Trying to add RAM - Help Please 1

[Einstein47]

The last time I tried to add RAM to a PC, the largest available was 16 MB. So you could say things have changed a lot.

A friend upgraded his system and said I could have his old box. I looked and he had a 1GB DIMM, and I thought that would add to my 512MB nicely. So I put the DIMM in my second slot for RAM and it fit well, I booted up and saw the memory test all 1.5 GB of RAM (I was a little giddy).

But then after being up for less that 5 min, my PC went into reboot hell. It would boot, get to a point just before letting me select the user, and then reboot again. Most times it would bypass the memory check. So I shut down hard, pulled the 1 GB DIMM and booted up. Everything worked fine.

So I am wondering what is the correct process for adding RAM to WinXP Pro SP2. Is there a simple guide that can help me?

One thing I did notice, is that with the 1 GB DIMM in the DDR speed was only 333. Without the 1 GB DIMM the DDR was 400. But I don't know if a higher number is good or bad. I'm thinking the different numbers means the motherboard can't handle the RAM. I don't really know.

I looked at the DIMM, but I didn't see anything that could help me know what to do. Years ago I had to buy pairity RAM, but I don't think that is needed with DIMM or even SIMM. Whatever.

I feel like such a noob under the hood of my PC. Whoever said ignorance is bliss has never tried upgrading his PC.

Einstein47
“Evil abounds when good men do nothing.“ - Nelson R.
[[]Starbase47.com]

 

[electronicsfreak]

The ram would not fit in the slot if it was not the correct type. So rest assured your using compatible memory. However it does sound like that memory chip you added is bad. Use memtest to test the ram chip to see if its bad. Go to the site below and make a bootable floppy or cdrom to load from. Make sure you only have one memory chip installed on the motherboard when you test it.

http://www.memtest.org/

There is a point in wisdom and knowledge that when you reach it, you exceed what is considered possible - Jason Schoon

 

[eyec]

all ram must be of the same speed

the larger one should go in the first slot with the smaller in the second

 

[Einstein47]

What is faster 333 or 400?

Should I just ditch my 512MB and only use the 1GB?

Einstein47
“Evil abounds when good men do nothing.“ - Nelson R.
[[]Starbase47.com]

 

[CorBlimeyLimey]

Does the computer run well with only the 1GB stick in the first slot?

[Cheers]

 

[vacunita]

Obviously the higher the number the faster it is. Since it fits in the slot, then the ram is of the correct type.

But as electronicsfreak said, the stick may be going bad.
Again placing just the 1GB stick, in the machine user memtest or any other memory tester to determine if the stick is bad or not.






----------------------------------
Ignorance is not necessarily Bliss, case in point:
Unknown has caused an Unknown Error on Unknown and must be shutdown to prevent damage to Unknown.

 

[Einstein47]

I'll try that tonight and get back to you. This is my home PC and I'm at work now. I'll let you know. I wondered why my friend didn't want the RAM from his old box. Hmmmm (scratches head)

Einstein47
“Evil abounds when good men do nothing.“ - Nelson R.
[[]Starbase47.com]

 

[cpjust]

Another thing that could have happened is that the DIMM might now have been seated properly or there could have been some dust in the slot.

If your motherboard doesn't automatically detect the RAM speed, you should make sure (either through the BIOS or jumpers) that your RAM bus speed is set to the speed of the slowest RAM you have (i.e. 333MHz).

 

[captaincrunch00]

all ram must be of the same speed

This is incorrect.

If it's different speeds, the RAM will just run at the slowest RAMs speed.

If you are using a 400 and a 333, they will both run at 333.

 

[wahnula]

OK, here's my take. You have a stick of 512 DDR 400 installed. You added a second stick of DDR 333 1GB. The PC wouldn't work properly. This means INCOMPATIBLE RAM, not necessarily a bad stick, slot, or dirt. When you use two different speeds of RAM, the system will run ALL RAM at the slower speed.

The point of running 1 GB 333 vs 512 400 is moot, as that 1 GB stick is incompatible, period. Go to

http://www.crucial.com

or

http://www.kingston.com

and determine what type of memory you need. Then, at $25/per 512MB stick, buy as many as you can, especially if your PC has 4 RAM slots.

If your PC only has 2 RAM slots buy a 1 GB stick so you can upgrade to the sweet spot of 2 GB for Windows. I doubt it's a dual-channel RAM MB, but if so you're better off with the 512.

Your friend probably gave you the 1 GB stick of RAM because DDR2 has been in use for the last few years. My DDR pile is catching up to my PC-100 and PC-133 SDRAM piles.

Tony