Installing new memory module (One for all you "Experts")

[jollyrancher111]

One for all you "Experts"

Hey all, I'm new around here, and I joined because I have bad computer trouble, and maybe someone could identify my problem. The other day, I opened up my computer to put a stick of 512 Mb DDR Ram into it, and i found two 128 Mb DDR sticks already in there. So I took one of the 128 Mb Chips out, and put the 512 Mb in, mixing them up with each other. Anyways, when I turned on my computer to boot it up, it made a bunch of wierd noises, like beeps, so I turned it off fairly fast. I took out the 512 Mb and put back in the old 128 Mb stick. Now whenever I push the button for my computer to come on, It will only make a long beep, pause for a second, then keep making the beeps, over and over again, the screen does not light, the LED stays orange. If anyone could help, anything is appreciated, Thanks.

- Thread moved & title edited
Didou

 

[agissi]

Take out all the sticks of ram, and then out in the 128 and 512. Be sure to take all of them out first though, and they are pushed ALL the way down, it requires some force.

What I do is, line up the RAM with the slot, then just push down hard on the ram until the clips at the side automatically come up and clip the ram into place

 

[STK]

Try 1 ram stick at a time, see which isnt working.

Edit: You might want to try resetting your BIOS and see if it still happens.

 

[Rick]

First, see what the error code means. (consult your manual or manufacturer's website). I'm betting your issue is being caused by the computer changing the FSB speed. You can fix this by clearing the CMOS usually.

Attempt reseating all of your memory modules, video card and remove any extra PCI cards not necessary for the computer to boot.

Attempt clearing the CMOS (take out the battery or short the clear cmos jumper - Consult your manual)

 

[Shiney]

Personally i would just use the 512 stick and set the bios to work with that, you may have 2 different specs on the sticks, this would mean one setting may work for one but not the other, and since you bought the 512

 

[jollyrancher111]

Yeah, but my monitor will not come on, nothing works at all. How do i reset the memory??

 

[novicegamer]

Take the battery out for at least 10 mins(be sure you are static free).but when that happend to me I had to buy a new MOBO

 

[Rick]

Clearing the CMOS is specific to each system board, but it usually involves shorting a jumper.

But the most univeral method is to take out the little silver lithiun ion battery. It looks like a large watch battery.

1.) Unplug the system
2.) Remove the battery for at least several seconds
3.) Reinsert the battery

I hate to perpetuate ubran computer ledgends, but follows those steps to make sure the CMOS is 100% certainly clear.

In all my CMOS resetting experiences, I've NEVER had to unplug the system or remove the battery for a certain amount of time - But I've seen other people recommend these meausures - So just for the sake of being certain, do the above.

Once you reinsert the battery, plug the computer back in and turn her on. Does it work?

No? You definitely have some sort of hardware problem. Perhaps a loose or bad part. Static electicity from handling the insides of your computer? Who knows. Perhaps something has been jarred loose.. Maybe you have even damaged your memory sockets somehow. It's hard to tell and any of those things sound (more often than not) unlikely.

Another (I feel) urban computing ledgend are the dangers of static electricity. I've certainly done my share of mishandling "sensitive electronic devices" including obvious (and some rather vicious) shocks to several different components.... All of them still worked afterwards.

While I can see it is possible (static electricity is high in voltage, low in amps), I've yet to prove it. So "zapping" your computer by mishandling the insides is very unlikely.

I'm going off tangent a bit, but I just want to make sure the people that read this understand that really don't think you damaged the insides of your computer or you really need to unplug your system to clear the CMOS... They are just ideas and suggestions to be certain.

 

[rowdy6680]

Typically 1 long beep followed by a delay and then another long beep, repeatedly is a memory issue. The most likely cause is that when you put the 512MB in it wasn't snapped in all the way, or it is incompatible with the board. When you switched them back out, more than likely, the memory is just not seated completely...I suggest removing it and reinserting it. I've had that issue before and using a POST card will usually tell me it is at the memory detection phase with the BIOS code it shows. Hope this helps.

 

[Rick]

That's true

I've done it myself..

That is, put memory in but not securely.

For all intents and purposes, it looked lke it was indeed in tightly. But it wasn't. And after perhaps the 3rd or 4th time, I realize it was not in all the way.

So make sure you triple check that the memory is installed properly.

 

[jollyrancher111]

Hey all, well my motherboard is the type that has snaps on each end of the Ram slots, and the chips were both snapped in tight. So I take it that isn't the problem?

 

[rowdy6680]

The likely cause is STILL ram. It sounds like it's an older board though a better description including the model of the mainboard might help. Take out all the RAM again, and put just one back into DIMM slot 1 and try and boot it..sometimes if the board flexes a little when you are intalling the second DIMM, the first might pop out a little..so try just 1 first. If it was a video problem, you'd likely get 1 long beep followed by 2 short beeps and no video signal. If it was a dead board..I doubt you'd get any beeps at all. Just because they seem to be snapped in all the way doesn't mean they are...just tryin to help.