memory problem

[d94]

welp, im upgrading my uncle's dell inspiron 5000
current spec:
14" screen
500mhz p3
12gb HD
128mb (2x 64mb) pc100

i installed xp on it, and just got ram (2x 256mb pc133)
when i stuck it in. the laptop turned on, but kept rebooting! nothing would show on the screen...is the pc133 really incompatable?

[itshondo]

I would think the pc133 would work - maybe a bios setting needs to be changed.

Does the manual say anything?

[d94]

I would think the pc133 would work - maybe a bios setting needs to be changed.

Does the manual say anything?
he doesnt have the manual :(

[itshondo]

Check this out-

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/pblan/docs.htm

[raven]

If you are still having a problem after uve looked into what itshondo posted, i would suggest you try one stick at a time just to make sure that its not a faulty stick that is causing the reboots. And also, as itshondo suggested and from having experience working on desktops myself, it could very well be a bios setting which is limiting your use of those memory sticks. Try to see if there is any seetings that pertain to memory that can be changed (dividers, voltages, memory timmings).


Raven

[Newman_SCO]

My old tyan tsunami AT motherboard (P3 850c) refused to take PC133 memory.

I dabbled in the bios for a long time and reset it. Some motherboards just can't handle the PC133 memory and require PC100.