Ram

[maui_mallard]

Hi my name is Chris,

I want to add RAM to my Mothers computer, but i dont want to screw anything up...

So what i have is a Windows XP Home Edition Service Pack 2 PC, with a 8.06 GB Hardrive (Thoughts of upgrading) with a ASUS motherboard. 66 Mega hertz bus clock and 256 RAM. 400 Megahertz Intel Celeron with 32 kb primary memeroy cache and 128kb secondary cache.

The RAM has one 128mb and two 64mb cards, with one open slot. The cards are in the DIMM format.

I purchased a 256mb card, DIMM obviously. It is slightly used as it was once used in a PC running windows 98.

The purpose of the extra RAM is to increase the speed on the PC as she has begun to play many games, but not very complex.

Help would be great!!!

Thanks Alot

[lasher511]

First off they recomend that when touching the inside of any computer or other hardware like it such as a DVD player that you wear a static strap to protect both you and your computer. These can be bought rather cheaply from any electronics store for about $15aus. There isnt to much to installing the ram itself simply place the ram in the slot making sure all the pins are connected properly and then lock it in. You might want to boot the computer up after this with the case off and watch the RAM count up. If your BIOs is set not to show this let windows boot up fully right click on MY computer and click properties. your system specs should be listed here For windows XP machines it will be listed in MB however in pre XP machines it will be listed in KB however it is easy enough to look at the number and see if that is right. I have however found that on some XP machines the ram does not add up to the full amount that it should however as long as it is more then it was before the installation i dont think that it matters that much. If someone knows why XP does this and knows why please let me know i am rather curious as to why it does this. If your ram does not show simply shut down your computer again pull the cable and check the ram is installed properly and there is no dust in the slot and follow the same steps as before for checking that. If it still isnt working after a few trys then you might just have bad ram.

[maui_mallard]

Now is there any way i can majorly mess this up......or at least tips or tricks that can help me or things to avoid......because it is imperitive that i don't because the computer is used very frequently??????!!!!!!!

['Stein]

If someone knows why XP does this and knows why please let me know i am rather curious as to why it does this.

I might be misinterpreting what you say, but Ithink that RAM part of Video RAM isn't shown in total.

Now is there any way i can majorly mess this up

Just follow exactly what lasher has said. And be sure to buy that static strap--as I've seen many problems arise simply because of static.

[maui_mallard]

Thanks a lot.......I will be traveling out to purchase one soon

[lasher511]

As long as you have your static strap on there isnt really anything that can go wrong.

[lasher511]

No just general Ram the computers in question dont have Video cards onboard in the mother board im pretty sure.

[maui_mallard]

Ok i followed your instructions to every detail.......

except it only read half of the memory.......so instead of 256 mb it is 128 mb......

Im going to try to move the RAM to different slots, but if that doesn't work...........

I dont know what to do????

[nizzy1115]

Your computers motherboard is limited to 128 sticks being the largest size it can recognize. You could have it work with 4 128 sticks to get 512, but a 256 stick will not work.

[darrenw89]

memory is quite reasonable off of crucial - they will also help you to find the right one :d

[maui_mallard]

I used www.corsairmemory.com and I entered the type of motherboard I had and it told me that it was possible to put in 256mb?????

Check it out for yourself.......

http://www.corsairmemory.com/corsair/configurator_search_results.html

I have an ASUS P3B-f motherboard

[lightningdemon]

Chris, first, please refrain from calling DIMM's "cards" as it is a bit confusing. You could call them sticks, DIMMS, or heck, even modules. But NOT cards. lol

OK. WIth that old of a board, I would suggest just throwing a 512MB in there and doing away with the two 64mb. most of those older boards support around 768MB of RAM. BUT, you should definitely check before doing so. You won't find any PC66 ram out there, so PC100 will be fine, but if PC133 is cheaper, go with that as it will all revert to you mobo's bus speed anyway. So, start off by researching how much your board supports AND what the maximum size each stick can be. Then go to www.pricewatch.com and start shopping. But be careful, depending on your chipset, intel, via, etc.. certain RAM is less compatible with different chipsets. If you have a VIA chipset, then you should be fairly good with going with a cheaper brand, BUT do your homework! ASk the seller questions.
good luck

******Sorry, didn't realize others had answered. :( ********

[maui_mallard]

I know all that i just want to understand why my motherboard is not reading the full 256mb *stick*:D

Its really annoying of going through all of this trouble to get half of what you payed for!!!

[lightningdemon]

Chris, it isn't your motherboard specifically, it is your chipset. Specifically, your northbridge chipset. If it is only reading your sticks as half of what their density is, then there isn't anything you can do and it is normal. No BIOS flashing or modding will help.. short of modding the northbridge chipset. You'll have to research what specific chipset that board has and find compatible modules for it. Good luck.