-=> JIM HOLSONBACK wrote to WAYNE CHIRNSIDE <=-

 JH> I found Alliance website.

 Guess I'll look them up.

 JH> Looks like they've since changed their
 JH> numbering code for FPM and EDO simms, and now they are easy to
 JH> identify, so here's just my guesses on these older ones - -

 JH> ASC4C - I think all their either FPM and/or EDO sticks start with
 JH> these.


I sure could use 64 M of 72 pin SIMM tin EDO.
but to tell you the truth since I got an offline reader and freeware
telnet app on the H.P. 433 MHz machine the NEC is a second fiddle machine
just now. I do have to hang the tape backup onto the printer port so
Tansfer some files and addresses over here as well as all the Linux
packages I have on that machine.


 JH> 14005 - I guess 1 Mb x 4, so 2 chips would make a megabyte, and if it
 JH> is two-sided, that would match with 16 chips on an 8MB stick.

 JH> -60JC - looks like they're 60ns. and I don't know what JC might mean

 That was my guess, 60ns.

 JH> 9719 - I guess a date code - mfg in 19th week of 1997?

 JH> B4482B - I guess some sort of a batch code

 JH> I can't decipher anything as to whether EDO or FPM.  Do you see
"EDO"
 JH> designation on the splash screen during POST?

 Yup, it mentions the amount present and that it's EDO.

 WC> The 2 - 8 meggers in the first two slots check out OK
 WC> while one of the 2 sticks I've got removed is defective.

 WC> Are these suitable for the 4 MHz refresh rate I'm seeing
 WC> on Ebay. I'll stick these numbers into a search engine too
 WC> to see what I can find out.

 JH> AFAICT, the proper question would be "will 4K refresh SIMMS work in
 JH> this mainboard?"   I bought some 32MB and 64MB 4K refresh sticks on
 JH> Ebay awhile back from a seller who was the actual manufacturer -
 JH> Quadrant Components.  I don't find them there selling direct in today's
 JH> listings. But one seller I found today does have some sticks made by
 JH> Quadrant, and there is a list there of chipsets which will support that
 JH> type refresh - - the only Intel chipset listed there is 430TX.  I'm not
 JH> sure whether this prob occurs on simms smaller than 32MB, and I do see
 JH> at Ebay that there are some 32MB simms which do 2K refresh.

 Not all sellers I've seen include all that info especially the
 refresh rate and I've got diddly on the NEC motherboard.
 Perhaps when this machines fully setup I'll tear down
 the NEC and locate the mothertboard number on the
 underside of the board to see what's on the net.

 JH> If mainboard doesn't support the 4K refresh SIMMS, they may still be
 JH> detected and work, but at smaller than actual capacity. (half, or
 JH> perhaps less).

Doubt it, dram stands for dynamic memory and refresh means just
that so if it doesn't get refreshed often enough poof goes your
data and programs from memory.


 JH> I hope you found out more than I did, per my above.

 You got a bit more than I but raise the same concerns
 I have regarding commiting funds to this venture with the NEC.
 If my first venture works all well and good, OTOH
 I can slap 128 Meg RAM DIMM in this machine, H.P., for 50 bucks or less
 and have 192 Meg RAM. Yes currently I've a 64 and 32 stick and
 both are recognised.

 WC> Removing the pair in the first two slots and subbing pair 3 and 4
 WC> eliminated the memory error with attendant beep code of
 WC> 1-3-4-1 which didn't even wake up the monitor.

 JH> So you mixed and matched and found only one of the first two as bad?

Yup, took the first two out, subbed 3and 4 in the first two
sockets  and the problem disappeared.
I put 1 and 2 in the 3 and 4 spots and that just gave me different
amounts of RAM on each boot and frequent random crashes.
As the concensus here is they must be installed in pairs I've no
idea which is bad.
Ths is one of the first half dozen telnet sessions I've held using
MultiMail and Hyperterminal PE on the Win 98 machine.
 
--- MultiMail/MS-DOS v0.43