Hello, so this is probably a computer issue more than a Winxp. my computer has 512(256x2) ram pc2700 single sided ram (both samsungs). i installed 2 512 pc2700 double sided rams (both from different companies) to have a total of 1.5gb. every now and then itll just restart itself for no reason. i just leave it alone and when it feels like it, itll restart. i tried removing my original ram to see if it makes a difference but no, same result. the computer works perfectly fine when it has its original ram, as if it doesnt wanna upgrade....can anyone tell me why it does this??? thanks

Incompatible RAM would be the first suspect.

Mis-matched brands can be a problem; also perhaps your board requires single sided RAM.

What is the make and model of the motherboard?

would this help:

Motherboard Description: Manufacturer's name - ASUS P4SD-LA
HP/Compaq name - Stingray
Motherboard Supplier: ASUS
System BIOS Supplier: ASUS/Award
Board Form Factor: uATX
Processor Brand: Intel
Processor Socket Type: mPGA478
Processor Family: Pentium 4HT
Maximum Processor Core Frequency: Up to 3.2 GHz P4 Northwood
Processor Front Side Bus: 800/533/400 MHz
Hyper Threading Support: Yes
Processor VRM Specification: Northwood FMB2
Chipset 'North Bridge': 865G
Chipset 'South Bridge': ICH5
Super I/O: SMsC LPC47M192-NC
Flash BIOS Device Type and Density: FWH 4 Mbit
Memory Type: DDR SDRAM (Supports duel channel)
Memory Speed:
PC3200 (400 MHz),
PC2700 (333 MHz),
PC2100 (266 MHz)
Memory Sockets: Four DDR DIMM (184-pin)
Single or Dual Channel: Dual System Memory
Maximum Memory Supported: 4GB (4 x 512MB) unbuffered (HP and Compaq recommend 2GB)

im guessing i should buy 2 1gb pc2700 single sided same brand, what do you think?

Buying new sounds like the sweetest route.

However you could also try just two sticks (either the two new ones or one new with the old but not all three) in alternate slots e.g. 0&2 or 1&3 but not next to each other e.g. 0&1 or 2&3.

i actually did try putting the 2 new ones only but it still restarted. ill return the new ones and get twin 1gb...as soon as i do ill let u guys know what happened

so i looked on ebay for 1gb pc3200 and had no luck, i googled it and found everything pretty expensive, anyone know a good place i can shop?

sell the 2 x 256 on Ebay, & keep the other ram installed, 1gb is enough.

the upgrade will be for vista obviously but thats the problem i cant use the 1gb, it keeps restarting anyway. the 2x512 are from different manufacturers..i wanna get identical twins at least...just like the 2x256 which are samsungs

now i have a new problem, the computer keeps restarting itself before it hits the winxp start up screen. i have the original ram in there as well. i had this problem before but the only way to fix it is to restore the whole system which i CANT because i havent backed anything up...anyone know how to get rid of the issue??

btw if youre wondering how im writing this...im at my cousins house

Can you get into Safe Mode?

If not boot the XP CD into the Recovery Console (first R option).

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314058

Here try these commands one at a time and try booting between:

chkdsk /r

fixboot

fixmbr

bootcfg

In a worse case scenario you can Repair Install XP and retain your data.

http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/XP...install.htm#RI

Of course this may be a hardware issue in which case none of the above is relevant.