Difficulty Installing RAM

[jazzgirl]

I purchased two 256 meg sticks of PC133 RAM from Crucial which I received today. I've installed RAM many times before but I am having trouble getting the 2nd stick to fit in any other slot. I was able to get one stick in the first slot and the system detects it just fine. If I have both in, it either doesn't post or it only detects one. I know its because I can't get the stick to snap down into any slot firmly. System specs:

Epox 8KTA3 motherboard
1.2 TBird (not overclocked)
IBM 45 gig 7200rpm ATA100 hd
Toshiba 16x DVD
Plextor 12/10/32A CDRW
SB Live Platinum sound card
Netgear FA311 network card (for cable modem)
CardExpert Geforce2 MX

I know there is only one way to install it since it is keyed and its turned the right way. It just won't snap into the slot. Any suggestions on what I can do?

TIA

 

[butchrecon]

Do the two sticks look exactly the same? Do they both work if you ONLY stick them in 1 at a time? If they are slighty different then the other could be DDR RAM??? James Collins
Systems Support Engineer
A+, MCP

email: butchrecon@skyenet.net

Please let us (Tek-tips members) know if the solutions we provide are helpful to you. Not only do they help you but they may help others.

 

[jazzgirl]

Thanks for the response. The two DIMMs are exactly the same. I even wondered about that. The label on both has the same part #. I'm afraid of pressing too hard to get it to lock in. The one stick is running fine right now. At one point I thought I had both in ok but when I plugged all the power back in it wouldn't even post. I pulled them both out and put one back in bank 0 and everything powered up fine as well as the proper speed auto-detected. Any other suggestions?

Thanks!

 

[Ma3x323]

Oh dont worry about pushing it hard. RAMs are always that hard to get in. Mine was like that too. I had to put enough effort to put that sucker in there. The only thing I was worried about was the force going against the motherboard. I did not want to break my mobo. Just give it try and push it in harder. Just don't break anything!

-Feryl

 

[jazzgirl]

I'll try now. I'm taking an extra day off from work and have nothing better to do. I have never had this much difficulty trying to install RAM. The price was right and Crucial has good RAM. My wrist actually got sore when I tried last night to install it. I'll try again and post back!

jazzgirl

 

[Ma3x323]

Nice jazz. Well if it doesn't work, how much did you pay for it? Maybe I can get it off your hands ;-)

-Feryl

 

[jazzgirl]

It did work! I usually search for answers all over the place before I post. I hadn't found really that made sense until I came upon one newsgroup article someone had written asking basically the same thing. It said to (of course) make sure the clips were completely released. While pushing down on the chip with your thumbs, pull up on the release clips. It worked slick and the 'puter really smokes now. Ma3x323, you can go to Crucial and get two 256 meg sticks of PC133 RAM for about $114 including shipping. I paid $104 for one stick of PC100 RAM that was CAS3 4 months ago. Actually, I thought I had order the PC133 but apparently selected the wrong box. The RAM was fine but I really wanted the 133. Everything is working just fine. Sometimes I just need a little nudge. Thanks for everyones suggestions!

jazzgirl