[travman]

Ok this is my first post on this site, so I hope I don;t break any rules, or cause a lot of confusion.

I recently bought some new RAM for my computer. (2 sticks of 256MB PC100 DIMM)

When I install it acts strange. If I install both sticks my computer wont start. ( I get a message screen that says my computer did not start correctly...I have options....safe mode....safe mode with command prompt.....start normally) No matter which one I try, it sends me back to this same screen.

If I only install 1 stick, it starts up fine....or if I install 1 256MB, and my old 128MB, it also works fine.

Why wont it work when both sticks are installed????

P.S. My computer can handle 512MB (256MB in each slot)

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my inclination is mismatched ram, though I am sure that you bought the same ram.

Even though that is the case, memory is a finicky beast.

You may try turning the memory timing settings in bios down to a normal setting, if they are set to turbo or fast, but mostly I would say exchange the ram.

You may be able to test the ram one stick at a time using memtest86+ (google it), but as good as that is at testing, I still find it does not catch everything

[gerryf]

my inclination is mismatched ram, though I am sure that you bought the same ram.

Even though that is the case, memory is a finicky beast.

You may try turning the memory timing settings in bios down to a normal setting, if they are set to turbo or fast, but mostly I would say exchange the ram.

You may be able to test the ram one stick at a time using memtest86+ (google it), but as good as that is at testing, I still find it does not catch everything

[travman]

It turned out to be a HP thing. I needed to download an update for my BIOS. The update allowed my computer to recognize a full 512 MB RAM. All is working fine now. Thanks for the help.

[gerryf]

thanks for the update...must be a pretty old machine