Memory upgrade from 256 MB to 512 MB. Having problems !!!?

Question

As a backup computer, I have an old Dell Optiplex GX 150 and I decided to upgrade my memory from 256 MB to 512 MB. I bought 2 sticks of memory (256 MB each) from e-bay and I installed them and so did Windows XP. Every now and then, my screen will go blank momentarily and then a blue screen will come up and say that my memory hardware has a parity error message and tells me to contact Dell. Does anyone know what this is and is it a problem ???? I swear, between Hewlitt-Packard and Dell is where I have the most trouble with.... If anyone could give me any advice or info, I would greatly appreciate it. Thank You !!!!

Answer 1

Try the link below for causes. Here's a brief list of the causes. The link has some solutions.



• The memory is not functioning at the specified access rate as required by the system board. If the system specification calls for 80 ns access rate, Windows most likely fails if memory is accessing at a slower rate such as 90 ns.



• The memory meets the system specifications, but the speeds are different between individual SIMM modules.



• The individual chips on the SIMM module are running at different access rates. This requires a sensitive memory testing device to determine.



• One of the memory chips is being affected by "cell leakage." This ends up being a true parity error and is also known as a "soft error."



Hope this helps...

Answer 2

Sounds like you may have a bad or incompatible stick of ram. Try running each of the new sticks 1 at a time, and see if one of them will run without error.

Answer 3

You might want to check to see if the MHz are the same on each memory stick. If they are not the same your computer will automatically pick one memory unit and use that. I had the same problem with my old backup computer also.

Answer 4

Parity error. That usually means that the memory stick you have is either incompatible with your motherboard, or that it's defective.

Answer 5

Could be a problem with device drivers, hardware or software. This problem can be solved by uninstalling new softwares, updating device drivers and making minor configuration changes . From http://fixit.in/bluescreenofdeath.html . You can also run a free registry scan using utilities from http://re7.info

Answer 6

update your bios during start up make sure the bios can find the new hardware, also make sure you got the right memory sticks for the motherboard.

Answer 7

one or both of your memory sticks is bad or not compatible, buy some from a reputable source like newegg.com

Answer 8

you may have a timing issue with the memory....