A couple days ago, i bought some pc5300 ram real cheap from bestbuy. It came in the mail this afternoon and i attempted to install it. The ram didn't fit, i probably should've checked for mobo compadibility before i bought it, i guess i just assumed my mobo (asus K8vse deluxe) would be compadibility because its only a couple years old. I then put my old ram in and attempted to start my computer. Nothing happened. No monitor activity or anything. I tried opening my dvd-rom drive by pressing the eject button, but nothing happned (the power light was on.) All of the lights in my computer case remained lit and didn't blink. I first made sure the ram was secure, it was. I then put it in different dim slots, no change. I then made sure power was getting to all of my hardware, it was. I cleared the cmos, no change. I've tried everything I could possibly think of and nothing works. At this point, i'm guessimg that i fried my memory some how. Does anyone have any idea what the problem may be? I've never encountered anything like this before and any help would be GREATLY appreciated.

Hum sounds like the same thing I have...

armando

Why wouldn't you have checked your board requirements before buying new RAM? You have an older system that uses DDR1, not DDR2. If you would have compared the old to the new you would have known immediately that you got the wrong stuff.

If you tried to boot the system with the wrong RAM installed, it's very possible that you fried the motherboard or CPU, or both.

Are you getting any BIOS beep codes?

I have no idea why i didn't check the requirments before i but it, as i said i guess i just assumed. Not very smart.

The new ram hardly fit in the dimm slot and i didn't force it. Nonetheless i think i tried booting with it thinking it might be in properly.

No, i'm not getting any BIOS beeps.

Looks like you learned a very expensive lesson.

Actually, i did a little more tinkering with my mobo.

And now it does beep when it intially turns on.

Not really sure if that means anything or not.

Is it a single or multiple beeps? Single is good. Multiple usually means a memory or graphics card problem.

An intial series of three beeps.

You can go here to check the beep codes:

http://www.bioscentral.com

But it's almost sure to be your memory.

It is a series of three short beeps, and perplexingly, there is nothing listed.

Im guessing it is memory,

It could very well be a friend mobo/cpu.

Is there an easier way to find out what exactly is wrong?

"It is a series of three short beeps, and perplexingly, there is nothing listed."

Where did you look?

"3 short beeps = Base 64K memory failure = A memory failure has occurred in the first 64K of RAM. The RAM IC is probably bad."

I believe IC = Integrated Circuit.

Jam, is that base 64k somthing that is on the motherboard itself?

larry

The 64k is part of the RAM, but the error code may also indicate a motherboard failure.

"3 short: Base 64K RAM failure.
There was a problem with accessing the first 64Kb of memory. Swap out each memory stick to try and see if you can bypass the problem. Try swapping between various slots too. This error occurs if the motherboard is also failing so if none of your RAM works then the motherboard might be at fault."

http://www.neoseeker.com/Hardware/f...

http://www.pcguide.com/ts/x/sys/bee...

http://www.gen-x-pc.com/beep_codes.htm

Alright, well tomorrow im going to get ahold of some extra ram which well help me diagnose the problem better. I'll keep you guys posted and thanks for your help so far.

Ok, through my test i have determined it is either the cpu, the motherboard, or both.

So i'm going to replace both and upgrade.

This is kind of a stupid question, but if i get a new motherboard will my harddtie automatically be cleared?

"will my harddtie automatically be cleared?"

Do you mean hard drive? No, it won't be cleared, but chances are you won't be able to boot up with it. More than likely, you'll end up getting the dreaded BSOD & will have to to a 'repair installation' of XP. All your files will stay intact but you'll lose ALL of the Windows updates & hotfixes.

This upgrade may end up costing you more than you think. If you move up to a S939 setup you'll probably need a PCI-e video card & a new power supply. If you jump into an AM2 setup, you'll a PCI-e video card, a new power supply & DDR2 RAM.

If you wanna reuse your RAM, video card & power supply, you'd almost have to go with another S754 setup.

I was looking at this one:

http://cgi.ebay.com/P4-3-2GHz-DUAL-...

It has an AGP slot so i can reuse my video card, and i can reuse me memory.

This one also:

http://cgi.ebay.com/INTEL-P4-3-4GHz...

I hope you didn't buy either of those?

I did not.

Why?

What I want to know did you put your original ram back into your computer, like it was before you added the new ram, reset the bios and see if it booted?

Or did you keep trying the incompatible "New" ram during all your tests.

DDR2 won't work in your board so no since in even installing it. You also can't mix DDR1 & DDR2.

The only real way to troubleshoot this is to go back to square one by putting in the original ram by itself, testing each stick individually.

MSI K8N Neo
AMD Athlon 64 3200+ @ 2.21ghz
1GB DDR 3200
nVidia 128mb FX 5200
WD 120gb SE
NEC ND-3500AG DVD R/RW