upgrading ram in Dell dimension 4500 sorry for double topic post

I Posted this in the wrong forum so here goes again in the right one I think


So I was doing some gaming and I frequently get pc lag.

So I went and bought a stick I ram that I though might work.

Kingston tech 512mb pc2700 cl2.5 184 pin dimm mod KVR333/512r

Pc specs
Microprocessor type
Intel® Pentium® 4 microprocessor that runs at 1.60, 1.70, 1.80, 1.90, 2.00, 2.20, or 2.40 GHz internally and 400 MHz externally; and 2.26, 2.40, 2.53, 2.66, or 2.80 GHz internally and 533 MHz externally.

L1 cache
8 KB first-level

L2 cache
integrated 256-KB or 512-KB at full microprocessor speed



System Information

System chip set
Intel 845E with DDR memory support

DMA channels
four

Interrupt levels
24

System BIOS chip
4 Mb (512 KB)

System clock
400- or 533-MHz data rate



Expansion Bus

Bus types
PCI and AGP

Bus speed
PCI: 33 MHz; AGP: 66 MHz

AGP connector
one

AGP connector size
172 pins

AGP connector data width (maximum)
32 bits

AGP bus protocols
4x/2x modes at 1.5 V

PCI connectors
four

PCI connector size
120 pins

PCI connector data width
(maximum)
32 bits



Memory

Architecture
DDR SDRAM

Memory connectors
two

Memory capacities
128-, 256-, and 512-MB non-ECC DDR SDRAM

Minimum memory
128 MB

Maximum memory
1 GB

Memory type
DDR (non-ECC)

BIOS address
F8000h



Drives

Externally accessible
two 5.25-inch bays
two 3.5-inch bays

Internally accessible
two bays for 1-inch–high IDE hard drives

Available devices
ATA-100 Ultra DMA hard drive, CD drive, Zip drive, DVD drive, DVD+RW drive, and CD-RW drive



Ports and Connectors

Externally accessible:

Serial
9-pin connector; 16550C-compatible

Parallel
25-hole connector (bidirectional)

Video
15-hole connector

Keyboard
6-pin mini-DIN connector or USB connector

Mouse
6-pin mini-DIN connector or USB connector

USB
two front-panel and four back-panel USB–compliant connectors

Headphone
front-panel miniature connector

Audio1
three miniature connectors for line-in, line-out, and microphone

Internally accessible:

Primary IDE channel
40-pin connector on PCI local bus

Secondary IDE channel
40-pin connector on PCI local bus

Floppy drive
34-pin connector

1 Present only on computers with integrated audio capabilities.



Audio2

Audio controller
ADI 1981A

2 Present only on computers with integrated audio capabilities.



Video

Video controller
AGP 4X



Controls and Lights

Power control
push button

Power light
green light on power button—blinking green in sleep state; solid green for power-on state; solid amber for possible internal power problem

Hard-drive access light
green

Diagnostic code lights
four bicolor (amber and green) located on back panel



Power

DC power supply:

Wattage
250 W

Heat dissipation
850 BTU (fully-loaded computer without monitor)

Voltage (switch-selectable
on back panel)
90 to 135 V at 50/60 Hz; 180 to 265 V at 50/60 Hz; 100 V at 50/60 Hz for Japanese computers

Backup battery
3-V CR2032 coin cell



Physical

Height x Width x Depth
42.5 x 18.1 x 44.7 cm
(16.7 x 7.1 x 17.6 inches)

Weight
12.7 kg (28 lb)



Environmental

Temperature:

Operating
10º to 35ºC (50º to 95ºF)3

Storage
–40º to 65ºC (–40º to 149ºF)

Relative humidity
20% to 80% (noncondensing)

Maximum vibration:

Operating
0.25 G at 3 to 200 Hz at 1/2 octave/min

Storage
0.5 G at 3 to 200 Hz at 1/2 octave/min




So I install in second ram bay and start her up. I check the my computer, properties and it say I am running 768mb of ram

10 minutes later the pc just stops. nothing work, just froze. I could not eve power down with the power button. So I unplug the thing thinking I messed up my pc. Restart and balck screen that say memory size decreased. Its starts up normal and I check the computer properties and I am back to 256mb of ram.

I open case and put the new 512mb stick in the first slot and the 256 in the second slot and restart.

Now I am only running 512mb of ram..

Did I fry the second ram slot???

TIA

 

I may have missed it but I didn't see in your post what FrontSide Bus speed your actually running. You said your board supports 400 and 533. This matters when it comes to RAM. You said you bought PC2700 RAM and installed it. What is the spec on the 256 stick? I suspect it may be PC2100. You can cause instability by mixing RAM.

Try the 512 by itself in each slot and that should tell you if both slots are working.

 

I got it up and running.

I put the 512mb in the first slot and the 256mb in the 2nd slot and made sure it set properly and the pc has been running great for about 2hrs now with some intense online gaming and IE open and a voip running.

I think I may have just not had it seated correctly the first couple runs.

I will let it be known if any more problemos arise.

Thanks for the help

btw, I have no idea whats speeds this anf that is running. I just copy/pasted the specs from dell site.