaking memory settings on a machine to get maximum performance, stability and speed - you won't find all of your answers on a bulletin board. Its called trial and error Dad - no one is leaving you hanging.

 

And with the speeds of todays computers, would your eye see any difference?

You are definately in the "Trail - Error" testing stage and each setup is unigue to itself.

http://www.crucial.com/library/index.asp has a section called Learn More About RAM , just scroll down to it. Might help you out.
Just my 2¢.