Knowledge Base

Memory Problems in Dell Computers

Article ID: 103243

Article Last Modified on 11/1/2006

APPLIES TO

This article was previously published under Q103243

SUMMARY

Various problems have been noticed with Windows NT and some Dell computers during installation. These problems usually occur during Windows NT Setup and generate STOP messages:
==============================================================
STOP: 0x0000007f (0x0000000d,0x00000000,0x00000000,0x00000000)
UNEXPECTED_KERNEL_MODE_TRAP

eax=ffdff13c ebx=801ac718 ecx=ffffffff edx=80197e70 esi=e1000000
edi=00000001
eip=801645ca esp=801ac388 ebp=801ac3fc p4-0300 nv up ei ng nz na po
nc
cr0=8005003d cr2=00000000 cr3=00030000 cr4=00000000 irql:1 efl=801ac3e0
gdtr=80036000 gdtl=03ff idtr=80036400 idtl=07ff tr=0028 ldtr=0000

80100000 2c51c0e8 ntoskrnl.exe 80400000 2c47123b hal.dll
80010000 2c360942 atdisk.sys 80001000 2c4de536 ftdisk.sys
801e6000 2c42f49a fastfat.sys
==============================================================
An I387KD.EXE stack trace will resemble the following: 
kd>kb

ChildEBP RetAddr  Args to Child
801abf78 801481e2 00000001 e1000000 801ac718 NT!_DbgBreakPoint
801ac3e0 801645ca 0000007f 0000000d 00000000 NT!_KeBugCheckEx+0x38c
801ac3fc 80116be8 00000020 8012ccf6 ff29c7c8 NT!_KiSystemFatalException+0xe
801ac480 801bee29 00000001 0000000c 00000000 NT!_ExAllocatePool+0x1c2
801ac4c0 801bfae5 80267000 801b6e35 801ac74c
NT!_SepVariableInitialization+0x99
801ac4c8 801b6e35 801ac74c ffdff120 801aa308
NT!_SepInitializationPhase0+0x15
801ac5fc 801ba67a 00000000 80267000 80036c00
NT!_ExpInitializeExecutive+0x385
801ac74c 801ba3f5 801a9d20 801aa190 801ac770 NT!_KiInitializeKernel+0x25a
00000000 801ba3f5 801a9d20 801aa190 801ac770 NT!_KiSystemStartup+0x295

MORE INFORMATION

Confusion exists on the compatibility of SIMM memory between the 486 /L, /M, /T, /ME, and 333sl systems and previous models. Use the following information to correctly configure memory on a Dell computer:

486 /L, /M, and /T all use 70ns, nonparity, 72-pin SIMMs with tin-lead contacts, in 4 megabyte (MB) and 16MB sizes. These are not compatible with any other earlier Dell systems.

486/ME systems use 70ns, parity, 72-pin, 2MB, 4MB, 8MB, and 16MB SIMMs with tin-lead contacts. SIMMs used in DE/SE models use gold contacts and are 80ns, so they are not interchangeable. Due to the parity bit, these are also not interchangeable with the /M, /T, and /L systems.

The 333sl uses 60ns, nonparity, tin-lead, 1MB, 4MB, and 16MB 72-pin SIMMs. These are unique to this system due to the 60ns speed.

The part numbers of the SIMMs are different for each "family" of systems noted above, so be sure you are using the correct part for any service activity.

All Dell EISA systems, including the ME, require SIMMs to be installed in pairs. A single SIMM will not work.

NOTE: Memory modules that have mismatched speeds (for example, 70ns and 80ns chips in the same computer) have also been known to produce 7f traps on setup.

Additional query words: prodnt crash blue trap

Keywords: kbhardware KB103243


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