Hi,
Today i thought i would install an extra 512 ram on my xp machine which currently only has 512ram on it to make 1gb
I installed it (it was a bit harder than usual to put in) when i started up the pc there was an awful electrical smell so i quickly turned it all off i have taken the extra ram out and now im too scared to start it up again, what have i done?
Have i fried it?..can i start it up again, im a bit worried in case i start a fire or something
the extra ram i had was not the same brand as the one already in there just the same size, i dont know to much about this stuff, i just go for it and learn from my mistakes

Was it the same pin format?

Try again the way it was.

hmmm..... the one i put in says pin-DIMM and the one that is in the pc already, i havent a clue...is there a way of finding out the pinn format without taking it out?.

i will try to start it up again the way it was.*fingers crossed it works*

thanks for your fast reply Jephree

ok, i didnt start a fire..lol..and it started up fine, so im guessing that they are different pin format..
damn i had that spare as i just replaced the 512 with a 1gb in my vista so now i have 2gb ram in vista and i must say vista is working a lot faster with 2 gb now.
I thought that ram was all the same and seen as i only have 512mb in my xp pc i would put the spare in it to make 1gb..

oh well 512mb will do.

thank goodness i never fried the whole pc, ive spent weeks reformatting and reinstalling etc, and as i said im learning as i go..

thanks again for your help here

Unless this machine is very ancient it is either 184 or 240.

Which corresponds to DDR or DDR2. The latest new boards run DDR3.

The slots on the RAM usually make it impossible to make a mistake unless it was truly forced into place which either damaged the RAM or the slot.

i just opened it up and took it out and it says. Legend 512MB DDR333
and the one i put in is KVR667D2N5K2/1GB ( but i thought this was only 512mb?) oh i does say kit of 2 on it also. this was the memory that came pre installed on my vista and it was only one, not a kit of 2, i got ripped off

anyway putting them side by side the ram are slightly different and yeah i did really force it to go in
so now i just have to find the right matching ram i guess..i will go hunt on ebay

The 333 is the BUS. Sorry there are so many variables here. A 333 BUS is most likely a 184 pin slot. In other words a couple or few years old.

Contemporary BUS is 800 at least and now runs up in the 1066 range on almost all new boards. Some are still higher.

Most boards are set up to run Dual Channel which requires a matching pair of RAM (or two pairs) (or more).

The manufacturer just cut up the pair as it is probably cheaper to buy that way (in pairs).

In general RAM should never be mixed.

There are many good scans although they are tied to specific manufacturers such as:

http://www.crucial.com/systemscanner/index.aspx

thanks Jephree, i did that scan and your right the xp ram is 184pin and the one i put in was 240 pin...
so thats why it never worked..lol, silly me!

So im guessing i fried the 512MB 240 pin then?.