Memory card problem

Tag One The Fader Fiend wrote:

beav wrote:i found this ebay auction for RAM but it keeps saying 128mb... so wouldn't the MPC only read half of that and give me 64mb? or is he already taking that into account when listing it as the 128mb upgrade?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/160697123779?ss ... 1423.l2649

and this one as well. it appears to have the right specifications as far as 133C / 144 pins , SO-DIMM etc

http://www.ebay.com/itm/128MB-MEMORY-UP ... 46054a4dc0

You're right it will read it as 64mb of ram. You need to search for the following for the max 128mb of ram

PC 133 144PIN CL3 SODIMM 256MB

no it definitely wont do that. it will read the entire 128mb.. the official stick akai is selling is a 128mb..

whether you use a 128 stick or 256 stick, the mp will read 128 in both cases..

so this 128mb one should indeed work and max out ram capability? aka show up as "128 mb installed" on startup?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/160697123779?ss ... 1423.l2649

its only a quarter cheaper but it sounds like there'd not be any difference between getting a 128mb or 256mb chip... correct? the topic you linked me to seemed to stress the importance of a 256mb chip though so i'm kind of confused...

josephnicks wrote:whether you use a 128 stick or 256 stick, the mp will read 128 in both cases..

That's news to me. My understanding is that the official Akai expansion is only sold as a 128 because it's intended for use in the MPC which only reads half the available memory addresses. So it's actually a 256. All the previous reports I'd heard have said that installing 128 gives you 64, as OP has surmised.

elektrik_muz wrote:

josephnicks wrote:whether you use a 128 stick or 256 stick, the mp will read 128 in both cases..

That's news to me. My understanding is that the official Akai expansion is only sold as a 128 because it's intended for use in the MPC which only reads half the available memory addresses. So it's actually a 256. All the previous reports I'd heard have said that installing 128 gives you 64, as OP has surmised.

Agree too, always was told it would only read half the ram chip. Ive got a 256mb ram installed and it shows up as 128mb. So a 128mb would show up as 64mb

Penfold wrote:
You ask why 256MB?

The Ram is 64x4. meaning it has 4 banks of memory that are 64MB's Each
The MPC1000's hardware structure only can read one side of the ram chip or two banks if I'm not mistaken, (someone hear can confirm the right reason) anyway.. it will only read half of the Ram so there fore if you use 128 only 64MB will show up on your MPC1000. This is why we use 256MB so that 128MB shows up.

well i ordered the one on ebay that said 128MB all over. i sent a question to the seller asking if it would be 128MB or 64MB installed and he said it would be 128MB installed. so we'll see. this one:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/160697123779?ss ... 1497.l2649

maybe it has something to do with how this particular chip's ram distributes or something but i really know nothing about this. i just recall seeing some chips saying 64x4 and some saying 16x16, etc. if it doesn't work/only shows up as 64MB installed i should be able to get my money back though based on him telling me it'd be 128MB installed.

so the exm128 is actually a 256mb module? i just thought people were buying the 256 sticks off ebay because the exm was ridiculously overpriced. i havent come across a situation on this site where someone had a 64mb mpc 500/1000/2500..

the parts # or w/e is exm128 so i don't see how it would actually be a 256mb module. the ebay listing specifically and almost exclusively mentions mpcs though, he's sold over 170 of them and told me it will be "128mb installed" so hopefully he knows what he's talking about and it will work.

here's someone who got a 128mb card and says it reads 64mb... but specifically puts (not exm) in the title. maybe the fact that its "exm" makes all the difference?

viewtopic.php?f=15&t=153852

i wouldnt worry about it, i bought mine off ebay for $20, if the guy selling for $10 was there i would have bought from him.. youll probably get a 256 stick from some old laptop that is otherwise worthless. mine has an IBM sticker on it.. since the mp only reads one side of the RAM, im sure if you found a 128mb stick with the banks on the front totaling 128, then it will read 128..

look at the official exm128, it has 2 banks on the front and none on the back.. 64x2..

right, im sure it has more to do with where the banks are and how its distributed on the chip itself. exm may denote the 64x2 style or something, i do not know. but it would make the most sense based on what i've read. it will probably be similar to the chip you pictured above.

Just to note, it indeed shows up as 128mb installed. wheeeeeee