Newly-installed SDRAM not working

Hi all, I hope someone can give me a couple of pointers here. Details of PC's spec & OS are at the bottom of this message, in case they're relevant.

I've just bought a 128 Mb SDRAM PC133 card to upgrade memory on a machine previously running 128Mb. To make sure I bought the right thing, I checked out the type of RAM required on Crucial Memory's website by typing in the make & model number of the PC. However, when I opened up the PC to put the card in I saw that it was wider than the existing card that it should fit alongside (by wider, I mean the 'side' of the card - the bit where the gold coloured contacts aren't - measures slightly more than the existing card). However, it did seem to click into position in the slot OK although one of the retaining clips doesn't close. When I re-started the PC & looked under System Information, it still shows RAM as 128 MB instead of the 256 it should now be.

Am I supposed to change something in the BIOS (I've seen previous messages mentioning this arcane procedure) and, if so, please could someone tell me what to change & how to go about it (in simple terms, if possible)? If the BIOS doesn't need changing, maybe the new memory isn't recognised because the retaining clip doesn't hold it in, as mentioned above. In that case, it would mean that I've bought the wrong card & I can of course get a different one - but I would have thought that by typing the make & model number into Crucial's search facility, the answer it gave would have been correct.

Any thoughts or suggestions will be appreciated. Thank you.

Martin Berry
PC is an HP Pavilion 7950 running 128MB RAM (SDRAM PC133 according to Crucial's website)
There are 2 RAM slots (just one previously in use with 128MB the other one now being used for the card I'm talking about in this message)
The OS is Windows XP Pro

 

Excuse me for being a skeptic but you didn't ever say that you actually bought the Crucial memory module that was recommended. You just said that you bought a PC133 SDRAM module. And, just because its a PC133 module doesn't mean that it is going to be compatable with your existing memory or that it will work in your machine. Not all memory is created equal.

Could you elaborate a little.

Thanks,

 

Note: I just pulled this off Crucial's website relative to your machine.
Specs: SDRAM, PC133 "¢ CL=2 "¢ Unbuffered "¢ Non-parity "¢ 133MHz "¢ 3.3V "¢ 32Meg x 64

The fact that your machine runs but just doesn't recognize the additional stick would suggest, as Pete referenced, that the module is not properly seated. However, if you bought something other than an unbuffered CAS 2 module, return it and get your money back. Most retail outlets are not going to have CAS 2 memory.

 

Sorry for the delay in getting back - I've been away for a few days - and thanks to both of you for the replies. Rocksters right - no, I didn't buy the memory from Crucial (the site showed it wasn't in stock when I looked) but I noted the spec & went to a local PC spares & repairs shop (usually v. good) & they had a 2nd-hand one, which is what I bought. There was no mention of the words 'unbuffered' or 'cas 2' - I just told the guy I needed 128 Mb of SDRAM PC133 & he came up with what I bought (only £10, fortunately). If it was wrong, I'm sure a refund will be no problem as they're a well-respected privately-owned local business much frequented by people who really know what they're doing with PCs (not me, obviously), but when I go in there to ask, should I say that it has to be unbuffered, or cas 2, or both? Sorry but I don't know what these terms mean (although of course the shop-keeper will do).

Martin Berry

 

Next when you are shopping for adding or changing SDRAM, It is better to go with the sample

 

Martin,

The shopkeeper gave you exactly what you asked for but now you know better. Chances are slim that he is going to have any CAS2 PC133 so you'll probably need to shop online. CAS is an abbreviation for Column Address Strobe and to keep things simple, lets just say CAS2 is considerably faster memory than CAS3.

 

Thank you, everyone. I'll ask at the shop when I'm passing later in the week if they do happen to have any CAS 2 but it doesn't seem likely from what you've said, in which case I'll ask if they'll be kind enough to refund my £10 or give me a credit note (they certainly don't have to!). I'll buy online if necessary (2nd hand stick may even be available on e-bay).

Thanks again for quick & helpful replies.
Martin