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Evening All,

Today I bought 512mb of RAM for my Computer. A SDRAM DIMM Memory Module, I'm told. I only had 256mb before.

Not being comletely computer savy, all I could really do was follow some instructions. So I slotted it in (being careful with my static electricity) and turned my computer back on.

Looking at the properties in My Computer, I saw that I still only had 256mb.

I checked my Phoenix BIOS and it said "Memory Bank 0: Not installed." (This being the bank with the module in it.) I swapped it over to Bank 1 but BIOS still said it was uninstalled.

So is there a problem with my Module or have I just not installed it correctly?

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by Xpenetrator
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So is there a problem with my Module or have I just not installed it correctly?

There is a minimal chance that you didn't insert it properly (dirt on the slot contacts), but most likely the the mem chip configuration on the module doesn't match the capabilities of your motherboard/chipset. That's why upgrading older computers with RAM is a whole science of it's own, feeding an entire industry...:)

Best strategy is to find out what certain type of RAM is tested and recommended by the manufacturer of the mainboard, if this information doesn't exist - a generic advice should be hidden somewhere in the "installing RAM" -section in the mainboard's manual. The chipset is limiting RAM modules to certain configurations. (I.e. max. 9 or 18 chips per module, single or double sided assembly and so on...) If the new module is single sided, chances are that the size of the single mem chips on it is not supported by the mainboard.

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