@derek Yup, tried that too, on all 4 slots. My friend's 512MB DDR400 RAM works, mine doesn't. My old DDR333 works, too, on all 4 slots. Am totally confused as to why that is, especially since the problematic RAM works on other PCs. If it was totally defective, then the PC wouldn't boot, but it does, only it shows up at half its capacity, i.e. 256MB. "Bend the wind."

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@jam Nope, RAM still only showing up at half-capacity, even without the extra load. "Bend the wind."

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Maybe it is a double sided/single sided issue and the RAM is not correct for your particular machine. DerekW

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@derek But if it is a single-sided/double-sided issue, wouldn't it have shown up/acted up immediately after I first installed it two months ago, not just now? Besides, my friend's RAM is double-sided, similar to mine, and his RAM is being recognized correctly, as was mine for two months (well, until last week anyway). "Bend the wind."

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I had this exact same issue years ago, I just give up on the M/board in the end as it would have 512mb 1 week and 256 another it was an Asrock board. I would just face it and accept it's a compatibility issue. Change ram with shop or ask if you can swap it with your mates. As yours works with his & vice versa.

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try running memtest http://www.memtest.org/ Before posting try google. Backup. Use anti virus software.

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Re #10. Yep agreed now you've confirmed that it showed OK at the outset and took 2 months to happen. The only things left, assuming you've cleaned the RAM edge connectors with a pencil eraser, appear to be a mobo problem (possible a bad joint near the RAM sockets), or the Power Supply. This would be a most unusal symptom of PSU problems and would require the output voltages to be well below spec for anything of this sort to happen. DerekW

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I had this issue just the other day. After re-setting the CMOS (via mobo jumper), the full 1GB returned :s strange but true!

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Yeah, #14 seems worth a shot. I hadn't thought of that one and I don't think it is particularly strange or unlikely possibility. DerekW

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Re #14, will try that. Usually just reset the CMOS by removing the battery, but will it try it as per your suggestion, no harm in trying. As for #13, planning to replace the PSU ASAP. I suspect it may have something to do with the problem, though remote the possibility may be. Need to have it replaced anyway, what with the load it's carrying. Will report back on the results ASAP. "Bend the wind."

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Reset the CMOS via jumper, no change. Replaced the 250W PSU with 400W PSU, no change. 512MB DDR400 still only registers as 256MB. Bought two new 512MB DDR400 sticks, and they both work fine. "Bend the wind."

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Goodness knows, must have been something about it that didn't suit your machine. DerekW

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There's always something called the X factor. No matter how much you try, you will find that sometimes the damn thing just wouldn't want to work. This happens to everything. Cheaper mainboards or unpopular manufactures have more compatibility issues. Gigabyte and ASRock are ... not the best things in the world. 386 WITH Math co-processor eat your heart out! 25 Mega Hertz 2 Mega Bytes of Random Access Memory 70 Mega Bytes of Hard Drive Diamond ISA Video Card with 512 Kilobytes of Memory 2 x Caddy

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Re #19 - All things considered, I think you're right. I've tried (almost) everything, so I think it boils down to a compatibility issue, which means there's nothing I can do about it but to give up. Thanks, everyone, for all your comments, suggestions, and advice. "Bend the wind."

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There are two situations when these symptoms occur. This commonly happens when the computer requires 2 clock SDRAM as opposed to 4 clock SDRAM. Computers that require 2 clock SDRAM usually have 133-233Mhz processors. 2 clock SDRAM is an older specification than 4 clock. The two are not interchangeable and cannot be mixed. (CAS latency issue) This can also occur when PC100 memory is installed in a computer which requires PC66 SDRAM.

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