[rescue] Alpha RAM question

[Marc Zyngier]

> A friend of mine gave me a pack of 256MB 168 pin RAM (the packet
> says for Alpha/PWS), which I would like to use in my AlphaServer800,
> but the RAM is ever-so-slightly different:

Different indeed :

- PWS uses SDRAM DIMMs (ECC, non-registered, PC83, PC100 tolerant most of
the time),
- AS800 uses EDO DIMMs (ECC, the same type as the ones used in x86 servers
from the same era).

I know that first hand as I run both at home.

> I suspect that if I got to work on the one groove with a nail file I
> *could* make em fit. Can anyone shed some light on why this RAM is
> keyed differently? Take it is a given that I know very little about
> Alpha hardware!
>

Don't. Do. That.
Different RAM technology, different voltage. Recipe for disaster.

I have a spare kit of 4*256MB that works on AS800 (latest firmware
required though). Would consider a swap, though shipping from/to France
might be expensive.

Regards,

        M.
-- 
And if you don't know where you're going, any road will take you there...