SDRAM issues

I recently bought an upgrade of 512mb RAM for my computer. I am running a 1ghz Pentium 3 HP Pavilion running Windows XP that previously had 384 mb of RAM. I took out the 128 mb in order to place the 512 in. The 512 will not work. No matter which slot I place the RAM in it will onl recognize 256 (actually 254 mb). The RAM is by CENTON and says on the package "Memory module for Intel's Pentium 3 PC's." What can I do to make this work. I am a film student and rely heavily on my computer which is running really slow now. Any ideas?

 

Your mobo might not be able to recognize anything over 256, mine wont recognize a stick any larger than 128, are you sure that it is SDRAM? I thought most anything of a stick larger than 256 was DDR.

 

I am assuming that since it says for Pentium 3 MoBo's and HP surely uses common boards that it would work. On the package it does say SDRAM. I am thinking though that it may not be supported which would truly suck. Is there a place where I can find out how high I may upgrade my memory?

 

You need to go to www.hp.com look up the serial number of your system and verify that it will recognize a chip larger then 256, verify what the maximum total memory is. If these two things are okay then you need to see what SDRAM the board will accept. This is expressed usually in ECC or non-ECC RAM, and the mHz of the RAM usually PC100 or PC133.

The board might be able to handle both ECC or non-ECC and either PC100 or PC133 but you can't mix them up. For instance ECC RAM can't not be run at the same time you have another non-ECC chip installed. The same goes for the PC100 or PC133.

When you know this information and have verified that the chip you purchased meets the critiria then let us know.

 

I found this site to be helpful with memory upgrades and questions:

www.crucial.com

 

the key is whether or not its PC 66, PC133 or PC100 and if its ECC like Couz said... if your board will not support it or isn't backwards compatible then you may not be able to use it... also be careful not to have 1 stick of PC133 and 1 stick of PC100 in the same machine... that can wreak all kins of havoc

 

good site Agent Smith

 

What he said.

 

I checked the site you guys provided and my MB doesn't support over 512 of RAM. That really sucks. Off to exchange. Thanks guys.