Horrible Experience Installing Ram!
 

I just had the worst 1 hour of my life. I was installing 256mb's of ram to add to my existing 128mb's of ram. Guess what? it gave me some shit error and didn't finish loading windows 2000! It told me in system setup that i had 384 mb's of ram, okay good, so it gets halfway through the windows 2000 loading screen and gives me a half page error and ways to fix it. It told me to use safe mode, didn't work. Then it said something about Bios, and to turn some setting like shadowing off? Im clueless, i took the ram out, and im now wondering how i set up this Bios so it will exept the ram? So to recap, i have a new stick of ram thats recognized, but windows won't start fully. What do i do???:cry:

First thing, don't panic, as you haven't broken anything serious.

Second, double check that the RAM is the *exact* type required by your mobo (non-ECC, CAS 2.5, etc)

Third, send it back to where you bought it because it's probably fucked (ie a bad stick of RAM, through no fault of your own). This does happen.

http://www.crucial.com is a good place to buy RAM, but most importantly here they have very good FAQs about the different types of RAM, such as what ECC and CAS 2.5 means.

And always make sure you're grounded before handling PC components!

RAM is nothing, try installing Linux, then you will know what hell feels like...

As far as shadowing goes, I had a similar issue when I installed my new video card (though I didn't get any helpful error message)...windows wouldn't boot and the computer just sort of sat there with a blank screen...but anyways, if you go into BIOS, there should be various options about memory shadowing, and it should be safe to simply disable them all. The nice thing about having a system that doesn't even finish booting is that it's pretty hard to make thing worse, so it's generally safe to just "try it and see"...

And that too...though if you have a quality MB, your BIOS will let you set these options (and more). If you can confige these things, then give it a try. If you somehow fuck thing up worse than they are, just clear CMOS and start again.

"Installing Ram" doesn't consist of driving a Dodge into the side of your computer tower... ;) :D

I had this prob a few mnths back ..it also tells u to disable 'cache'
as well. go into your bios [look for the manual on the net]I found these in the same section that gives you your 'Boot device' options.
in AMIbios you scroll down and disable shadow cache I think it is and cache. then do your install and when u reboot re-enable .should fix unless like binary says the stick is fucked then can't help I'm afraid.

Where is the bios setting? In system Properties? and the CMOS?

to get to BIOS you need to either hit delete or F1 (99% of the time it's one of those keys) at the very start of when your system boots (when it shows the RAM check and IDE device detection and such...if instead all you get is a splash screen with the name of your system vendor, press escape and you should see what I'm referring to). Just press the keys right as the system is powering up and you should be taken to the BIOS configuration editor. From there just find the setting(s) you need and change them.

CMOS is cleared by locating a jumper (a SPECIFIC jumper I mean) on your MB and switching it to a new position (again, a SPECIFIC new position) and then switching it back. Your MB documentation should tell you where to find it and how to clear the CMOS (if you need to, which you probably won't).

Heres an update for you. That windows error i mentioned, heres some details:

Stop Error: KMODE_EXEPTION_NOT_HANDLED
Address 80467137 base at 80400000 Date Stamp 384d9b17 - ntoskrnl.exe
_____________________________________________________________________

Okay, i found ntoskrnl.exe in windows setup folder but i have no idea how to fix whatever problem its causing. It can't be run in win32 mode(AS it says when i click on it). I gives me those basic BIOS instructions and everytime i go to the BIOS Setup Utility, there is nothing about caching or shadowing, just about the periphrials in the system and power management. Safe mode doesn't work, or any other windows mode, windows doesn't work at all, it gets 75% done on the meter, but stops and gives me the error^^^^.

Note: The system recognizes the ram, and says i have 384 in the BIOS utility, so i think its not dead.

Oh and to prove its not dead, i returned the other stick, and the new one still has the problem. Im not sure what NTOSKRNL.EXE is. Do you think a reformatt would help?

Have you tried using new 256MB stick only?

thats all i have, i don't have any other ram to try. Do you think getting 2 more 128's instead of 1 256 would be more compatable?

It sounds you're trying to run it too fast.

Without some detailed system specs i can only guess though.

If you're running at 133mhz fsb try lowering it to 100 and see how that goes.

tru dat.

NO!!! I cannot stress this enough, although reformatting is genreally touted as the end-all solution for everything, this isn't the case. Reformatting should only be tried when there is a serious problem (generally in some software aspect of the machine) that can't be fixed in any other way. A reformat is unlikely to fix a hardware configuration issue, and when you reinstalled windows, you'd probably still have the same problem, as the exact same (give or take) code will be being run on the same machine, albeit with a nice clean HDD, but your problem isn't with the HDD, is it?

I recommend double checking BIOS for the shadowing option...go through each and every category and menu (some versions of BIOS use fairly convoluted navigation methods), as the option should be there...or if you got your system from a major vendor (dell, HP, gateway, etc.), you can ask their tech support ppl.

Generally speaking, the fewer actual modules you have, the better. Some motherboards have problems running RAM at certain speeds when there are too many chips, or a chip in a certain slot, so it is generally best to use a single large capacity chip than 2 smaller chips, and 2 chips are better than using more than 2, and so on.

if all else fails taiking it to teh store and having them install it is always good... i suffer from statick so me trying to install aythign into a tower would cause screwing up majorly..:igor:
anyone know how to get rid of statick before working on tower?
i was told rubbign the outside of the case woudl make me grounded or something.. any other ways? cause that one dotn seem to do anything exept ad MORe statick..

Make sure its plugged into the wall, but the power is turned off, thats the power at the wall, not the switch on the back of the power supply. Then just touch a part of the exposed metal on the case and you'll be grounded. That is until your body accumulates more static as you work (especially if youre wearing nylon clothing or walking across nylon carpet) so touch the metal every now and then.

You could grab an anti static wrist strap that attaches to the case, but theyre rarely necessary.

Touch a grounded point occasionally, and try not to touch the chips themselves and 99.9% of the time you wont fry anything.

for god's sake, don't combine different sizes of ram!

fool! you'll kill us all!

that precision method works for me

^^ also very good for formatting hard disks.

The Litany
 

I must not fear [static].
Static is the mind-killer.
Static is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear [of static].
I will permit it to pass over me and through me [but not into my valuable hardware].
And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the fear [of static] has gone there will be nothing.
Only I will remain. [And my motherboard and RAM, hopefully]


(c) Brian Herbert, (with modifications by Dylan).

Re: The Litany
 

inspired :D

I'd wager you have a pc100 stick in there and added a pc133 stick. SOME mother boards would then clock the pc100 stick at pc133, which it probably can't handle. This happened to me before.

/*
S0Be
*/

(to check this, try pulling the origional 128)

/*
S0Be
*/

How do i lower the new pc133 to pc100?(the 128 is pc100) If i pull the original 128 and move the new 256 into the 128's slot the computer doesn't even start up. the lights trun on, and i get power to my drives and such, but the computer starts up on a black screen and stays there, the power button won't even shut it off. My uncle put it in his computer, and he got the same problems i am having, but i know its not the ram, it is fully recognized in BIOS and says i now have 384MB's of ram.

My specs: 700mhz Pentium 3
100mhz bus
20 GB Hard Drive
Radeon 9000 Pro(New 2 days ago)
Nec Dvd Rom
Lite-On CDRW
Sblive Value
Network Card
(I think thats all the main stuff)

ok, yes this is going to sound patronizing...

how do you know the 256 stick of ram is good if it won't work in any PC? seriously, it sounds like bad ram. If the PC won't boot with just it in, then the stick is probably bad. Try pulling it out, and reseating it(make 100% sure it's all the way in)

/*
S0Be
*/

But how could BIOS recognize it if it was bad? When i put both sticks in, it says its there and gives me an error in windows. When its the only stick in there, nothing works, and i get a black screen. Its really confusing for me. I returned the very same product yesterday, and got a new stick today, and i have the same errors. The one i returned and the one i got are identical, same size, speed. the very same stick. Im beginning to wonder wether or not this ram is compatible. Its in all the way, and i've tryed everything.(Exept turning the fsb to 100, which im not sure how to do)

maybe your other stick has packed in, through static or the power of pants

if you have no idea as how to do anything have a professional overcharge you to do it.

Have you tried running with just 1 stick, and moving the stick from slot to slot until you found on that worked? As I mentioned, some MB's don't like to have certain speed RAM in certain slots.

if u know any freinds who like to build thier own pcs, or took A+
they can help ya, dont go straight for a store, some places even do it as a curtesy

im sure u know what yer doing but soemtimes it takes a secodn eye to catch what one doesnt, so have a pal come over or something

well i fixed the problem. It seems that the little black chips on the stick were 32 Mb's each, and my computer only supported 16 or 8 mb's on each chip. (Thats what the guy at circuit city said). So i returned the 256 and put in 2 128's with 16 and 8 mb chips on them. It worked, without one error! Oh, and thanks for all the advice, i know alot more about ram now.:D

It's bad ram. The BIOS is able to read the size of the ram (256) and thats it. Thats a common sign for all ram, that no matter how bad it is, itll always show its size.

Take it/send it back to the retailer, tell them you've tried it in 2 computers, and you want to exchange it.


EDIT: TOLD YOU.