Choosing RAM

If this is a prebuilt PC it'd be safest to check with the manufacturer about system upgrades. If not, find out what motherboard you have and it'll be listed in the specifications.

Memory upgrades, flash media, and usb storage at Crucial.com has a great memory advisor which allows you pick your motherboard manufacturer and see what RAM your system is capable of running.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Sorry, I ought to have posted this as well. Download and run CPU-z (link in the upper left corner.)

Program is quick with no install and offers several tabs of information covering your CPU, mainboard, and RAM currently installed.

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It's not listed on the ASUS site as well. Is this an HP desktop? Crucial has HP (and Dell/Gateway/etc.) as a selection in their advisor.

In any case, in CPU-z on the SPD tab you'll want to take a look at the RAM that's in there currently. Even though your motherboard could potentially handle more, the "Max Bandwidth" line will at least present the RAM spec your motherboard is guaranteed to run.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

DDR2, yes, but you'll also want the speed (can be viewed on that "Max Bandwidth" line of information -- 3200, 5300, etc.).

For instance, mine says "PC2-5300 333MHz". Another way of writing that (and it might be advertised this way) is DDR2-667, so if I wanted to upgrade with another stick of RAM and couldn't find motherboard specs I'd at least know it's capable of running that specification.

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Is the RAM fully inserted in the slot (with the two tabs on each end fully snapped in)? Can you boot into BIOS at all? Also, what's the size of the new RAM and have you tried the other slot?

I was speaking idiomatically.

I wonder if that board wants two sticks of RAM to be present. Checked that model number on the manufacturer's site and it lists PC2-4200 (DDR2-533) on their specifications with a max of 2GB total. The faster memory ought to revert to the slower speed with no problems. HP and others also tend towards a locked down system so I don't know how many options you have regarding RAM in the BIOS. HP recommends removing and reinserting the RAM, making sure the RAM socket is clean (use compressed air), and checking cables in case something came loose. Or that new stick could be bad (*shrugs*, it's happened before). If all fails you could try a PC2-4200 stick and see if the board really is that picky.

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I don't know if it would allow it but RAM timings and speeds, although it doesn't matter since the PC won't boot to BIOS with that stick installed anyway. Wouldn't hurt to try resetting the CMOS. Assuming it isn't a bad stick, a last ditch approach would be an update to the BIOS (the HP driver download page mentioned something in regards to a PC Doctor physical memory test issue) but seeing as the PC does work with the original RAM I wouldn't advise doing so, as that kind've update can brick a system as much as fix everything (which is funny since tech support folks do it pretty often and pretty casually over the phone ).

edit: lol, speaking of, HP does offer free chat/email support online. Might be worth a contact to see if they know something we don't.

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