Problem with RAM upgrade

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As stated in the titel I am have trouble upgrading my computer's RAM.

My computer's technical information:
Dell Dimension 4800
-Windows XP home edition
-P4 2.66 GHz
-128MB nVidia GeForece 4 FX 5200
-512 (2x256)MB Dual Channel DDR/333 (brand unknown)

I am trying to install this RAM:
2x256 MB 333 MHz DDR SDRAM
Brand: Viking (if it matters)

This was the only RAM on sale that would have fit into my computer so i assumed that it was the correct type?

My computer has 4 RAM slots.

I tried various configurations (never modifying the position of the origional RAM). Some set-ups were more stable then others but all eventually gave me blue screen errors. One or two took a few days to, others crashed the computer at start-up.

During the installation all of the required safty procedures were met such as grounding oneself, so it is unlikly that the chips were electro-staticly damaged. They could have been slightly damaged when we inserted them into the slots but I did not do anything that I think could have damaged them too greatly.

Please, if you know what the problem is or can give me any advice on how to get the new RAM working, please reply.

 

When it comes to RAM, there really is only two solutions:

1) It's broken and needs to be replaced, or more likely;

2) You need to update your BIOS. To do this, you must check your motherboard brand, find a fitting updater from the official homesite, and run the program. Just be extra careful during this process, for if something goes wrong, it is quite likely that the BIOS gets screwed. Unless, of course, your mobo has a secondary (backup) chip.

 

Windows XP is pretty good about handling the upgrade so unless your BIOS is severely outdated (which, judging by your equipment I very highly doubt) so the problem is probably that either the RAM cards themselves are damaged or that the slots on your motherboard are.

Does the RAM work properly if you take out the RAM cards that are already on the board and put the new ones in?

It doesn't matter. Any damage will destroy the cards.

 

BIOS is a program like any other and there can be bugs. In my case, my mobo didn't accept second 512 comb because of this, but after update the problem was gone. It's not a big deal to check if there is a new version available, anyway.