Two questions (usb and ram)

[pentium]

Well once my ram arrives I want to close my computer up and have it run trouble free which means that the problems I put aside must be done before the ram arrives or they will never be done.

First is involving the ram.
My system has two regular DDR slots and one DDR2 slot. On top with the two 512 DDR sticks I am installing I am wondering if it is safe to put an additional 128 mb of DDR ram into the single unused DDR2 slot or will that cause problems?

Second problem involves power to the USB ports.
There are two headers that allow for an additional four USB ports but the problem is that when the computer is off the ports receive power but when the computer turns on the four ports lose all power and nothing can be done to get power back except turn the system off. The other four ports on the back of the board do not have this problem.
My plan was to sever the 5V line(s) to these four problematic ports and have the required 5V come from a spare drive connector but I don't know if that will cause even more problems (excluding the loss of voltage monitoring on those ports). Would this rewire (which will also be fused) be okay or will I be smelling smoke?

That is all.

[WNG]

Re: Two questions (usb and ram)

I can't answer you first problem, as I wasn't even aware of boards mixing ddr and ddr2.
:\

As for the USB headers...usually, the board has an option jumper to whether to use +5V or +5VSB through the USB. Maybe your jumper is set to VSB.

[pentium]

Re: Two questions (usb and ram)

I went through the owners manual and there is no mention of such a jumper.

Correction, The third ram slot is in a different channel from the first two. You are right when you said that you never saw a board that could support both.

[shadow]

Re: Two questions (usb and ram)

Boards that support two different memory formats generally can only run one set (ie. DDR memory) or the other set (ie. ddr2 memory). Not both sets at the same time. The manual should stipulate this, thou I have a feeling that the manual that you have is not very clear in this regard. Otherwise you would not need to ask here!
Sorry just realised your reply about this.

I have noticed in your post that you want to put in a 128mb DDR module into the DDR2 slot. I can tell you right now that this is a big no no!! A friend of mine fried his board in similar circumstances! DDR2 memory has a different number of pins on it and the notch is in a slightly different location. It is totally incompatible with the original DDR modules.

[hkivan]

Re: Two questions (usb and ram)

ddr use 2.5V
ddr2 use 1.8v

ddr can't fit into DDr2 slot and vice versa

[pentium]

Re: Two questions (usb and ram)

I can tell you right now that this is a big no no!!

That's all I needed to hear. Problem 1 solved/

Now for that usb trouble.

[pentium]

Re: Two questions (usb and ram)

I need to know if my USB modification is safe to use soon. I need the system by the weekend.

[kikkoman]

Re: Two questions (usb and ram)

As long as the 5V are relative to the same ground path (= come from the same PS), that should work. But be sure to properly disconnect the old 5V lines.
The only potential problem (depending on what you intend to connect) is that you might lose the standby power of these ports, so you can't switch the PC on from a USB keyboard connected to a front port for instance. Not really a problem, though.

btw, ist that still the MSI K7N2-Delta you're using?

[pentium]

Re: Two questions (usb and ram)

The only potential problem (depending on what you intend to connect) is that you might lose the standby power of these ports, so you can't switch the PC on from a USB keyboard connected to a front port for instance. Not really a problem, though.

No problem there. The ports will be used by a card reader and a front USB port.

I plan to sever the connection at the fuse (Desolder the fuse) and run an extra lead from the power jack on the back of the case (used to send 12V and 5V to some modified sega glasses).

Thanks for the help. I can carry on from here.

[pentium]

Re: Two questions (usb and ram)

I got to clean up the solder a bit but otherwise it's done.

[stevo1210]

Re: Two questions (usb and ram)

I got to clean up the solder a bit but otherwise it's done.

Nice work!.... Your USB ports do function properly now.... right??
I still don't understand why your motherboard only supplies power to the USB ports when the PC is in soft-off mode.... seems a bit odd.

Is your case the type of case that has a removable motherboard tray?? Did you lose the I/O shield for your motherboard?? I see duct tape there instead of an I/O shield.

[kikkoman]

Re: Two questions (usb and ram)

err... pretty drastic. you might have simply cut the cable after the header.
regarding your original question: that board supports Dual Channel, the third RAM slot is DDR, too. you SHOULD use it (512MB in each channel; adding more to channel B is okay, too.)
btw, I still have that exact I/O shield here, in case you're interested.

[pentium]

Re: Two questions (usb and ram)

Is your case the type of case that has a removable motherboard tray?? Did you lose the I/O shield for your motherboard?? I see duct tape there instead of an I/O shield.

Yes, I have a removable tray.
I never got the shield. This board came from the landfill (which might explain the problems).

you SHOULD use it (512MB in each channel; adding more to channel B is okay, too.)

So I can put a 512 in channel A and 512 in channel B and still get away with 1 gig?

btw, I still have that exact I/O shield here, in case you're interested.

How much to ship?

[kikkoman]

Re: Two questions (usb and ram)

So I can put a 512 in channel A and 512 in channel B and still get away with 1 gig?

Yes. Maximum for that board is 3 GB (3x 1GB).

How much to ship?

Approx. 3 US$. I'm gonna ship another shield to the US on Monday, if you need the exact number.

[pentium]

Re: Two questions (usb and ram)

Well my ram arrived today and I was able to see if everything worked.

Answer: yes and no.

The Modification to the USB ports worked but when it came to the ram the system just gave me memory errors.
The D-Bracket hangs at "Checking memory" and the system emits one long beep over and over with no signal to the monitor.

My guess: speed.
I got DDR266 memory in the hopes it would work. It was tested before it was mailed to me so I assume the ram is just too slow.
DAMN!
I don't even have another DDR-based system to test the ram on.

[kikkoman]

Re: Two questions (usb and ram)

What's the CPU's FSB?

[pentium]

Re: Two questions (usb and ram)

Hmm... I don't remember I keep away from the bios when I don't need to be in there. according to a previous thread I made I set something at 166mhz but I don't think that's the FSB (that's pretty slow)
I also saw that a little more had been posted after my problems cleared up and I forgot about the thread. Compared to your system my board is spotless and FET temps are okay.
I have not yet gone over the thread completely yet but I'll look it all over again.

EDIT: Okay, since then I have replaced the bios socket (the plastic part).
I'm thinking that clearing the CMOS might cure the problem but I'm not positive.

Oh yeah. It seems later revisions of this board has heatsinks on the FET's.

[kikkoman]

Re: Two questions (usb and ram)

That depends on what that board's default setting for the RAM clock multiplier is (if it's either fixed to e.g. 1:1 (FSB:RAM) or if it's based on the board's readout of the RAM's EEPROM), because:

if I'm correct your CPU is a 3000+ Thorton, which means a FSB of 166MHz. In synchronised mode (1:1), the RAM would run at 333MHz, which is obviously too fast for your current setup. If the BIOS has that sync mode as a default, a reset won't help, because the RAM clock would still be 333 after that.

That leaves two solutions:
a)If the default mode is auto, the reset will (most likely) work.
b)if not: get some faster RAM from a friend , for example, you'll only need it for a minute.
pop it in, enter the bios, set the RAM clock multiplier (actually divider) to something lower (i won't do the math, but 4/5 should be okay), and it's done.

[pentium]

Re: Two questions (usb and ram)

So this ram WILL work with my board?
I need to know before friday.
After that, I can't mail it back to the guy for a refund.
Yeah, The frequency should reset. When I accidentally clocked the system too high once I pulled the battery for the night and the next morning the system would POST again and I was able to readjust the clock again.
I should be able to independantly control the clock speed of the ram.

[kikkoman]

Re: Two questions (usb and ram)

Did you have faster RAM before? Or is that 128mb stick a faster one (333 or 400) by any chance?
As long as that RAM isn't broken in the first place, it'll work with your board, but you have to gain access to the BIOS first. That's the key.

When I accidentally clocked the system too high once I pulled the battery for the night and the next morning the system would POST again and I was able to readjust the clock again.

I assume you clocked the FSB too high (and not only the RAM clock).
A BIOS reset definitely sets the FSB to auto (default), but not necessarily the RAM divider. That's the crucial point here.

On the other hand, if you still have the possibility of a refund.....