I am fixing the computer of my fiance's aunt and she has 2 512mb sticks and her PC is only reading one stick. It was originally Windows ME but she installed XP onto it!

She has a photo program that she uses often but is lagging out real bad she said. I am unsure of the details as I have not seen it yet, I have school the next three days and will work on it Thursday.

Any suggestions would be great! Please don't ask for specs cause I don't know them( I am aware this will limit advice and helpability but any offers are accepted)

Thanks in advance

On boot - go into the bios (setup screen) - usually u hit DEL or F12 when u first turn it on.
In there, look for the memory.. see if the BIOS sees the ram.
If not...
Try unplugging it... removing the ram, and re-seating it.


But really... go buy some new ram. (specs needed for this... make , model, etc... ) its so cheap now. My buddy picked up 4GB for $40...
XP will run a lot better with a gig or more of ram.

Sounds like incorrect speeds on the installed RAM causing instability.

Where would I find the specs for needed RAM.

Try Memory upgrades, flash media, and usb storage at Crucial.com They have a memory finder that might prove useful.

Thank you like I said I am nsure of the PC specs I haven't even seen it yet. She had told me she removed them and put them back in switching them around and it still only reads one. What would be causing the instability? It worked on ME/2000 but not on XP?

In that case it worth trying a reseat, as StaticFX suggested.
Could be something as simple as a bad contact.

Right, I figured she might just have it in wrong but we'll see I will keep you guys updated!

Update!

I asked more questions and found out that the PC originally only had 256mb of RAM. She bought another stick to improve system performance only the new stick isn't being recognized.

My guess is that she was sold the wrong type! Agree?

Try taking out one stick and booting using it and if it works then switch it to the other slot and it doesn't work then it is a bad memory slot and also do the same process for the other stick

If they both work then it is a bad memory slot

Ok, I figured it out. I went over there lastnight and played musical RAM slots and figured out one of the sticks was bad. Neither slot would recognize it but both slots would recognize other sticks. So...

Thank You for all who posted... APPRECIATED!