[raybro]

This is an advisory based on an event I just experienced while attempting to upgrade a friends RAM in his machine.

I went to the Crucial web site and ran the scanner to determine the configuration and upgrade possibilities. the scanner indicated his Gateway E3600 machine had 3 RAM slots with the first 2 slots containing 256MB sticks for a total of 512 MB of RAM. In order to get 1GB of RAM I could install 1 stick of 512MB RAM in slot 3. So I ordered the recommended stick and went home. Today I went to my friends house to install the RAM. Imagine my surprise when I found only 2 slots available. Each had a 256MB stick in it. So I removed one of the 256MB sticks with the idea that 768MB of RAM was better than 512. Thats when I found the stick would not even fit in the slot. Thats also when I found they had sent me PC133 single channel RAM instead of PC2700 DDR like the 2x256 sticks aready in the system. I opened SIW and sure enough, it showed the configuration to be 2 slots with PC2700, 256MB DDR sticks in each.

I then went online to the Crucial site and ran the scan again. It came up with the same results and recommended 512MB of single channel PC133 SDRAM.

Next, I went to the "Chat with our experts" live help on the crucial site. After and inteminanble wait, I finally got "JEN". After I explained the problem and gave her the scan ID#, she came back with the explanation that the scanner had looked at the BIOS based on the computer make (Gateway) and model (E3600) rather than the MB which is an Intel D845PT.

This was the first time I have been led astray by the Crucial scanner. It wont happen again. The upshot is this. Always check the recommendation relative to what makes sense. If I had even taken a quick look at the recommendation, I would have known they had recommended the wrong RAM and I could have avoided this mess of getting an RMA and the pain in the butt of waiting for the replacement RAM and sending the other stick back.

A word to the wise...

Raybro

[john doe iii]

Exact reason why I go off the MOBO manual or website to gather my information.