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View Full Version : Epox 8K3A refuses to work with new RAM


Roger78
03-16-2003, 03:10 PM
I got a new stick of 512MB TwinMOS PC2700 today, so I installed it in my mainboard. I loaded up windows then started BF1942, I loaded up El Alamein and was surprized that map loading was just as slow as before. I went into Sandra and saw that it only reported 256MB of RAM.
I shut down the computer and tried the stick in the other free slot, but it still only reported 256MB on post.
I removed the other stick, and the computer refused to post, no matter what memory slot I tried it in.
I decided to put back the old stick again, and got slightly hot headed and a chill down my spine when once again it refused to post. I was thinking how on earth could I have managed to fry both sticks when I grounded myself every single time before handling any of the sticks and making sure not to touch the components on the sticks.
After trying the old stick in all 3 memory slots several times, it finally decided to post again. But after that it refused to post if the new stick was inserted, while at the beginning it would post but fail to find anything more than 256MB.
Could it be DOA (most likely), or that my mainboard simply doesn't like this RAM? My mainboard is an Epox 8K3A.

The sticker on the new ram reads this:
P/N: M2G4J16AGATT4F0B11DDT (above the bar code)
309M53016940033
PC2700(CL2) 512MB DDR-DIMM

The modules have this printed on them:
TwinMOS
0309D
TMD7608F8E60A

Has anyone had similar problems with this RAM/MB combo or with that ram and different Mainboards, or with that mainboard and different RAM?

I'm thinking of testing the RAM in a different mainboard, I asked one friend, but he only had a SDRAM MB.

Someone on another forum told me to clear the CMOS after putting in the new stick, so I tried that but still no post with the new stick in.

Ruantic
03-16-2003, 03:57 PM
Sounds like a bad stick ...

Roger78
03-16-2003, 08:25 PM
I flashed the bios to the latest 2B01 bios, then I inserted the new RAM and made sure to push it really hard into the slot this time. Now it booted up just fine, but it only reported 512MB when it should have been 768MB, and Sandra reports the same.
So now the new stick works, but it fails to detect the old one :confused:

Major
03-16-2003, 08:45 PM
What timing are you using on the ram ? You could try to boot with the stick that works, go into bios and change the memory settings from SPD (I'm guessing thats what its set at now) to something like 7-3-3-2. Then insert your new stick and see if it will boot now.

Roger78
03-16-2003, 09:10 PM
Well, the new stick does work now. It's the 256MB Samsung one (PC2700) that doesn't get detected now. I tried clearing the CMOS and tried setting the speed and timings to manual, took it down from 166 to 133MHz and 4-way interleave, but it still only found the new stick. I even tried setting the VDIMM to 2.7V.
I have the old Samsung stick in the leftmost slot and the new TwinMOS one in the right slot.
Sisoft Sandra reports this under "Mainboard Information":
Bank0/1 - A0 Empty
Bank2/3 - A1 Empty
Bank4/5 - A2 DIMM 512MB
Bank6/7 - A3 Empty

Major
03-16-2003, 10:38 PM
I think there just not going to be compatible bcause of timing differences....