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HP550 4GB RAM upgrade crashing, but not with 3GB

  • 01-01-2012 04:15PM
    #1
    slinky2000
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,288 ✭✭✭


    Hi Guys,

    So I'm upgrading an old laptop for my father in law. It's an old HP550 running vista 32bit with an old Celeron processor. It had 1GB of RAM so I upgraded it to 4GB now Vista BSOD's within seconds of loading.

    Even Ubuntu and memtest crash on loading aswell which is funny, so I swapped the RAM out for known good stuff from my own laptop, again 4GB and same results, so I don't think thats the problem.

    Now if I put in 2GB +1GB everytihng works fine and vista recognises the 3GB and everyones happy, but I would like to get to the bottom of this. I ran the http://www.crucial.com/systemscanner/ and it confirms the motherboard can handle 4GB so I'm a bit confused!

    So I went looking for an upgraded BIOS but HP list the latest BIOS as version F.00 but this laptop has got F.01 ?????

    Has anyone got any tips on to where to look now?


Comments

  • #2
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 1,211 ✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    Motherboard is probably able to handle the upgrade.

    Though a 32 bit system, is not going to address the full 4GB upgrade.

    I would leave it at 3GB.


  • #3
    uncle_sam_ie
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,189 ✭✭✭uncle_sam_ie


    I think with a 32bit OS you won't get the full 4GB.


  • #4
    slinky2000
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,288 ✭✭✭slinky2000


    uncle_sam_ie wrote: »
    I think with a 32bit OS you won't get the full 4GB.

    Yea thats what im going to do but i would have liked to figure this problem out.


  • #5
    Nothingbetter2d
    Closed Accounts Posts: 4,037 ✭✭✭Nothingbetter2d


    try using win7 rather than vista

    vista is notoriously unstable.


  • #6
    Lord Derpington
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 952 ✭✭✭Lord Derpington


    slinky2000 wrote: »

    So I went looking for an upgraded BIOS but HP list the latest BIOS as version F.00 but this laptop has got F.01 ?????

    It looks like when you go to HP's site that it is giving you the default bios for the 68MVU Family.
    F.08 for the same family is available here, and the driver was updated in 2009.

    It does look like your not alone looking for a bios update newer than the default one.


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  • #7
    Dragy
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1 ✭Dragy


    I know this is an old thread, but google points to it. So if anyone want to know HP 550 works like this:
    if you have a Core 2 Duo processor, it can handle 4 GB RAM
    if you have a Celeron processor, it can handle max 3GB RAM
    In other words if you have chipset 965 it can handle 4 GB, chipset 960 can handle only 3 GB of RAM.


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