New RAM problems.

I hope you can help me....my one computer crashed and the motherboard went out on it.So I bought a new hard drive for my other one and got it going again after it being down for over a year(needed the new hard drive)....everything works great on it...now it only had a 256 RAM in it and my old computer got me spoiled because it had a 128 and a 512 in it...so I bought a new 512 RAM and put it in.It doesn't really work that well at all.I have 768 MB's of RAM and it is like it still has just the 256 in it. I need to know if there is something else I can do to get this RAM working right.I have cable internet and last sunday we got hit with the winds from hurricane IKE and our phone lines and stuff are still messed up...like the phones keep cutting in and out while talking on it.Would that have anything to do with the new RAM not working right?

I also have another question....my son's computer needed a new hard drive also so I bought him one when I bought mine...his computer is a Cisnet and it had a hitachi 80gb hard drive in it and I bought a 160gb western digital hard drive for it just like I did for mine.Well I can not get windows or the system recovery discs to load on it at all.Cisnet's super tech's are trying to tell me it is because it is a digital western hard drive and not an hitachi.Is that true?How does a hard drive tell what brand name you have in it?

I am getting highly upset with both computers.Can someone please help me?
Thanks in advance.
LisaRose122

 

First off, your phone lines and internet not working right is because of Ike, not because of the RAM.

Second, we need a lot more information about your new memory. Does your computer's System Preferences tell you you have 768MB, or does the thing still think it has only 256MB?

Take out the original 256MB stick and put in the new 512MB one alone, and see what happens. Make sure to use the same slot as the one the 256MB was in. If that works, then put the 256MB in the now empty slot, and once again, see what happens.

Troubleshooting is shorthand for "gathering information", and we need to start there.

 

Yes it shows that there is 768 MB and we did all of that already with the slots and stuff and it still is not working right.Every time I call my cable company about this thye tell me that it is only their responsibility to get me online and not go fast...well HELLO....that is why I have cable internet!!!!I am totally clueless here.

 

So the part works then, good. Next, what else do you have in your computer?

Start with processsor and other components, then let's go from there on to operating system, firewalls, antivirus, et cetera....

So it is running slower than it did before you installed the new memory?

 

Yes it is running slower now with the new RAM.....The processor is Intel (R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 1.50GHz....1.50GHz ,768 MB of RAM is what it says.As for what I have downloaded on here....my virus protection is Avast! ,Malwarebytes Anti-Spyware and just the stuff that came with the computer that was on the Application CD's.

I ran a drivers test and it says there are 9 drivers that needs updated on my computer but I don't know where to do that at.And I put my Drivers CD in that came with my computer but it don't do anything.The drivers that the test said I need are: (well they need updated)

NVIDIA GeForce 2mx 100/200
HID Keyboard Device
HID Keyboard Device
HID Compliant Device
Intel (R) Pro/100 VE Network Connection
Intel (r) 82801 BA/BAM AC '97 Audio Control
Intel (R) 82801 BA/CA PCI Bridge 244E
USB Composite Device
USB Composite Device

Anything else I need to check or download?
Thanks Mimsy for all of your help
LisaRose122

 

Start with the drivers. In the start menu, you should have a Control Panel. Switch it to Classic View if you haven't already, and double-click on System. In there, click on the Hardware tab and then on the Device Manager.

The devices that need new drivers will have a yellow question mark next to them. Make sure you have an internet connection and then right-click on each device that has a yellow question mark, and update the driver.

When you say you have the stuff that came with the computer in addition to Avast and Malware bytes, what does that mean? As a general rule you should never have more than one antivirus and one firewall installed, since they really conflict with each other.

 

There isn't a yellow question mark by none of them at all.And what mean by what came with the computer is like the CD Burner...Games...MGI Photo Suite and stuff like that.I only have 1 anti virus and 1 malware/spyware and also the only firewall I have is what comes with it.Rather that be Microsoft's or my cable company's one.I just really puzzled by this.

 

Hi Lisa,

Just out of curiosity, what OS are you running?

Jim

 

Hi Jim

I am running Windows XP Home Edition.

Lisa

 

It's possible your new RAM is actually slower than the original.

Download Everest from MG and tell us about the processor and the RAM.

http://www.majorgeeks.com/download4181.html

Let it do a hardware scan and save this as a txt file.

Post this file.