[waynf]

Tried to install 256 Mg SDRam chip today.
I already had been operating with 64 megs in slot one, and 128 mgs ram in slot2
When I installed 256 SD Ram stick computer would not boot up. so I removed 64 mgs and 128 mgs sticks and installed 256 mgs stick and computer booted up. I then installed 128 megs stick in slot two with 256 megs stick already in slot one. Fired up but machine would not boot up, so I turned off computer, removed 128 megs from slot #2, fired up again and machine would not boot up. I removed 256 stick and tried to boot up with original 64 megs of ram, but it would not boot up. I had installed also flppy drive at the time, so I removed the floppy drive including floppy power strip from mother board and tried to boot up with 256 megs of ram. No luck and that's where it stands now with 256 megs of ram stick in slot one, but machine will not boot up. I even tried different slots but to no avail. Please advise.

Waynf

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i find older motherboards to be VERY finicky with how ram sits in the slot...I have one old motherboard where the ram stick needs to have slight tension added to it to ensure it touches the contacts

[gerryf]

i find older motherboards to be VERY finicky with how ram sits in the slot...I have one old motherboard where the ram stick needs to have slight tension added to it to ensure it touches the contacts

[waynf]

Thanks to Gerryf for insight. One more question " Is the motherboard grounded to the chasis in anyway. I got my boot-up back but I had to lightly tap the side panel immediately adjacent to the motherboard and voila! Ping and boot was executed. Now I'm wondering if anything might be loose. In fact I'm afraid to open it up again(need to floppy drive not connected).

Waynf

[gerryf]

it should not be grounded to the board other than through the power supply...if tapping the case made a difference, I suspect a loose connection somewhere

[The Skeptic]

The motherboard should not be grounded. As a matter of fact it looks as if it shortened at one point due to the force used when installing the ram sticks and floopy.

Unplug the computer, open the box and make sure that the motherboard is firmly secured with all the the screws in place and that all the copper spacers underneath the board are there. (some computers use other methods to keep the board away from the metal box). At this opportunity check that all connections are well secured, all fans are spinning freely and there is no dust accumulation clogging cpu heatsink.

[waynf]

Please define for me the heatsink. Is that the box that encloses the power supply fan?

Waynf

[The Skeptic]

The heatsink is a large, ribbed, aluminium body with a fan on top of it. It is located on the motherboard on top of the cpu. It's cleanliness is essential for keeping the cpu temperature low. DO NOT remove it, just clean (if necessary) with compressed air. If you don't have compressed air use a thin brush to break the caked dust and use a vaccum cleaner to take it off the computer. If you do take it off you must perfectly clean it's bottom and the top of the cpu from any remains of old paste or thermal pad and apply a very thin layer of a good quality thermal paste.