Not exactly the sims, but my computer...

[BeosBoxBoy]

Charlotte, your computer's motherboards should look something like this:



The parts of the system are detailed below:



RAM won't fit in an AGP slot or PCI slot, so that isn't even a potential.

It is possible that your system will only support a 1 Gigabyte DIMM of the specific speed and form factor, so you may well need 2 of 1 gigabyte DIMMs in order to gain full RAM capabilities for 2 gigabytes.  The speed supported by your motherboard is PC-266 and PC-200 (older stuff), it will make use of PC-333 and PC-400 RAM, but will operate at the slower PC-266 speed.

You may need a BIOS upgrade to register the full amount of RAM, I see nothing in either print-out to indicate what version of BIOS you have; if you have the user manual for the motherboard, this may detail the way to determine the number - or you can check at the maufacturer's web site for information on how to do this.  Updating BIOS is a little technical and may require the assistance of a qualified service professional.

This is the motherboard manufacturer's website: http://www.albatron.com.tw/index.asp

Not being there, this is about as far as I can take you.  You should try to locate the motherboard user manual if at all possible, it will be of enormous help to any service professional you end up using.

[AdmiralAeris]

I looked up this particular MB on Crucial's Memory Advisor (http://www.crucial.com), and indeed the max memory each slot will hold is 1GB.  (I never try to upgrade memory in any machine without first consulting Crucial's Memory Advisor)

[BeosBoxBoy]

Thank you for the link, Your Majesty, I was desperately trying to remember the name of that manufacturer because of the solid and reliable information of their Memory Advisor.

[Charley]

Thanks for finding this out for me... How come this stick of ram only works at 512 though, shouldn't it work to the 1 GB if thats the full capacity of the slot? I didn't even think my motherboard wouldn't be able to handle it... now i'm stuck with a 2GB card... I may sell it on again. Last time i had 512mb and a 256mb card in my system, does that men that my system was only working at 256mb memory?

Char
xxx

[BeosBoxBoy]

No, Charlotte, computers are bizarre beasts.  To our minds, we are used to things like TVs and VCRs and DVDs -- you plug it into the wall, it works.  Computers have more "moving parts" -- so to say.

BIOS is a complicated thing, and nearly impossible to predict how it will react to being asked to deal with something outside the parametres for which it was specifically designed.  On my system, if I were to attempt installing a stick of RAM with to high a value (say a 16 GB stick in this instance), there is every chance my system would say "no ram found".  It is a miracle that your computer recognises any of the RAM.

[Charley]

lol lots of people have said that about my computer, someone said to me its a miracle that my sims and all expansions work on a 128mb card!

Takin the ram to my firends later and he said if it works in his computer he will buy it off me, unless then its goin up on ebay again!

Thank you for all the information you have given me and the time taken to draw diagrams!! Its much appreciated!

Char
xxx

[Charley]

I borrowed my mates 1gb ram and its a PC2700, and runs at 333mhz i think... and my mobo doesn't like it at all, all my other ram is PC2100... Does the PC... make a difference or what? Sorry for asking such nooby questions!

Char
xxx

[ancienthighway]

That PC number is important.  As you found out, it the numbers aren't right, the computer won't recognize it.

[Charley]

Yeah the mobo just made a loud bleeping noise and wouldn't have it! What do the PC numbers mean? Computers are so bloody complicated! Want a new computer but my dad won't let me have one!

Char
xxx