On Fri, 07 Jan 2011 13:47:43 -0500, Walter Bright
<newshou...@digitalmars.com> wrote:
Max Samukha wrote:
Also, memory module connectors are incompatible starting from I believe
DDR. You won't be able to stick DDR2 module into DDR slot. Actually,
this applies to almost any modern PC component.
I put together a new box a couple weeks ago. The memory card would fit
in one of 4 slots. The first one I tried it in resulted in a computer
that just beeped at me. No help from the manual at all, I was ready to
RMA the mobo back, until I had the idea of putting the card in a
different slot. The second one I tried worked.
That is not because the slot doesn't support the dimm, it is because many
chipsets require you populate memory in a specific order. Usually the
slots are color coded (blue and black for instance) to indicate which
slots should go together (some chipsets require pairs of dimms), they are
usually labeled with silkscreen to indicate the order. I think I've even
seen silkscreened instructions on which to populate first. It sucks that
the manual doesn't help you.
BTW, the beep is usually an indicator of a POST code. It's because it
cannot access the memory, so it can't run the graphics card, the beep is
the only way it can communicate ;) I think (but I'm not sure) that the
beeps convey the code, but the easiest way to figure out the code is to
plug in a POST card.
You're right that many things in the computer hardware are better. But
still, many connections to the mobo can be done wrong. For example, all
the pins coming from the front panel. Some of them, like the hard drive
LED, don't even indicate the polarity on the connector, and you have to
try it both ways until you figure out which one works.
Typically, those are not keyed because it's not expected for a normal user
to be accessing those cables. Removing the cover of a PC is like casting
in D :)
-Steve
