DDR memory compatibility

[Koharski]

Hey guys, so i've been helping one of my roommates upgrade an old athlon xp system. It's an earlier generation machine with a 1700+ processor. The motherboard has three ram slots and takes DDR 266 memory. The computer currently has one 256 stick and one 512 stick. The 512 stick is half dead and only shows up as 256.

I went to replace it with three known working sticks of 512 memory, and for some reason I can't get the computer to POST at all. The memory is the right speed, is there anything else I should look for to see why the computer won't boot with this ram installed?

 

[mpilchfamily]

Try upping the memory voltage. The 3 DIMMS may require a bit more power then the board is supporting right now. Also make sure the board can actually handle more then 1gb. Being an older system like that it may be limited to just 1gb.

 

[Denithor]

What motherboard specifically?

You want to check for memory compatibility, it may not work with certain arrangements of RAM.

 

[DaveSimmons]

Custom memory timing that's too aggressive for the new RAM? Set timing back to stock in the BIOS.

Also, try 1 stick at a time not all at once.