installing ram problems

i got some ram for christmas and after checking to see if it would work (has same specs as the one i already have, and yes there are 2 slots)i plugged it in.
heres the problem: whenever i alt+doubleclick mycomputer it says i only have 512Mb of ram when each of the 2 cards are 512mb. i did a belarc advisor:

Memory Modules
512 Megabytes Installed Memory

Slot '0' has 512 MB
Slot '1' is Empty

i'm guesing i put it in there wrong? but how hard is it?

[edit]here is my motherboard specs if it helps:

Board: MSI MS-6593 1.0
Bus Clock: 133 megahertz
BIOS: American Megatrends Inc. 07.00T 04/02/01

Make sure it clicks and it's slotted in correctly.

took out my old stick to see what was written on it: 512 MB-64Mx64 DIMM PC2100-DDR SDRAM

put in my new stick (KVR266/512R 512MB Pc2100 CL2.5 184- Pin Dimm) in the slot where the old one used to be. it worked, but still only 512.

just tried putting in the old stick in the second slot, and it isn't recognized

are they incompatible?


[edit]processor specs:1.80 gigahertz AMD Athlon XP
128 kilobyte primary memory cache
256 kilobyte secondary memory cache

The second slot is screwed up!

Got anymore slots? There are usually 3 to 4. Try them out.

well that sucks,i only got the 2 slots lol.

As you already checked if the RAM work one and one, it´s not broken.

the slot could be broken, the motherboard maybe won´t support the RAM (for some strange reason) ...

maybe the motherboard got some jumper or software switch to activate the second slot (again for some strange reason) ...

it was so long time since I messed with these things myself.

but plug them both in and go into the BIOS and check ...

also, check the motherboard manufactorer for BIOS update ...

i feel stupid but how do i check my BIOS?

my bios version is: AMIINT - 10

according to HARDINFO 2005 Pro

when you boot up your computer and the RAM is ticking up/down if often say down at the right corner what version you got ...

and if you press 'DELETE' while this is happening you enter the bios and can get info there ...

if you don´t know what version and/or how to get into the BIOS I suggest you DONT try to upgrade it ... as it can ruin your puter totaly ...

if you got a friend who know puters more then you, call him/her and ask if he/she may help you out ...


but basicly to get the RA mwork it shouldn´t be harder then:

shut the puter of
remove the powercable (just in case)
open the white 'snippers' up in RAM slot 2
press the RAM in until it 'snipps' close (those 2 white things that is)
check that the RAM is plugged in correctly and the white snippers are holding it.

power up the puter again and see if it count down 1024 instead of 512 ...
it should work so easily =)

hmm ... try to get into the BIOS and check around if you see any RAM size options but don´t change anything =) just check around and see if BIOS find the RAM as well ... sometimes it can mess around some I noticed myself ...

hm ... now I am not so good with this, I have learned the little I know by trial and error and sparks and fried puters ...

512 MB-64Mx64 DIMM PC2100-DDR SDRAM

KVR266/512R 512MB Pc2100 CL2.5 184- Pin Dimm

is the new one SDRAM as well? ... if not, I think it wont work ...

try to check the net for more info on the two RAMs ...

what I know from when I played around is that often you need 2 same sized RAMs to get it to work best, and if they are 2 different types it may not work, or wont ...

how old is your puter and what brand if it´s not custom made etc?

some RAMs, like much other stuff, got some backwards compability, while it cant be run mixed with old stuff, that may be one reason it works on itself but not together with the old ... =)

sorry if I mess things up for you with my trying to help :$

my computer is custom built like 4 years ago.
i am about to update my BIOS using MSI live update (they reccomended i do it through MSI, and by they, i mean the guys at http://www.techsupportforum.com/othe...d=1#post434308)

and they didn't say my sticks were incompatible, even though i copy/pasted my posts from here to post there.

we will see what happens when i update the thing, hoefully its all roses and such, but i doubt it

You might want to consider getting it proffessionally installed. Most places will do it for $10 or less

sounds like a plan, i'm sick of computers