I was gifted this ~2010 Toshiba Portégé. Surprisingly small and thin for its age. I was hoping to revive it, but it has only 1GB of memory ootb.
Apparently it can be upgraded up to 5GB with one spare slot that currently sits empty.
I found 2 physically compatible identical 2GB modules but no matter which one I plug in, when I start the computer it just starts the fan on highest setting and nothing else happens.
Before I go into any more detail, I found this info online:
The Toshiba Portege R600 Laptop takes the PC2-6400 DDR2-800 200pin SDRAM SODIMM memory type
My sticks look like this:
Are they compatible to PC2-6400 DDR2-800 200pin SDRAM SODIMM? I honestly can't tell.
I read the manual which says the modules need to be "Toshiba approved" but it does not say which/what Toshiba approves.
Plus this, which I did follow (note the negative):
Do not try to install or remove a memory module under the following conditions.
a. The computer is turned on.
b. The computer was shut down in either Sleep or Hibernation Mode.
c. Wake-up on LAN is enabled.
d. Wake-up on Wireless LAN is enabled.
e. The wireless communication switch is turned on.
And this does not happen:
If you install a memory module that is not compatible with the computer, the Power indicator will flash (on for 0.5 seconds, off for 0.5 seconds) in the following way;
■ If there is an error: repeatedly flashes orange twice, then white or green once
The power indicator ⏻ stays white all the time and does not blink.
TIA
I waited for half an hour, nothing happened.
I scoured the internet for a BIOS upgrade but what little I found might or might not be the right file, and flashing it is not a trivial task (no Windows!).
It runs something called ACPI BIOS 3.20, and it is impossible to find it under that name.
It does run acceptably on AntiX though, fwiw.
You should be able to boot freedos and flash it from there, assuming it's an exe.
I'd still try the different combinations.
Sorry, there's only 1 slot, I already tried the 2 different combinations.
yes, Freedos, and I have some exe file but it says it's a Windows exe... meh, when I feel like it.
Oh, your post said one spare slot. I don't know how else you'd get to 5gb other than 4+1, because I've never seen a 3 or 5gb stick of RAM.
But it may just not be "toshiba compatible". Maybe see if you can find some Toshiba branded DDR2.