Help Please! New Memory in PC. BIOS Detects, but Windows 98 Freezes when its about to load.

Hi

I need a bit of help.

Got a PC here where the original memory was replaced because it was
faulty. The original memory was 128MB PC100.

The new memory is 256MB PC100.

The problem is that since it was replaced, the BIOS detects the new
256MB memory, but Windows refuses to load. It stops as it displays the
Starting Windows message

Have also tried the PC with 512MB PC100 memory as well and the same
problem occurs.

Looked into reformatting the PC but when I boot up with the floppy
boot disk it can't find the C:\

Any ideas would be great!

Thanks,
TGS

 

Some things to try.
Go into the BIOS (usually by holding down the del key) and go to the
section on Ram and make sure the timing is set to SPD.
If there is more than 1 slot for the ram, try the other one(s).
Is the memory actually correct for the PC?
Not all PC-100 memory is the same.
Go to Crucial.com and look it up.
Did it ever finish booting after putting in the new memory?
When was the last time it actually booted into Windows?
What version of Windows are you using? 95,95,98SE,ME ?

 

Ver. 1.0
"I've been a loyal Windows fan since the first version,
which required you to write on the screen with crayons" (Dave Barry)

 

I concur Donald, Since he's gotten to the point of loading the OS,
anything on the motherboard should no longer be an issue. It's already
gone past it and is looking towards a peripheral.

Whether fault is in HD failure, or data corruption on the HD is
anyone's guess. At this point, my opinion (since reformatting doesn't
seem to be a stated issue) is to do like you suggested, i.e. delete
the partitions and start over with fdisk if further trouble shooting
takes up too much time.

Since he stated that his boot disk doesn't see the C:\ drive, I would
first check to see if the bios still sees the drive. If not, then
check all the connections (knocked many loose while rummaging in small
cases all the time) from both ends of the IDE cable.

Further, we don't know what caused the memory strip to fail; i.e. was
it an isolated part failure or was the system subjected to some insult
or mishap (power surge, condensation or water damage, etc). Obviously,
the former is preferred, however if it's the latter, then every piece
of hardware in the system becomes suspect.

Additionally, since the system seems to halt on OS initiation, the
suggestion to safe boot, or better yet, to load each Windows command
line by line may illuminate the problem. If the system halts on a
particular Windows command, then try to bypass that command to see if
the problem resolves. If so, then some chain of event initiated by
that Win command is not being completed for whatever reason and is
causing the hang.

Ralph