Ram upgrade troubleshooting on an older PC

Boy if anyone can help me id be forever grateful. i have been all over the web with no luck. First off here is the computer:



Dell Dimension L1100R

1.1ghz

shipped with 128M ram (added 1x128 stick a year ago)

Windows XP pro.



so i decided to upgrade my memory again, went to crucial.com and its tester says i could upgrade to 512 (2 X 256). Bought a couple of Mushkin 256 sticks, pop them in and reboot. BIOS detects 512M, the posst screen detects 512M, but "system properties" only shows 256. I have tried it with one stick in (everything shows 256), swapping sticks etc. If i revert back and put in the 128's X 2 - same thing - BIOS 256, Post screen 256, Sys props = 128!!! i am going crazy here - where is 1/2 my memory going???? thanks in advance for any help. oh yeah i even re-ran crucial.com mem tester and it says i have 512 installed.

Hmm, that is strange, Do you notice a boost in performace? How much does your motherboard take, becasue it could or reached it's RAM limit.

it seems like performance is about the same as it was with 128 X 2. My motherboard should be able to take 512 according to everything i have read, so i think the problem lies with the OS - but how to fix it, i haven't a clue...

It's a bit drastic but trying re-installing the OS, you have to do it sometimes for it to recognize new hardware.

i was afraid you'd suggest that. i guess i should bite the bullet and give it a try....

Sorry Dude, Worth a try though, shouldn't take too long either!

i had that happen on my 400MHZ, turns out that one of the RAM pieces were fried.

check and see if one stick is dead...

ok i know that both the sticks are ok since i can use either in slot A. I tried re-installing windows with ine stick in and then added the other one. No luck. i don't know what else to try....any other options?

Try to see if you can watch how much RAM gets tested by the BIOS during your POST. One of your BIOS screens should say how much the system is actually seeing, too.
Tom
PS Oops. Missed this in the original post. Sorry