Upgrading Memory in Dell Dimension 9150

Sagitt

Hi All,

I have 10yo Dell Dimension 9150 a.k.a Dell XPS400 with Win XP on it.
Currently it is running on 2X1 GB DDR2 ram, which are Corsair's VS1GB667D2.
The plan was to upgrade memory to 4GB and install Linux on it to have some use of this old machine. Here is what is available to me as Dell manual states:

The recommended memory configurations are:
– A pair of matched memory modules installed in connectors DIMM_1 and DIMM_2
or
– A pair of matched memory modules installed in connectors DIMM_1 and DIMM_2 and
another matched pair installed in connectors DIMM_3 and DIMM_4
• If you install mixed pairs of DDR2 400-MHz (PC2-3200), DDR2 533-MHz (PC2-4300) and
DDR2 667-MHz (PC2-5300) memory, the modules function at the slowest speed installed.

So I have obtained 4x1GB very the same used Corsair's memory sticks VS1GB667D2 - apologies here, Iwanted to put link but I am new user and I am not allowed to put links or pictures yet.

Dell will not boot to bios with 4 slots in usage.
I have tested all memory sticks on different slot configuration along with the above Dell manual and I can get only 2x1GB working fine.
They will work fine on either DIMM1 and DIMM2 or DIMM3 and DIMM4, but they will not work in 4x1GB configuration.

I have tried to reset bios setting using on board jumpers - it did not help, 4x1GB memory is still an issue.

I consider flashing bios - it is currently A06 version, Dell has A07 update on its website.

What could be reason for a such behaviour since Dell states that this motherboard should run 4x1GB with 667Mhz OK?
Should I go for upgrading bios to newer version? I am not too sure if I am brave enough to go for it without very good reason, so pelase advise on this.
Are there any other options available to me? Should I try different brand modules - why would this matter if all modules seems to be fine?

I did some research in related topic but as technology went forward all I managed are threads from 2011/2012 ish.

I would really appreciate is someone decide to read this post and shed some light on this matter.

Thank you in advance,
Sagitt

jca

I'd update to the latest bios for starters. It's very straightforward.

PropJoe10

Update BIOS and also try switching around the sticks in different slots. RAM can be incredibly temperamental. But updating the BIOS would be the first step I would take. When you have the 4 sticks in, can you get into the BIOS at all or does it crash before the BIOS screen?

Sagitt

Guys,

Thank you very much for finding time to read and reply, appreciate this.

As per Dell manual mainboard accepts only pair(s) of memory sticks. I have checked it and that is the case.
On one or three sticks it does not boot at all, gives like-a-siren-on-a-ship sound.
On two stick, it boots with no problem.
On four sticks, it either shows nothing with no sounds or it shows first BIOS screen with progress bar that does not progress at all.
It looks like updating BIOS is unavoidable, what gives me a shiver as I remember 486 machines and first pentiums where flashing BIOS was possible in theory but often ended with dead motherboard.

Thanks again,
Sagitt

Sagitt

Guys,

I have gottten some courage and I have flashed BIOS to version A07 without any problem.
Mainboard has found all four sticks without any hassle - so it was down to old BIOS.

Thank you again for your help,
Sagitt

PropJoe10

Glad to hear you got it sorted. Nice one

Sagitt

That was an relatively easy bit but I would not have done it without some encouragement from you.

As this is an Win XP machine which is not supported any more I would like to install Linux on it. I have chosen Mint distribution as I am not really experienced with OS and I have it on another, newer machine. Initially I thought that my processor is 32 bit as I had Win XP 32 bit Home Edition on it. Today, after updating BIOS I have realized it is 64 bit.

Here I have another question of what is happening as either on 32bit Win XP and on LiveCD Linux Mint memory shows 3.2GB while on BIOS it is shown 4GB.

I am aware that 32 bit Win XP has limitations of 3.5GB but I am a bit surprised to see 3.2GB under 64 bit Linux. Does it matter if it is run from LiveCD rather than from HDD?

Any ideas, thoughts?

regards,
Sagitt

jca

Sagitt wrote: »

Guys,

I have gottten some courage and I have flashed BIOS to version A07 without any problem.
Mainboard has found all four sticks without any hassle - so it was down to old BIOS.

Thank you again for your help,
Sagitt

Well done, a heart stopping experience but well worth it.

beauf

Machines from that era sometimes have a 3.25GB limitation in the motherboard chipset. I don't know about the 9150 specifically. But I know of many Laptops of that vintage do.

PropJoe10

Sagitt wrote: »

That was an relatively easy bit but I would not have done it without some encouragement from you.

As this is an Win XP machine which is not supported any more I would like to install Linux on it. I have chosen Mint distribution as I am not really experienced with OS and I have it on another, newer machine. Initially I thought that my processor is 32 bit as I had Win XP 32 bit Home Edition on it. Today, after updating BIOS I have realized it is 64 bit.

Here I have another question of what is happening as either on 32bit Win XP and on LiveCD Linux Mint memory shows 3.2GB while on BIOS it is shown 4GB.

I am aware that 32 bit Win XP has limitations of 3.5GB but I am a bit surprised to see 3.2GB under 64 bit Linux. Does it matter if it is run from LiveCD rather than from HDD?

Any ideas, thoughts?

regards,
Sagitt

The amount of memory that your system can use is determined by the OS architecture (32 or 64) but also by the chipset, as someone else mentioned. So you'll sometimes even see 64-bit systems which do not allocate the full amount of RAM to the OS. To be honest, you're not going to be able to run modern games on that machine, so I'm assuming you'll be using it for general browsing and stuff, and 3.2GB RAM should be plenty for that.

Regarding an OS, Linux Mint is a solid choice. For older machines, I generally suggest the XFCE desktop environment, so Linux Mint XFCE would suit you perfectly. I certainly would not advise you to continue using Windows XP on the internet. Its had no security updates for almost a year now, and your chances of suffering from viruses/malware on it would be quite high.

Sagitt

PropJoe10 wrote: »

The amount of memory that your system can use is determined by the OS architecture (32 or 64) but also by the chipset, as someone else mentioned. So you'll sometimes even see 64-bit systems which do not allocate the full amount of RAM to the OS. To be honest, you're not going to be able to run modern games on that machine, so I'm assuming you'll be using it for general browsing and stuff, and 3.2GB RAM should be plenty for that.

Regarding an OS, Linux Mint is a solid choice. For older machines, I generally suggest the XFCE desktop environment, so Linux Mint XFCE would suit you perfectly. I certainly would not advise you to continue using Windows XP on the internet. Its had no security updates for almost a year now, and your chances of suffering from viruses/malware on it would be quite high.

Your assumptions are perfect, I am not into games anyway, so 3.25 GB of RAM is plenty in my case.

Regarding an OS, it was lack of support and vulnerability that propmted me to change OS. My Win XP recently developed BSOD problems with comments indicating Intel Matrix Drives issue. To cut the story short I wanted to have a genuine legal OS, hence Linux.

I have two live cd on my desk righ now: Linux Mint XFCE 17.1 64 bit and Linux Mint Cinnamon 17.1 64 bit. XFCE cannot connect to home WiFi network while Cinnamon can do it with no problems. Both installations are LiveCD on the same machine, both are release 17.1 64 bit. In both cases I can see wireless modem and my network, however under XFCE password is not accepted - after submiting, it tries to connect for a time being and goes back to the same window prompting password again.

I heard XFCE could run faster that Cinnamon but first one is already having some issue wit WiFi.

I do not think that I should continue this thread as main primary question regarding upgrading memory was solved, thank you very much for your help. I will try to research wireless subject and then ask questions if unclear.

Thanks againg for advice, it worked very well,
Sagitt

PropJoe10

Sagitt wrote: »

Your assumptions are perfect, I am not into games anyway, so 3.25 GB of RAM is plenty in my case.

Regarding an OS, it was lack of support and vulnerability that propmted me to change OS. My Win XP recently developed BSOD problems with comments indicating Intel Matrix Drives issue. To cut the story short I wanted to have a genuine legal OS, hence Linux.

I have two live cd on my desk righ now: Linux Mint XFCE 17.1 64 bit and Linux Mint Cinnamon 17.1 64 bit. XFCE cannot connect to home WiFi network while Cinnamon can do it with no problems. Both installations are LiveCD on the same machine, both are release 17.1 64 bit. In both cases I can see wireless modem and my network, however under XFCE password is not accepted - after submiting, it tries to connect for a time being and goes back to the same window prompting password again.

I heard XFCE could run faster that Cinnamon but first one is already having some issue wit WiFi.

I do not think that I should continue this thread as main primary question regarding upgrading memory was solved, thank you very much for your help. I will try to research wireless subject and then ask questions if unclear.

Thanks againg for advice, it worked very well,
Sagitt

Thats a strange issue with Mint XFCE wireless but there's other XFCE based distros you could check out which might give you a stable wireless, such as Xubuntu or Manjaro XFCE. Another good lightweight distro I've found is Ubuntu MATE edition. Not as light as Cinnamon or XFCE but still runs very nicely.

Happy exploring

Sagitt

Guys,

I have to clarify one think regarding wireless. Next day after my previous post I could not connect my Mint Cinnamon machine to wireless router. I was using TP-Link USB adapter TL-WN725N. On the same desk I had Compaq Presario V6000 laptop that was connected to my home wifi network. Hence was my initial comment about wireless problem on XFCE. After spending two or three hours going throug forums, drivers for USB modem etc I went to router only to realise it that it had some issues (wireless indication light was not on). I reset router and it cured situation. So I have to apologise for accusing XFCE of having issues with wireless - it was not XFCE, it was my wireless router Huawei HG658c from vodafone. How my laptop and smartphones were able to connect but desktop was not able at the same time I do not know. This post is posted while on LiveCD Linux Mint XFCE 64 bit, and this is going to be installed soon.

Thanks again,
Sagitt.