Compaq B1800 .... wrong decision made? Faulty ram? Faulty hardware? Ram CRASH??

Hi everybody, I am from Hong Kong.

Ok, after using my Toshiba A10 for 2 years, I decided to get myself a sub 2Kg notebook to lighten my lugguage. I was deciding between Dell 700m, Sony TX series, and Compaq B1800. After collecting different opinions from another forum, I found that Sony is expensive but reliable, Dell is cheap but unreliable, Compaq is ok for its price yet slightly more reliable, so i went ahead for the Compaq because it suits my budget. (( I used to be a sales person in an electrical store in Sydney, and I have heard alot of complaints about HP and Compaq for their reliability. However, that was few years ago, so I thought they might have improved their quality overtime. That's why i decided to give it a SHOT, but I really don't know if this SHOT has gone wrong or not))

This is what happened, the notebook came with 512 DDR2, and the specs says it is upgradable up to 2gb. So, I went and got myself a Kingston 1GB to make it 1.5gb. It went well for 2-3 days, then things started to happen, the system freezes occassionally, refuses to restart, refuses to load windows......all sorts of problems arose!! One word -- DISSATISFIED!!

I was thinking WHAT da...? The SHOT has gone wrong and my money has gone down the drain?

I tried to diagnose the problem by removing the 1gb, system worked fine. Then I removed the 512mb, system worked fine. However, when the two (512 + 1024) are put together, problem comes in...nonetheless, the system could detect the 1.5gb of memory, but it occassionally freezes and refuses to restart without prior indications. I have checked both RAM slots and both are fine. So, I have come to the conclusion that the two rams cannot be used together even though the user's manual says I could use 512 + 1024 configuration. Just a note, the 512 is Hynix, the 1028 is Kingston, both are ddr2 533, so i thought these two chips should be able to get mixed without problem. My question remains, why cant i use the two ram chips together? is it BRAND INCOMPATIBILITY?

I have run the memory module test downloaded from MS, and they found no error in the RAM. So my guess is either the system does not allow two different brands of RAM used, or they dont support 1.5gb very well.......i dont know.

And I am too busy to visit a repair centre to wait for them to check my notebook.......so I will just stick to the Kingston 1gb (provided it will run smoothly forever).

The moral of the story is, from now on, when i hear the word COMPAQ or HP, I will run away, and will run as fast as I can!!

If anyone has similar experience, please let me know as I do not wish to hate a brand that has a very professional looking logo.

I have tried that, and vice versa. My friend also told about some issues he had with mixing rams, he had a Sony vaio with 512 in it, he put in 1gb, system crashed, then when he removed the 512 and put in an identical 1gb (making total of 2gb), then it worked fine.

the 512 works fine by itself, and the 1gb works fine by itself......but not good when mixed.

thanks for that, will try that tomorrow.

with the 512, it's original HP part, i am not sure which is the model number, but found U33512AGHYQ602830C and the spec is as this: DDR2-533 512MB 32M x 16 1.8V HY , the brand is Hynix and I have heard fairly good comments on their products. With Kingston, I wouldnt be able to quote it now but remember their specs are identical to the 512.

Glad to meet a HP fan here, I am a Toshiba super fan, unfortunately Toshiba does not have a laptop which has specs that match up with the Compaq B1800 that I bought, otherwise, I would have gone for that. Portege is ultra portable but lacks the specs i am after.

thanks for that......i was thinking the same thing, i dont want to blame a big company that has won million hearts worldwide.

my Toshiba A10 has two different rams mixing too, perhaps both are OEM parts from the same factory....And obviously, Hynix and Kingston are two different manufacturers, so you might be right, they dont like each other. So, I might try to borrow a Kingston 1gb off my friend and see if that's the problem.

Anyway, thx for your advice.

that's a handsome notebook. you must love it.

one thing i have to agree is that HP and Compaq notebooks have good design compared to something like Acer, Benq, Dell...

alright, two nights ago, i went and did a little test again and found that it was actually the upper ram slot that has failed to work. i took it to the repair centre, they confirmed that it is a DOA and will be exchanging a new unit with me. Well, hopefully this new one will last longer.