Windows Forum

Ask something
Discussion Locked

Adding RAM fried PC???

0 helpful
9 replies

by mschoepp

Closed to new repliesThis discussion is closed. It stays readable, but it takes no new replies.
I installed 32megs of RAM on a Compaq P200. When I booted up it froze on the BOOT screen (the ME logo and no further) When i shut down and restarted I got a Non System Disk Error. there is no disk in the A drive and I can't even recognize the hard drive. Any non fatal idea's, I sure don't have any.

9 replies

by dmiles

Was the memory the same as what you replaced ,with the correct bus speed.Try using the system repair disk to reinstall the system files and see if this will help you get the sys. back up and running.
Also you may want to update the BIOS to support the memory upgrade.

by idtent

Sorry if you looked at this boot with the info you gave not sure what you did. It sounds like the system posts fine, thats good - try putting it back the way it was and see what happens. Try to boot off a floppy and just go into dos. Try booting of a second harddrive. check and make sure the ram is complient with your system (edo, sdram) . make sure you ground yourself before touching the inside. reseat all of your cards/ cables. - sounds like windoze crashed loading a device driver. but the drive might be cashed out now too - watch out for esd. Thats all I can think of with what you said, good luck

by Former member

The Compaq DeskPro XL Pentium P200 uses DIMMs which means you MUST add the chips in pairs. I have noticed earlier that the P200 does not like a total RAM of 96Mb and actually performed slower than when it had 64MB. I had to upgrade to 128MB instead.Hope this helps.

by gil

It is unclear if you added new RAM or replaced existing RAM. Configure the machine back to the origional setup and see if it restores. If it does, the RAM you installed may not have been the correct bus speed. Also,was one 32 meg stick or 2 16 meg sticks installed? This particular machine likes RAM in pairs. Also try moving the RAM sticks around in the slots, this sometimes makes a difference. Make sure the RAM is properly seated as that is a cause of some bootup problems.

This discussion is closed to new replies.