Installed new ram computer keeps rebooting

Hello. I have an AMD Athlon 4200+ processor with two 512 megabyte sticks of ram totaling 1 gigabyte. I have recently purchased a new 1 gigabyte stick of ultra pc4200 DDR2 533 mhz ram. The two 512 sticks are also pc4200 ddr2 533mhz ram.

After I upgraded my ram to 2 gigabytes whenever I turn on my computer it will randomly reboot. The random reboots occur anywhere from 5-30 mins after I boot up my computer. The reboots are so frequent I cannot use my computer.

I have tried switching the ram into different slots but that doesn't help. The thing is I know the new ultra ram I bought works properly because If I take out the two 512 sticks and just keep the new ram in my computer works fine. Same thing if I keep the two 512 sticks in my computer works fine as well.

The only possible thing I can think of is I need a new power supply. I still have the factory 300 watt PSU in my computer and I have upgraded my video card from an onboard card to a geforce 7600 GT card. The geforce card says it requires a minimum 350 watt psu in order to function properly, but I have had no problems with that. I assume that the new stick of ram pushed the PSU over the edge thats why I get the random reboots.

I have ordered an Ultra 600 watt PSU. (I was going to order this anyways) Hopefully it will solve the problem.

Was just wondering if anyone has had problems like this and if anyone has any suggestions to why my computer would be rebooting like this if the problem is not the power supply.

Thanks in advance for the responses.

I would bet that it's a power supply problem. That new RAM chip was probably the straw that broke the camel's back, so to speak. I've seen other machines do similar things, and it was usually the power supply.

The other thing is, you might want to run Memtest86 to check for any memory problems. I doubt that this is the issue (memory problems usually lead to crashes, not reboots), but it's still a good idea to check anyway.

Already ran memtest86 and the tests all ran without errors. I have a feeling its the power supply. So I guess I'll have to wait a few days until it gets delivered. Hopefully that will be the solution.

look man try to go to the bios and search for "memory compatibility"
if its disabled u can fix the problem by enabling it
i cant guarantie but my pc was making me cry until i enabled it

Umm, did you forget to reformat and reinstall Winblows?

Hi CPYKOmega,

I'd check your motherboard (MB) manual, and see if it supports multiple ram stick sizes. Many MB's require that you use the same memory size for each stick. Many also will not allow different types of RAM CAS latency.

And the real bitch of it is that many ram manufacturers are less than informative when it comes to detailed specs, making ram buying decisions tougher.

The easiest way to upgrade RAM safely is to either find out exactly what type of ram is in your computer by carefully removing one of them, noting model numbers, and getting identical sticks, same brand, and same size-

or-

Start new with a bigger 1 gb stick, and get two identical of those for two gig, 4 for 4gb, etc.

I can't recall ever seeing a Windows 2k or XP machine crash just because more ram was added using the above gulidelines. But I have seen the "endless reboot" problem you describe because of RAM incompatibility problems, however slight they may be. You should not have to reinstall windows just because you added more ram. It just sounds like you didn't quite match up the ram exactly, in size at least... Hope that helps...

The reason why I said that is because every time I've encountered that problem, it's been fixable by a format and reinstall.

Ahh the dubious format C: lol.

Sounds like what was previously mentioned except the cas latency mainly wont cause a random reboot, just lock at boot. AMD boards have issues with not having Bios's that go up to a hi enough voltage for the ram sticks that are out there. PNY, OCZ and a few Corsair Value and kingston hyper-x have voltages too hi to run for alot of the AMD motherboards out there. Check into it. Maybe get a matching stick to your 512's. Also, check into the The dual channel slots of your board. Put the 1gig chip in slot1 channel A and the 2x512s in the channel B. If the 2 sticks add up to the 1 stick, it will allow running in Dual channel mode still. 2x512=1gig. Good luck.

I have found a way to get a sure answer to the problem. I have put in one 512 stick with the new 1 gig stick. This will test if the memory is incompatible or not. If my system does the same lock up or reboot thing like it did previously I will know the 512 sticks are incompatible with the 1 gig stick. But if in fact the computer works flawlessly I will know that the problem does in fact lie with the power supply. Have to wait and see.. so far so good.. no reboots yet. *knock on wood lol.

well no luck I installed my new 600 watt power supply and I still get freezes with my comp when the 2 gigs is in it I am stuck with 1 gigabyte of ram.... I am not happy right now.

I also found one of the pins on one of the connectors for my computer come almost all the way off. I am very pissed off at the place I bought the computer at now. Sellling me a piece of # that is falling apart. # them

[edit on 4-13-2007 by CPYKOmega]

So I put in my ram again and resetted all the bios settings to default. This has worked so far and I am running at 2 gb of ram right now. In all my years of computers I have never come across something like this lol. Very weird problem indeed.

Seems to be working fine now.

What did you change in your bios to begin with CPYK? Ram timings? cpu clocking? Just curious. ram is a picky thing when it comes to voltages and timings.

I did not change a thing in the first place. All I did was install a new ultra 600 watt power supply. It still froze up on me. Then all I did was switch the ram into different slots, and chose the default bios settings. So far i has been running nicely at 2 gigs.

Hey I'm not complaining lol.

Well Cool man. Glad to see its stabilized for ya and u can use all the ram you own. good work.

Thanks. Hopefully soon I will get a 1 terrabyte hard drive. hahha

So I have pinpointed how I fixed it as I didn't really know why it started working all of a sudden. The only thing I had to do to fix it was restore my default settings in my bios. For some reason that fixes it every time. And whenever I change something in my computer.. such as add new hardware. In order for it not to freeze I have to reset my bios settings back to the defaults.

It is very strange and I don't know why I have to do that, but that fixes the problem every time.

That is weird bud. Maybe look into flashing the Bios to the latest and greatest firmware. If your not comfortable doin it....DONT. They have made em pretty easy to do but you can Brick your motherboard if you screw it up. Glad to hear its still working great for you.