I recently upgraded an old laptop from 1998-99 to Windows XP. It originaly had windows 98SE and 128mb of ram, I upgraded it to the manufacturer's 256mb maximum of ram when I first bought it. Now, 11 years later I want to add more ram. Was the max set to 256mb because of Windows 98SE, or is it truly a hardware limitation? In case anyone is wondering, I did update the BIOS to a current, Win XP friendly file. The required 144 pin SDRAM SODIMM modules are plentiful and my plan is to find a cheap pair of 256mb modules, so, my question is will it work? The laptop is a Sony Vaio PCG-XG29 with two slots, both being used by a pair of 128mb modules that I would have to discard in order to upgrade.
take laptop with you & try new ram there, 1 stick at a time to make certain bios & windows sees correct amount of ram as possible might see half amount.
That is a good idea anyway...no reason to spend much money on something that old; my phone has a higher clock speed! I would recommend getting something used.
Yes I have found some good candidates on Ebay, but I just learned there is a new wrinkle in my quest. My memory modules are made in "low" and "high" density configurations. Low density being the type compatible with 100% of motherboards, but cost roughly twice as much for any given capacity. (In my case $18 for two 256mb high density modules, or $48 for two 256mb low density modules) High density are dirt cheap but work on roughly 10% of motherboards. I am uncertain as to the type I currently have so this makes buying online a dicey proposition. Know what I mean??? Crucial.com did say I can mix densities on the two slots of my specific laptop, so I am going to gamble on the cheap $18 modules
