Ok, I was one of the people lame enough to by this laptop.. and its been working out good so far. Now I went to upgrade the memory, and I checked to see what the max amount was. As it turns out 1gig is the max.. I also checked t see how may slots there are on this laptop.. only one. Ok. So I go and buy a 1gig DDR2 PC2-4200 533mhz stick of memory. I install the stick, and now when I boot the laptop, It looks as if its starting to do a boot check but then hangs .. There is no image on the screen and when the power button is first pushed I can here the cd rom spin, and the HD lite blinks once. Then it just sits there.. So I though It was a bad stick of memory. I return the memory and go another one. Same thing happens .. Oddly enough I put the origional 512 back in, and it works .. no problem..

Does anyone know what the issue could be or has anyone with this laptop upgraded there memory and not had an issue..

-- thanks.

--- epsalon--

I learned this the HARD WAY after owning 3 Gateway laptops in the past 4 Yrs. All Gateway Notebooks, are Memory specific ( meaning you can't just throw any type of Ram into it ) it takes a little research, you need to look at the specs of your MX3231, then you need to look at the components (Hardwear Type) in your notebook spces it states that (Hynix, Samsung, Infineon DDR2-SODIMM PC4300 200-pin SODIMM 533 MH) is the only Ram that will work in your Gateway MX3231 , under the Components list, you have to look under Memory to find what type is compatible w/ your MX3231 notebook: GO HERE: to see what I'm telling you

http://support.gateway.com/s/Mobile/...09130cl3.shtml

when you click on the Memory list, it says what is compatible, and FYI:
just because Gateway says you can only take 1GB of Ram , that may not be true at all, Gateway told me that I was MAXED OUT @ 2GB , but, I have 3GB in my notebook, all it means is that Gateway has not tested it w/ that much RAM, or they have, and found it unstable, but you can always find that out for yourself, just something to consider, just don't don't believe every thing that Gateway tells you to be a Fact.................I found out that most of the time, it's NOT A FACT!..........and, I might add that most modern OSes.........like XP & Vista 32bit can take up to 4GB of Ram, but it all denpens on if your Motherboard & Chipset can handle it?
isn't is interesting just what you can find out, if your GAME enough to try it out on your own............and that's only the FUN Part!

Are all laptops memory specific or just gateways?

That question, I can't answer

denb45,

Thanks for the reply.. and I also found that page you referred me to. And while I understand that gateway will not support all memory types.. It kills me to think that they say it will take a 1gig stick yet all I've seen support for is a 512. (I guess they assume no one will update there memory) Plus I'm not spending a adsorbent amount of money just to get Gateway memory..

Again thanks for the reply..

--Epsalon135..

You don't have to buy it from Gateway, a lot of On-Line- Memory stores sell
(Hynix, Samsung, Infineon DDR2-SODIMM PC4300 200-pin SODIMM Notebook Memory) at a discount price, if you are willing to Surf, Google, and do the research to find it (do you even know what type Ram Sticks are even in your MX3231 notebook?) have you taken out the original stick and looked at what Type/Brand it is? that would be a very good place the start!

OK, not to resurrect an old thread, but I too have the same problem. I bought a Kingston stick (M12864E40 - 1Gb PC4200 -533MHz SODIMM) based on their memory configurator which states it's the only one compatible. Install and get HD spinup, quick flash of system LEDs then nothing but black screen.

I have worked in computers my entire life and never had a compatibility issue like this - ever. Even worked on Macs... lol but this Gateway puts them all to shame.