RAM upgrade troubles and fix

Trouble:

Are facing troubles in running latest application software or games that demand a lot of RAM?

You may be feeling the need to upgrade your RAM?

But If you are going to add another RAM module to increase the RAM size without removing the old module, it may cause more troubles than good. Let us see the troubles that you may face:

• Poor performance even after increasing the RAM.
• System becomes unstable and restarts abruptly.
• Only one of the two RAM modules is detected.
• New RAM module is not detected.

Now lets us have a look at the precautions that you should take to avoid the above mentioned problems.

Fix:

• If your computer motherboard has dual channel memory support ( see the motherboard’s user manual), then you must install two identical RAM modules for best performance. For best performance, put the two modules in two different memory channels (see motherboard manual for correct way of installation). So you can buy an identical RAM module as your existing module, or better approach would be to sell off the existing one and buy two new of same type, brand, capacity and frequency.
• If your computer’s motherboard does not support dual channel memory support, then it is recommended that you replace your old RAM module with a new module of higher capacity. But before you buy a new RAM module, check your motherboard’s manual for maximum RAM frequency it supports, buy the new module of the maximum supported frequency for good performance.
• If you want to add a new RAM module without removing the old one(not recommended), it is highly recommended that the two modules (old and new one) must be of same memory frequency. If the frequency is not same, system becomes unstable and restarts abruptly, which can be fatal for your computer.
• In case the two RAM modules are based on different chipset technology (which changes the memory density, i.e the memory contained on each chip on the module), it may happen that only one one of the two is detected.
• If the memory density of the new RAM module is not supported by your motherboard, it may happen that the new RAM module is not detected at all. So be very careful before buying a new memory module. Buy only after checking the supported memory types from motherboard’s manual.

So, The thumb-rule is – Always look carefully into the motherboard’s user manual before any kind of RAM upgrades.

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Author + Admin: Abhishek Bhatnagar
Hi, I am a Software Engineer by profession and blogger by passion, I write about computer tips and tricks and solutions for computer problems. You can connect with me at twitter or know more about me on www.abhishekbhatnagar.com.