aspire 5733Z Upgrading 4 GB installed RAM to 8 GB by adding a second board

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Answers

  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,871 Trailblazer
    (1) First make the Win10 installation USB with the 4GB module.
    (2)Then make sure the F12 boot and D2D options are still enabled in the BIOS Main tab.
    (3) Then switch to the 8GB module
    (4) Insert the Win10 USB installation stick
    (5) Then turn the machine on and immediately start tapping the F12 key to boot from the Win10 installation stick.
    (6) Then go to the troubleshooting menu on the Win10 installation menu
    (7) From there we want to go to the command prompt. A black screen with an X : > _  prompt with blinking cursor
    (8) Once the command prompt is up and running, we'll go from there to try to make Windows recognize and boot from the 8GB  module

    Jack E/NJ

  • MorgantheBear
    MorgantheBear Member Posts: 53 Troubleshooter
    Sorry for the delay.  Initially I could not get the Media Creation Tool to load the Windows launcher on to an 8 GB flash drive.  Eventually, after recreating Windows 10 on the hard drive, it loaded to the flash drive without any error message and I was able to complete steps 1 to 5 on your list.  When I tap F12 during Windows startup, I get a number of boot options.  I choose Boot Option Menu: 4. USB HDD: General UDisk.  The boot starts but then clicks off and restarts, offering the boot option menu again.  If I choose option 4, I go round the circle again.  Similar to my post of 17 March.

    Sometimes I get a screen saying that Windows will restart automatically and that if I contact Microsoft Support about this, I should use the codes KERNAL SECURITY CHECK FAILURE or SYSTEM THREAD EXCEPTION NOT HANDLED or PAGE FAULT IN NON-PAGED AREA.

    If I tap F2 during the boot startup, BIOS confirms that there are 8192 MB of installed RAM.

  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,871 Trailblazer
    >>> Initially I could not get the Media Creation Tool to load the Windows launcher on to an 8 GB flash drive.  Eventually, after recreating Windows 10 on the hard drive, it loaded to the flash drive without any error message>>>

    I'm not sure what you did here. An 8GB USB is usually not big enough for the USB installation media creation tool. Last one I made was over 9GB and required a 16GB USB?

    Jack E/NJ

  • MorgantheBear
    MorgantheBear Member Posts: 53 Troubleshooter
    I am sure that the Microsoft website said that 8 GB would be enough but I'll try it again with a bigger drive (128 GB).  If that is not big enough, I give up.  I'll get back to you with the result.
  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,871 Trailblazer
    Hold on! We're going from one extreme to the other. 16GB is big enough. Some earlier BIOS chips and firmware like your's won't recognize sticks that big. We're still trying to make 10+ year old technology run programs meant for more advanced UEFI bootstrappers. 

    Jack E/NJ

  • MorgantheBear
    MorgantheBear Member Posts: 53 Troubleshooter
    Another delay, this time because I didn't have a 16 GB flash drive.  I got one via Amazon and used the Windows Media Creation tool to make it into a Windows 10 installation USB.  But I still hit problems at stage 6.  When I tap F12 during Windows startup, I get a number of boot options.  I choose Boot Option Menu: 4. USB HDD: General UDisk.  The boot starts but then clicks off and restarts, offering the boot option menu again.  If I choose option 4, I go round the circle again.  Similar to my post of 28 March.  I can't find the troubleshooting menu or indeed the Win10 installation menu.

    Sometimes I get
     a screen saying that Windows will restart automatically, citing KERNAL MODE HEAP CORRUPTION as the nature of the error.
  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,871 Trailblazer
    >>>Sometimes I get a screen saying that Windows will restart automatically, citing KERNAL MODE HEAP CORRUPTION as the nature of the error. >>>

    Do you know what WindowsUpdate version you have installed now? Press WIN+R. Enter 'winver'.

    Jack E/NJ

  • MorgantheBear
    MorgantheBear Member Posts: 53 Troubleshooter
    With the 4 GB board installed, typing Win + R then "winver" produces "Microsoft Windows Version 21H2 (OS Build 19044, 1586)".  
  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,871 Trailblazer
    OK. Re-install the other 4GB. Then  make sure the BIOS still sees 8GB. Then boot Windows. Check again that it still only sees 4GB. Then if we haven't done so already, press WIN+R. Enter 'mdsched' to run memory diagnostics to see if it can force Windows to see it.

    Jack E/NJ

  • MorgantheBear
    MorgantheBear Member Posts: 53 Troubleshooter
    I replaced the 4 GB board with the 8 GB one and pressing F2 confirmed that BIOS can see 8192 MB of installed RAM.  If I press F12 and change the boot device to the flash drive which I create using the Windows Media Creation tool, I still go into the cycle of start boot -> switch off -> restart -> press F2 or F12 -> start boot etc.  The result of this is that I cannot boot Windows and so cannot press WIN + R.  

    As I said above, sometimes I get a screen saying that Windows will restart automatically, citing a clue as to the nature of the error.  In addition to KERNAL MODE HEAP CORRUPTION I have had KERNAL SECURITY CHECK FAILURE, SYSTEM THREAD EXCEPTION NOT HANDLED and PAGE FAULT IN NON-PAGED AREA.
  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,871 Trailblazer
    >>>When I tap F12 during Windows startup, I get a number of boot options.  >>>


    Please post a phone photo of the other options if possible

    Jack E/NJ

  • MorgantheBear
    MorgantheBear Member Posts: 53 Troubleshooter
    I'll send a photo if you want but the options I get (reproduced here exactly as they appear on my screen) are:

    Boot Option Menu

    1.  IDE 0: WDC WD5000BPVT–22HXZT3
    2.  IDE 1: HL-DT-ST   DVDRAM GT51N
    3.  Network Boot:  LEGACY PCI DEVICE
    4.  USB HDD:  USB        Disk 2.0

    The first of these is given as the default.  I assume that the fourth is the flash drive, which is the one required in this case.

  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,871 Trailblazer
    Yeah, OK, that's only the BIOS boot order menu.

    So I don't have to search back thru the thread, if 4GB is installed USB option #4 loads the Win10 installation OK? And if 8GB is installed, #4  bombs and throws errors? 

    Jack E/NJ

  • MorgantheBear
    MorgantheBear Member Posts: 53 Troubleshooter
    I installed the 4 GB board and tried to launch Windows using option 4 but, after entering some details about language choice etc, I got this message:

    "The upgrade option isn’t available if you start your computer using Windows installation media.

    If a copy of Windows is already installed on this computer and you want to upgrade, remove the installation media and restart your computer.  After Windows has started normally, insert the installation media and run Windows Setup."

    So I removed the flash drive and the computer successfully loaded Windows.  But I don't understand what "run Windows Setup" means.  I don't have anything with that name on my Start menu.

  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,871 Trailblazer
    >>>The upgrade option isn’t available if you start your computer using Windows installation media>>>>

    Are you sure absolutely you that you made the Win10 USB installation media, NOT the Win11 USB media? 

    Jack E/NJ

  • MorgantheBear
    MorgantheBear Member Posts: 53 Troubleshooter
    Yes, it was Windows 10.  I used the link you gave me in your post of March 22.  The version it took me to was "Windows 10 November 2021 Update" which I assumed to be the most recent version of Windows 10.  I have never tried to download Windows 11 either on the hard drive or the USB drive as I know that my PC can't run Windows 11.  Is there a less recent version of Windows 10 which I should have used?  I couldn't see any mention of it on the Microsoft Software download web page.
  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,871 Trailblazer
    >>> Is there a less recent version of Windows 10 which I should have used?>>>

    Yes. Double-check what version you have on there now. I think you indicated earlier 21H2? Not sure though?

    Then google search keywords "windows 10" "21h2" "archive.org" "home premium" "iso"

    Download the 21H2 iso file. Then download and install Rufus freeware to convert the cdrom iso to a bootable Win10 USB installation stick. Should be MBR partition scheme, FAT32 formatted for a Legacy BIOS.




    Jack E/NJ

  • MorgantheBear
    MorgantheBear Member Posts: 53 Troubleshooter
    Yes, the version I am currently running is 21H2 (OS Build 19044, 1586).  I searched the keywords you suggested but it just took me back to the Microsoft website with the Windows 10 November update option.  I updated but of course there was no result as it was already running that version.  Should I create a Windows 10 iso file on my hard drive and then use Rufus software to create a Win 10 USB installation stick from that?
  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,871 Trailblazer
    >>> Should I create a Windows 10 iso file on my hard drive and then use Rufus software to create a Win 10 USB installation stick from that? >>>

    Yes if you got the 21h2 cdrom iso?

    Jack E/NJ

  • MorgantheBear
    MorgantheBear Member Posts: 53 Troubleshooter
    Yes, I have the Windows 10 21H2 iso file stored on my hard drive.  Rufus offered me (i) MBR partition scheme and NTFS file system or (ii) GPT partition scheme and a choice of FAT32 or NTFS file system.  But I can't have MBR and FAT32.  I went for MBR and NTFS.  Rufus completed without any complaints but when I tried to boot from the USB, I got the same message as above, namely

    "The upgrade option isn’t available if you start your computer using Windows installation media.

    If a copy of Windows is already installed on this computer and you want to upgrade, remove the installation media and restart your computer.  After Windows has started normally, insert the installation media and run Windows Setup."