Memory Upgrade of a Sony VAIO GRX516MD

[jguilfoy]

Hi Guys n Gals

I have just purchased the above Machine. it was brand new. It has been sat on a suppliers shelf for 2 years , so its not the most modern laptop , but its still very good quality.

Anyway the laptop came with 256Mg RAM (PC2100-256Mg, DDR 133 mhz, CL2)

I decided I wanted 512Mg which is apparently the max this laptop will take.

So I went onto Crucial web site and they scanned my computer and found the compatible memory that I required.

Well it arrived yesterday and with both 256Mg banks fitted the BIOS still thinks there is only 256Mg. If I tried the crucial memory on its own, the computer picks it up, but just never picks up the aggregate of 512Mg.

I contacted crucial and told them about my issues, they say that the PC2700 that they sold me , should work fine with the PC2100 memory.

In fact they have told me the following :-

Thank you for your enquiry.  With reference to your email, I can see that you have ordered a PC2700 module but you have already have a PC2100 module installed.  However, this should not cause problems as the modules are backwards compatible.

Unfortunately we no longer supply PC2100 DDR modules. The PC2700 DDR modules listed above however are compatible with PC2100 systems.

Crucial is following the market-wide shift to higher speeds and is ending support on some slower speeds that are less in-demand. Since PC2700 modules are 100% backward-compatible with PC2100, this won't affect performance in your system. You can install PC2700 modules into a system that accepts PC2100; you can even mix PC2100 and PC2700 modules. However, the system will run only at the slower speed of PC2100. (A system can run at PC2700 only if all the modules in it are PC2700 and the system was designed to support PC2700.)

However, I would recommend that you install the new module on its own in the first slot.  However, if the BIOS is not detecting the memory and you have tried some of the instructions, I would recommend that you call us on 0800 013 0330 for more technical support.

I thought I would come here as Im at work just now and the Laptop is at home and so its pointless me calling them.

Can anyone help me out ?

Give any advice, or should I spend another £22 buying the same memory from Crucial so that I have 2 matching banks ?

Any ideas advice ...appreciated

Cheers

Jimmy

[rich912]

Hi Jimmy and welcome to the forum.

To confirm what Crucial have told you there should be no problem in mixing PC2100 with PC2700 although the system will run at the speed of the slowest module.

To check that both memory slots are working, if you have not done so already, I suggest that you try each module singly in each slot. The GRX series does have an inherent memory slot soldering problem but hopefully as yours is new this should not be the cause.

[jguilfoy]

Hi Rich

I will give this a go over the weekend and see exactly what works and where.

I then maybe to invoke the warranty if Its a Sony Vaio issue.

Thanks for the reply. I shall let you know how I get on.

Thanks for the welcome

Jimmy