Cannot Boot After Upgrading RAM (2GB to 4GB)

[MikeH30]

I am running OpenSUSE 11.0, KDE 4.1.

I recently attempted to upgrade the RAM on my laptop(SONY VAIO VGN-FZ290) from 2GB to 4GB and my laptop will not boot.
After the OpenSUSE splash screen, the boot up process halts with the messages below that repeat over and over on screen.
This occurs for both Safe Mode and regular mode.

Safe Mode:

printk: 5335606 messages surpressed.
init[1]: segfault at 485d9b21 ip b7fb21db sp bfa53d4c error 4 in ld-2.8.so[b7f9c000+1b000]

Regular Mode:

printk: 3733023 messages surpressed.
init[1]: segfault at b7f6dbc0 ip b7f6f35b sp bfc1a75c error 7 in ld-2.8.so[b7f64000+1b000]

The BIOS detects the chips. In the BIOS it reads: "System Memory: 4096MB". The specs call for PC2-5300, however the salesman at MicroCenter gave me PC2-5400.

The factory installed RAM is 1GB X 2 slots. The brand is Hynix and has the following on the label "1GB 2Rx8 PC2-5300S-555-12", "HYMP512S64CP8-Y5 AB-C 0803"
The brand I purchased for upgrading is OCZ Technology (2GB PC2-5400). I purchased two 2GB chips - one for each of the two slots on my laptop.

I did not think this was a hardware issue because the BIOS detected the new memory. Can someone please point me in the right direction?

Regards,

-Mike

[bigtomrodney]

Have you tried running memtest? A lot of distros include it by default and allow you to run it from Grub. If you don't have it you can get it here

[MikeH30]

I could not even get to a command line with the new memory installed.

[HROAdmin26]

You have a segfault (process crash) by the init process.

Put the old RAM in - does it work? (Probably will.) If so, it's probably bad RAM or incompatible. Besides the RAM "speed" there are timing settings that can cause compatibility issues.

[MikeH30]

Yes, it does work with the factory RAM. It is expandable to 4GB RAM so I hope that I can find chips that are compatible.

It seems that it would always be best to max out the RAM from the factory when ordering a new machine. I tried to save some money and now I am wondering if the savings were worth the headaches.

Thanks for your reply.

-Mike