What have I done?

[boroboy]

whilst upgrading to Vista from XP I found out that the memory on my laptop was only 512 mb. I was very surprised to learn that it only had 512 mb because I always thought this laptop had 1 gig of memory. My laptop is a Fujitsu Siemens AMILO 3438m with 80 gig hard drive and what I thought was a full gig of memory. So bought a gig of memory from Internet and read about how to install memory. I did everything by the book. I opened the back but opened the hard drive compartment first and disconnected the hard drive. On seeing my mistake, I re-connected the hard drive and opened the second part, where I found that there were two memory modules, both with 512 mbs. First of all, why did it only show that I only had 512 mb when it actually did have 1 gig? I then removed one of the 512 modules and replaced it with a full gig, now making it a gig and a half of memory. I put everything back together and my laptop would not start. I have replaced the original module but it still would not start. What have I done? Any help would be appreciated.

 

[Rik]

Define "would not start", wont power up? Wont boot into windows?

 

[Nodsu]

You did unplug the laptop and remove the battery before opening it up, right?

Maybe you put something in the wrong way? Take out the hard drive and the memory modules, put them back and make sure they are firmly seated.

Try with only one RAM module at a time. The new one(s) may not be compatible with your computer and one of the old ones may be dead, so try all of them one at a time.

 

[luvhuffer]

Either that or the new memory is not compatable with the old memory. Did you buy same brand same latency same model? Did you ground yourself before handling the memory? Download memtest86+ and follow the instructions to create a bootable CD or floppy. Run the program testing each module seperately.

 

[czplayer]

Is the ram plugged back in all the way?

 

[boroboy]

Thanks for all the replies. First, I did not remove the battery. I have tried replacing the same modules. I have taken out the hard-drive and put it back. When I push the button the light comes on, there is a bleep followed by 2 bleeps, and that's it, it does not start- but the light remains on.
As again, any further suggestions would be appreciated

 

[Nodsu]

Did you try putting back only one module? Both old and new?

Also, if you left the battery connected, then it means that you could have fried every single component you removed from or inserted to the system.

 

[boroboy]

Do the beeps mean anything?

 

[Tedster]

the beeps you are hearing are BIOS beeps and indicate hardware failure. Find the appropriate guide in the guides forum to determine what has failed.

 

[boroboy]

Thanks Tedster,I am new to all this so will you point me in the right direction. (Find the appropriate guide in the guides forum to determine what has failed).

 

[SNGX1275]

Here is a guide: https://www.techspot.com/vb/topic95391.html

 

[boroboy]

Thanks for all your help. With not removing the battery it looks like I could have fried every single component I removed from or inserted to the system ,big mistake on my side.

 

[Nodsu]

Takeyour laptopand all the pieces to a repair show and have them test what is broken and what isn't.

 

[Tmagic650]

At this point, the motherboard is probably fried, not to mention the memory

 

[luvhuffer]

Before you take everybodys advice and junk it or take it in for costly repairs, there's one other thing. You were upgrading from XP to Vista. There's the possibility that you have hardware that has no compatable drivers for Vista. I'm sure you want to save your data, but have you considered wiping the hard drive and reinstalling XP? Oh by the way, the Fujitsu web site sucks. It wouldn't list any downloads for that model although it did show it as a series M 3438G the only thing close to what you listed. I was unable to download a users manual.

 

[boroboy]

Thank Chaps for all your help, I am thinking on a new laptop,ther are some good deals to think about right now, so thanks again.