Member Avatar for man in a can

Hi Folks,
Im running an Asrock 775i65GV Mother board with Dual Core Intel Pentium CPU 2.80Ghz. My power supply is ATX-400TD. I have been running my PC happily with Samsung 512MB DDR PC2700 CL2.5. I need now to upgrade my RAM because i want to run M-Box2, its music recording software. As it turns out i got the exact same RAM as the one mentioned above. So i added the extra slot in and my PC wont boot past the POST, it will work in safe mode.
The MotherBoard seems to be picking up both sticks of RAM and i have tried both slots individuly so i know both slots and both sticks are working.
I have looked up similar threads but none seem to have a conclusive answer, im reluctant to go out and buy a 1GB stick as i doubt that will work if i cant get these to work.
Any help would be much appreciated.
Thanks in advance

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Dani AI

Generated

Following the tests already reported by and 's BIOS suggestion, below is a concise, ordered checklist of practical checks and fixes that target the usual causes when identical RAM sticks work alone but the system won’t boot with both installed.

  • Reset CMOS first: power off, unplug, remove the coin battery (or use the clear‑CMOS jumper) for 30–60 seconds, then power up and try again. This clears any odd memory timings left in BIOS.

  • Run a standalone memory tester (Memtest86 or Memtest86+) from a USB or CD. Let it run several full passes with both sticks installed. If errors appear only when both sticks are present, the issue is almost always timing/compatibility rather than Windows.

  • Use BIOS defaults / SPD: in BIOS load optimized defaults or set memory to SPD/Auto so the board uses the modules’ advertised settings. If that still fails, relax settings manually: increase CAS/latency by one step and, if the BIOS exposes DRAM voltage, try a very small increase (e.g., +0.05–0.15 V) while staying within the module vendor’s rated spec. Do not exceed safe voltages.

  • Update BIOS: check ASRock’s support page for the exact board model and flash the latest BIOS if it mentions memory fixes or stability improvements.

  • Check the manual/QVL: confirm the board’s supported memory densities and the required slot population order. Some socket‑775 boards are picky about high‑density chips or require matched pairs from the same lot.

  • Try a known good matched pair (or have the shop test the two sticks together). If a loaned matched pair works, returning/exchanging the newer stick is the fastest fix.

  • As a last step, swap in a different PSU if available; a weak supply can show odd failures when adding components.

Booting to Safe Mode while normal boot fails usually points to a hardware-level timing or voltage stability issue rather than a Windows driver problem.

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Member Avatar for Xlphos

Have you tried entering BIOS? Checking how much RAM is there and save changes & exit.

Member Avatar for man in a can

Have you tried entering BIOS? Checking how much RAM is there and save changes & exit.

Hiya,
Thanks for the reply, i hadnt tried this yet. Have tried now and it is showing in BIOS as dual memory mode DDR333 x 2 512Kb but its still giving the same problem, no booting after the initial Windows Xp loading screen.

Member Avatar for Xlphos

how many slots are there? ...two, four? If there are four try a different combination.

Where did you get this RAM from?

Member Avatar for man in a can

Hi, Thanks again for the reply. I got the RAM in the local PC shop, its working fine individually, and i have tried some other ram and thats fine too.
The board has 2 slots, Ram is working in each slot but just not together.

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