RAM upgrade gone bad.

Hello all,

Thanks for taking the time to read this. First off, I'm a bonehead and know just enough to get myself in trouble.

RAM = ???
CPU = socket 478 P4 3.0 HT
Mobo = P4P800 SE
---- Dual Channel DDR400
---- ASUS Hyper Path
---- Intel 865PE = ICH5R

I've recently purchased 1 gig of of Kingston value RAM. It's 2x 512 sticks. Obviously, I purchased the wrong time. The RAM bought is PC3200. More specifically, KVR400X64C3AK2/1G. I didn't think much at the time I was putting the RAM in the slots until my PC wouldn't start up after I turned it on. I looked at the other 2 512's I have and they seem to be double sided RAM. These new sticks only have chips on one side. It's been awhile since I've upgraded anything and I'm "out of the sceen" and thought maybe... with techological advances... the RAM I need has compressed into one sided RAM. It wasn't working with a dang, and I've since put the new RAM back in the box and am preparing to send it back to Newegg.

So here's my mess. Ever since I installed the new RAM, my pc likes to shut off. Even with the old ram setup exactly the way it was before.

Here are my questions. Did my mobo reset some speeds? Did I fry it? The machine will work but, if I run an advance 3D game, its pure luck if doesn't shut off with in 20 minutes. Sometimes it will even shut of during the post. Random times during the post it seems.

I do get a BIOS error... OVERCLOCKING FAILED! Which I have read is a generic ASUS BIOS error.

Is there anything I can reset, or this going to have to go into a shop?

Oh, and what kind of RAM should I buy? :cry

THanks in advance!

 

Try re-setting your BIOS to default if I read your post correctly.

 

9 times out of 10, after it shuts down, I get the BIOS error at the prompt and I then F2 to startup using the default settings.

Could installing the wrong RAM short out my Power Supply?

The BIOS version I have is 9.1.04. I believe it was updated with an '05 version.

I guess I hoping for some info before I hose this once, rock-solid stable machine even futher.

The build is just over 2 years old. I've had 0 problems until I tried upgrading the RAM.

Thanks for your time.

 

Hi,
I am having the same sort of problem with my brand new Asus motherboard P5PE-VM . It worked with 1 stick of 512 RAM but when I put in another stick of exactly the same brand etc it went haywire. Either stick will work in either slot but when both are together system only reads from 1 slot and shows only 512. I am swapping both sticks for just the one g stick and was wondering if anyone knows whether MB will only accept 1 gig in 1 slot before filling the second slot. it is a weird mystery.
Cheers
beez

 

Well...Heelbillie, I just did the exact same thing. My parents bought me a stick of RAM (512mb), but I needed 2 for it to work properly, so I waited to install it until I got a second stick. The stick I bought was from the same company (PNY) and the same size, but the one my parents got me was double sided and the one I bought was single. I currently have 2x 512 MB sticks in my PC and they are both 1 sided.

After installing all 4 sticks, I only show up having 1.5 Gigs, instead of 2. I played around a bit and saw that if I just used 1 stick, it didn't matter if it was 1 sided or 2, I could read from any of them. If I joined them, only the 1 sided sticks worked together. I can get my system to work fine with what I have, so I know I didn't burn anything out. I'm just going to have to return the double sided stick for a single one.

It might be in your best interest to reset the CMOS chip. This will clear your BIOS out and reset everything to default. Once that is done, only keep 1 stick in for RAM (probably the single sided RAM stick). Things should boot up fine.
I would suggest downloading the latest updates for the BIOS from the MOBO's manufacture. After getting it, install it (it should come with a flashing program that will upgrade the BIOS). MAKE SURE YOU DO NOT STOP THE PROCESS OR RESTART THE COMPUTER UNTIL AFTER THE FLASH IS COMPLETE. Doing so could really mess you over and hose your system. Once it is done, reboot and check to make sure things are correct in the BIOS.

If, when you run a game, you still get shutdowns, it is probably something else... excessive heat, not enough power in the system to keep it running, etc. Look into those as the next option.

BEEZNEEZ...was the RAM double or single sided? If one is double and the other is single, I guess the problem is memory addressing. (which is what I suspect is happening to my RAM and HeelBillie). There shouldn't be a limit on a slot. As long as the two stick are the same you should be able to install them both no problem.