New (old) system problem

[Chosonman]

I'm recycling my mom's system for someone and have a problem maybe someone can help me with.

I added 133 256MB RAM to the current 133 256MB RAM the system already had.
I'm not sure if they're compatible. But I ran into some problems.

When I tried to set the bios, the screen froze and I couldn't turn the computer off, so I had to unplug it. Next after a few attempts to shut the computer off the computer beeped 3 times and froze, another time it beeped continuously.

My first theory is a problem with the RAM. I took both sticks out and put the in one at a time in different slots using different combinations. Each time I changed it the computer acted slightly different.

My second theory is it's a problem with the motherboard, namely the battery for the board. I think it's either weak or the power strip is not touching the battery right.
Can anyone validate this theory? What can I expect to happen if I have a weak battery.

Other than adding the RAM the configuration is the same as when my mom had it.

Anyone else have theories or have been through this before? Much thanks for help.

 

[IntegraGSR]

if you're talking about the CMOS battery in your second theory, then that isn't the problem.. you can boot with the battery taken out completely.

 

[imported_Kensai]

Test that memory in another system, check the battery with a battery tester or a multimeter. If it's low, you'll lost your BIOS settings everytime you turn the computer off, but it shouldn't affect boot items.

 

[exar333]

does that board support that much memory? some of those older systems dont support 512 MB

 

[Chosonman]

Bump for some help

 

[bwnv]

Maybe some system specs? I had a presario AMD 300 and it only supported 32 megs.
Notice the word "had" ha ha

 

[Chosonman]

Amd Athlon (1800 or was it 2000) 1.2 GHz ECS A7SEM Micro ATX Motherboard with Award Bios.
256MB PC133 SDRAM + another stick of 256MB PC133 SDRAM different maker.

 

[Nomada]

Maybe just mem incompatibilities; ie: not supported by the board.

 

[Chosonman]

Originally posted by: Nomada
Maybe just mem incompatibilities; ie: not supported by the board.

maybe. But now even if I only have the old RAM installed I get problems. Could the newer stick have corrupted my system?

 

[nbarb99]

Originally posted by: Chosonman
Could the newer stick have corrupted my system?

I doubt it. Have you done a CMOS reset yet? If so, your guess about the motherboard being bad (or just plain quirky) could be correct.

 

[Chosonman]

how do a do a cmos reset? I took out the battery should I do something else?

When I load the bios screen, it does one of several things.

Freezes
Garbles
or Half loads then freezes.

What is going on here?

 

[Chosonman]

bump

 

[nbarb99]

Taking the battery out *should* reset the CMOS. Most motherboards also have a CMOS reset jumper that resets it without requiring you to remove and reinsert the battery. Check the motherboard manual (if applicable) and follow the instructions (if any).

Do you have any other RAM you could test the system with?

 

[Chosonman]

I tried 2 different sticks of RAM no luck same results. I'm about to trash this motherboard. grrr But I need it......