Question about RAM

My parents just bought me a stick of 1GB DDR 400MHz ram. I installed this and left the original 256mb stick in. The 256mb stick is DDR 333MHz. When I right click on my computer it says I only have 1GB of RAM when I have more. Is there a confliction here that means it isn't detecting the 256MB stick or something? PLease Help!!!!11

Consult your motherboard's user manual, or the web site. There may be specific suggestions on brands and type of RAM recommended for your motherboard.

It may be as simple as switching the position of the sticks, as slot one should have the larger chip and slot 2 the smaller one.

Also, remember that the RAM will only work at the speed of the slowest installed chip. It may be wise, if you continue to have problems after consulting the manual, to just use the 1 gig of RAM.

I agree with the suggestions from danleff

Both brands of RAM are 'elixir'. I have tried switching the positions and that didn't work. Even when I removed the 256MB stick it said at the BIOS screen 'Memory Frequency 333' even though a 400MHz stick was in.

Most likely the CPU you are using has a FSB (Front Side Bus) frequency that is in synchronous mode with the speed of the memory.

This is normal and will have no effect on the new memory module.

However, since you can only see a total of 1GB of ram, I would check your motherboard manual for specs that detail the largest capacity module you can use and how much memory total the chipset can see.

It's also possible that your motherboard may need to have it's firmware flashed to resolve this issue as well.

I'm afraid I don't have a manual for my motherboard. What do you mean when you say it may need to have its firmware flashed?

EDIT : Found out what kind of motherboard I have and on the Gigabyte website it says 'Supports DDR 333/266/200 up to 2GB Memory'

Is this why it won't work with 333 as well as 400?

What is the exact model and revision number of the motherboard?

The motherboard will only run at the top speed that it is rated for with RAM. A bios upgrade may help, but only if it addresses the issue of using higher rated memory speeds.

It's good that it is the same brand of memory, but you also have the issue of if the memory's speed is supported and if it is the same type in terms of voltage rating etc....

Some motherboards are very finicky about this. When you mix types of memory the issue occurs.

Can you download the manual and look at what it says?

http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products/Motherboard/Products_Overview.aspx?ProductID=1792

I can't find the manual to download but the above link is all the details ect..

The manual download is on the right of the link that you provided.

The manual states that upto 512 mg unbuffered DDR memory is supported of DDR333 in each slot.

So, the answer to your question is possibly in the faq here.

Possibly because you have a 1 gig memory module, the system is incorrectly reporting the true memory when each chip is in place?

Interestingly, the system specs. state that it accepts up to 2 gig of memory, so this is inconsistent.

I assume when you state that it incorrectly reports the amount of memory, you mean at boot time? If so, what does Windows XP report in the system summary screen?

Windows reports 1GB still in summary screen. I entered the BIOS setup during boot and that said 'Total Memory 1024mb'

If I can't get it to work I'm going to put the 256mb in our 98 machine...

That would be a good thing, if the ram module still works why not keep recycling it into other boxes

As for the firmware update, at this point I would say just leave the single 1GB stick in this machine and transfer over that 256MB module to the other box.