help...only one ram slot works

i have an emachines pc that runs windows xp with 2 slots for ram. i have 2 sticks of 1GB ram but only one seems to be registering (slot 0). so im only running with 1 GB of ram instead of 2. do i need to make adjustments to the BIOS settings to get this to work? or could it just be bad hardware. i tried switching around the sticks, they are not the problem. the slot is. thanks a lot.

Well, the first problem is that it's an eMachines box...

I jest, but it's possible your motherboard only accepts dual-channel RAM if both slots are in use. Did you check your motherboard against Kingston/Crucial's database to get the right memory in the first place?

I'll also mention that I haven't noticed much performance difference between 1GB and 2GB of RAM on my computers, I only upgraded them so I could run VMs with more RAM, or have both Photoshop and Visual Studio running at the same time. Since it's an eMachines computer with only 2 RAM slots I don't think you've got a fast processor in there so I don't think you'd be doing any serious number-crunching on that thing so you'd be fine with 1GB of RAM. See if there's another computer of yours that could do with another gig.

W3bbo said:

Well, the first problem is that it's an eMachines box...

 

I jest, but it's possible your motherboard only accepts dual-channel RAM if both slots are in use. Did you check your motherboard against Kingston/Crucial's database to get the right memory in the first place?

 

I'll also mention that I haven't noticed much performance difference between 1GB and 2GB of RAM on my computers, I only upgraded them so I could run VMs with more RAM, or have both Photoshop and Visual Studio running at the same time. Since it's an eMachines computer with only 2 RAM slots I don't think you've got a fast processor in there so I don't think you'd be doing any serious number-crunching on that thing so you'd be fine with 1GB of RAM. See if there's another computer of yours that could do with another gig.

haha i understand, i hate it. the machine sort of just fell into my lap, and i use it strictly to play fifa. i'm just trying to get the max game performance and right now i'm not able to pump the graphics settings enough without lag.

enderssaves said:

W3bbo said:

*snip*

haha i understand, i hate it. the machine sort of just fell into my lap, and i use it strictly to play fifa. i'm just trying to get the max game performance and right now i'm not able to pump the graphics settings enough without lag.

That would be your GPU, not your RAM. Right now there aren't any mainstream games, like FIFA, that require the system have more than a gig of RAM. If you decide to start playing Crysis, that's different.

I upgraded an emachine to 2Gig recently. I had to use DDR not DDR2. If all that is good, then I would blow the dust out the slot first and try again. Also, you can download the specs online. You might try each chip separately to make sure both chips ar good. But good luck gaming on the thing.  If you want it to run fast then uninstall the virus checker.

alright...thanks a lot guys. ill let you know if i make any progress.

enderssaves said:

alright...thanks a lot guys. ill let you know if i make any progress.

There isn't any BIOS setting for enabling the second RAM slot. Are you sure the second stick of RAM is a good one?

As far as accepting only dual-channel RAM, that doesn't really make any sense since it's the motherboard that makes it dual-channel, not the RAM. As long as both sticks are the same type (DDR/DDR2) you should be fine.

spivonious said:

enderssaves said:

*snip*

There isn't any BIOS setting for enabling the second RAM slot. Are you sure the second stick of RAM is a good one?

 

As far as accepting only dual-channel RAM, that doesn't really make any sense since it's the motherboard that makes it dual-channel, not the RAM. As long as both sticks are the same type (DDR/DDR2) you should be fine.

Both sticks are good. I have tried switching them around, taking them out, etc., and slot 0 has always worked while slot 1 has not.

enderssaves said:

spivonious said:

*snip*

Both sticks are good. I have tried switching them around, taking them out, etc., and slot 0 has always worked while slot 1 has not.

Interesting. How old is the machine? It could be that some of the contacts in slot 1 are corroded. More likely you have a defective motherboard.

E-machines uses all standard interfaces (nothing proprietary like Dell) so you would be able to easily swap in another motherboard if you wanted to.