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Re: Problem upgrading memory on Dell Inspiron 5100



 Greg Rundlett wrote: 
> I can't find information that would tell me what voltage these memory 
> chips run at. 

Normally plan B would be to look at the specifications for the chips... 


> The new non-working/ non-compatible chips are AMPO AM3251802T-6  D822R 
> which doesn't yield anything in Google. 

Nothing from the specialty search engines either: 
http://octopart.com/search?q=AM3251802*
http://www.findchips.com/
http://www.alldatasheet.com/view.jsp?Searchword=AM3251802T&q=AM3251802T
http://www.oemstrade.com/results.cfm?searchText=AM3251802
http://cmpmedia.globalspec.com/Search?query=AM3251802&show=partnumbers


It looks like AMPO is a Wintec brand: 

http://www.wintecind.com/mfg/products/memory/ampo/index.htm

They either manufacturer or relabel the chips, and they don't seem to 
publish specifications for them. 


You previously said: 
> According to 3rd-party websites, crucial.com 
> (http://www.crucial.com/store/partspecs.aspx?imodule=CT12864X335), and 
> newegg's own 'comments' section, this memory should be compatible 

but Wintec themselves don't list these modules as being compatible with 
your Dell Inspiron 5100? (Does Wintec even provide a compatibility cross 
reference? I couldn't find one.) 

Unless you're in a rush, it might be worth emailing Wintec and waiting 
the few days for them to respond. You can request their opinion on 
compatibility, the voltage, and chip layout. 


> The information I've found about upgrading the BIOS says that you 
> can't go directly from A06 to A32 without going to A22 first... 
> 
> http://www.geocities.com/randomnumbergenerator2001/#bios_info

Though the page doesn't explain what would happen if you tried. 
Presumably the BIOS updater would prohibit the upgrade. So if it now 
works, that implies that Dell fixed the updater to do what it needs to do. 


> ...at the same time saying that A22 isn't really any good. 

And did you see the report that one guy had problems with A31 too. If 
the BIOS for this machine tends to be that problematic, perhaps 
downgrading to a version that others have reported using successfully 
with the larger memory modules would be worth a try. 

  -Tom 

-- 
Tom Metro 
Venture Logic, Newton, MA, USA 
"Enterprise solutions through open source." 
Professional Profile: http://tmetro.venturelogic.com/

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