why did my computer crash after a puting more ram in it??

[DAAAAA!!]

I took the ram from this computer and tried to put it on this one .. it crashed after it went into windows and then after it turned on and off and it just froze at the HP screen.. it went back to normal as soon as i took off the ram.. but i don't get why it crashed... what did i do wrong???

[AznKhmerBoi]

Well you did you make sure your board is compatible with that ram card?
Different speed etc....?

Also mismatch ram cards can also play a role...

[DAAAAA!!]

no i didn't. lol.. but they are the same kind of ram.. now that i check... the HP has 2GB and can go up to 8.. and i put 1GB in it..

[AznKhmerBoi]

Okay well the good news is that both computer are compatible with Memory Type: DDR2 PC2-5300, DDR2 (non-ECC)

My question is did both card show up on the computer 1? Just trying to verify if its a bad ram chip.

So they are the same card so its not a mismatch error, which leads me to think its a bad chip. Just check if its still working by putting the ram card back in computer 1 and see if it shows up.

Note- Even if you get the correct size of RAM chip - in both the physical and capacity sense - there may be other factors at play such as the required bus speed. Getting a RAM chip that is rated slower than your computer's memory access or "Front-side bus" (FSB) speed could cause the types of problems you're seeing as well

Also remember to ENTIRELY remove power from the PC, then waiting for at least 30 seconds before changing parts. This means either using the PSU's back switch or removing the AC plug. Simply using the front PC button does NOT remove all power and you will likely damage parts by doing so. In fact, if you didn't remove power ENTIRELY when you first installed the RAM, it's possible you were the one that may have damaged the RAM.

[KDub]

If your system is set up to read in dual channels the odd number of sticks/memory can be throwing it off.

[DAAAAA!!]

I didn't have enough time to check if it showed up.. but i'll try it again and wait 30 seconds before plunging the computer back in.. if i don't respond from here.. than means i broke my computer.... again

and i put in 2 512MB sticks.. so it couldn't be that..

[Ziggy]

I took the ram from this computer and tried to put it on this one .. it crashed after it went into windows and then after it turned on and off and it just froze at the HP screen.. it went back to normal as soon as i took off the ram.. but i don't get why it crashed... what did i do wrong???

Specify exactly what RAM you took from the Compaq. Was it just one stick of RAM, or two? Does the HP have any other RAM in it other than the RAM you took from the Compaq? Did the RAM work in the Compaq before you put it in the HP? Did the HP work before you put the RAM from the Compaq in it?

Also remember to ENTIRELY remove power from the PC, then waiting for at least 30 seconds before changing parts. This means either using the PSU's back switch or removing the AC plug. Simply using the front PC button does NOT remove all power and you will likely damage parts by doing so. In fact, if you didn't remove power ENTIRELY when you first installed the RAM, it's possible you were the one that may have damaged the RAM.

To expand on this a little... When your turn your computer off, there will still be an electrical charge built up in the capacitors. Shut the computer off, leave the PSU switch on, remove the AC plug from the computer, then press the power button to turn it on. This will remove most of the stored power. Now when you open your computer up to mess around, don't do it in a carpeted room! You should be wearing a grounded wrist strap, but if not, at least try to ground yourself to something to discharge any static electricity you may have built up.

Adding RAM is one of the most cost effective ways to improve your computer's speed and overall efficiency. Windows loves RAM

It depends. More RAM doesn't automatically mean a faster computer. If you're RAM is constantly maxed out, then yes, more RAM will mean a faster computer. But if not, more RAM wont make it faster at all. Faster RAM will make it faster. So let's say you have an XP machine with 4GB of PC4200. You could take that out and install 2GB of PC6400 and have a faster computer. You actually have less RAM, but it's faster RAM.

Of course, if you have a single stick of RAM installed and adding a second stick would operate in dual channel, then adding "more" RAM in this case would actually make your computer faster. But if you have enough RAM but it's just a slow ass speed, adding more wont do anything at all.



edit: Looking over the computer specs...

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/docu ... 87948#N236

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/docu ... ct=3250941

Looks like the Compaq came with a single 1GB stick of PC4200. The HP supports PC4200, but it looks like it came with PC5300 RAM. So if you left the stock RAM in the HP and then installed the RAM from the Compaq, you're mixing speeds. RAM can usually operate with mixed speeds (all RAM will run at the lowest speed) but I guess sometimes you can run into problems with incompatible RAM.

You can also try installing just one stick of RAM at a time. This way speeds wont be mixed, and if there's a bad stick you might be able to rule it out. Also with using one stick at a time, you can run a program called memtest86+, a program that will check your RAM for problems.

[DAAAAA!!]

it worked!! i have 3GB of ram now .. Thanks!!

all i did was leave it disconnected for the 30 seconds.. hahaha am dum with computers

[Ziggy]

The extra gig of RAM may do more harm than good. Let me quote a few things from my last post...

More RAM doesn't automatically mean a faster computer. If you're RAM is constantly maxed out, then yes, more RAM will mean a faster computer. But if not, more RAM wont make it faster at all. Faster RAM will make it faster. So let's say you have an XP machine with 4GB of PC4200. You could take that out and install 2GB of PC6400 and have a faster computer. You actually have less RAM, but it's faster RAM.

Looks like the Compaq came with a single 1GB stick of PC4200. The HP supports PC4200, but it looks like it came with PC5300 RAM. So if you left the stock RAM in the HP and then installed the RAM from the Compaq, you're mixing speeds.

What happens when you mix speeds like that is all the RAM operates at the lowest speed. So you have 2GB of PC5300 installed in the HP, now you have 3GB of PC4200 (a slower speed) installed. It's "more" RAM, but that doesn't mean you're computer is faster as a result. Honestly, you'd probably be better of taking that extra gig out so your RAM can operate at it's full PC5300 speed.

If you really wanted to speed up your computer by upgrading the RAM, what you wanna do is get entirely new RAM. That HP can support DDR2 PC6400, which is faster than the RAM you have right now. Also, it can operate in dual channel, so it's not living up to its potential with an odd number of RAM sticks installed. You want identical sticks installed in pairs. And since it's dual channel, theoretically four sticks of 1GB should get better results than two sticks of 2GB (assuming you have a 32-bit OS which case you wouldn't want more than 4GB installed).

[DAAAAA!!]

i notice my computer faster.. the truth is the difference is very little but it's something.. and i'm running windows 7 ultimate 32 bit so i can't really upgrade the ram that much anyways.. am happy with my extra gig of ram