Hello

I have a Gateway 500SE Pentium 4, 1.6MHz that came with a 128MB of RAM. I wanted to upgrade to 512MB, so last night while using anti static wrist strap, I removed the old memory stick and installed the Kingston 512MB Non-ECC PC2100 DDR memory stick in it's place. Went in fine and clips on end clicked into place. I went to power up and hear the hard drive make an initial sound and saw the keyboard lights go on for about a second as well as the CD light and the power light on front of the tower, but screen told me there was no signal and only things working at this time were the two cooling fans and the power button. I got no beeps and the power button is not flashing, but just same color and steady lit as usual. Keyboard and monitor and mouse ans speakers all seem dead. There is a small green light lit on my Motherboard and I'm not sure if this is good or not good. I made sure to check all cables and wires to make sure they are all seated tight and secure and I removed the new mmemory stick and cleaned the memory slot and re-installed it. Still nothing. I then, removed the new stick of memory and re-installed my origianl 128MB stick and still nothing works. I had no problems with my computer before upgrading.

My system does not have a jumper for the CMOS so I removed the battery and left it out overnight to clear the CMOS, but today, it is still the same.

I'm not sure if this is relevant or not, but when I have run Belarc or Aida32 on my system to get system specs for me, they both bring up that I have a Gateway E-3600 model instead of a Gateway 500SE. The stats for memory slots and etc are not accurate with the E-3600 however, but I'm not sure why they both say I have a different model. I've gone to the Gateway site and entered in my serial number of: 0026455200 and it tells me I do indeed have a Gateway 500SE model.

I'm not really sure of My Motherboard but think these are the stats:

CPU Type: Intel Pentium 4, 1600 MHz (4 x 400)
Motherboard: Intel Pendleton D845PT ( 3PCI, 1 AGP, 2 DIMM, Audio)
Motherboard Chipset: Intel Brookdale i845D
BIOS Type: AMI

I run Window's XP Home Edition.

If you don't see any video.
You may have loosened the video card ..

You start by unplugging the power supply from the wall.
Then press the power button on the case..

Once that is done.
open the case
use your strap and remove then reinstall the video card.
Then double check ALL the other connections ..
It doesn't take much to bump something loose.

After you have checked everything.
Plug it back in and try to start it again

It does sound like you loosened video (done that :eek: ) although some/many/most systems give a short beep code when no video adapter is detected.

The RAM not seated still might be an issue but that too gives an audible beep code. I've put RAM in once or twice and would swear it was in good but wasn't.

Thanks for the replies!

I did take out the video card and re-install it and also I have checked every cable and wire they are all seated securely. I've taken that dang memory card out so many times and re-inserted it, I've lost count. :confused:

I will go and take out the video card once again and try it again as well as the memory stick.

Thanks Again, It is much appreciated!!

Marina

Well, I tried what you suggested and still the same results. I'm soooo frustrated here. :mad: LOL

Oh well, Guess I'll take it to the puter shop tomorrow and leave myself a little sanity.

Once again, Thanks for your help, I do appreciate it. I also love this site. I've been scrolling the posts and have learned several new things in just the short time I joined! :)

Have a Great Day Everyone

Marina

I went on the Crucial Configurator (sorry, not Kingston--although I think Kingston has a Configurator, too). The problem may lie in this:

Belarc or Aida32 on my system to get system specs for me, they both bring up that I have a Gateway E-3600 model instead of a Gateway 500SE. The stats for memory slots and etc are not accurate with the E-3600

According to Crucial, the E-3600 is 3 slots, 168-pin SDRAM PC133. The 500 series can be 2 or 3 slots and can be 168-pin SDRAM, 184-pin DDR etc.

I recommend you go to Crucial Memory Configurator (http://www.crucial.com) an LET IT detect what memory is correct for your system to be sure you have the right stuff.

It only came with 128MB of RAM!? :eek: Ouch! So sorry to hear that. :p

Well, the computer shop should be able to tell for certain, but it may have died. If clearing the BIOS didn't work, then I don't know what to say. I do know that OEM systems are all a bit different, so there's telling you for sure what happened. I don't think it's likely that it died, but be prepared for the worst! You can return that RAM and get your money back, right? :p

CPU Type: Intel Pentium 4, 1600 MHz (4 x 400)That's 16 x 100MHz, not 4 x 400MHz. Sorry, this was bugging me ;) but the P4's FSB is quad-pumped, it doesn't actually run at 400MHz. That's just its effective speed. It actually runs at 100MHz, and then is able to transfer 4 times per clock cycle. So the CPU's multiplier is 16x.

If I understand Right your talking about the Pen 4 Gateway 500 S. I've seen 2 of them both had Motherboard replaced and then it went again after waranty.that Intel board has a problem they keep going out, I used MSI P4MAM-V not the P4MAM2-V or you could use a Asus P4VP-MX, VT8751 these Fit the same I/O sheild Footprint or template the one I got Had the onboard video and I had to cut out the vinyl cover on the back of the case and some anti-static insulation on the inside to get the jacks to go through but the cutout was there in the metal (they don't have removable I/O sheilds) and also had to cut off 2 palstic tabs on back of fan mount on back of motherboard then it went right in, OK but make sure were talking about the same one CHECK IT OUT look at a picture of it to see if the I/O jacks line up, Hope this helps, have fun :)

PS, I still used the AGP slot video card it showed better in performance on PCpitstop's site and didn't share (Use Up) onboard memory either just disable onboard video in bios setup. well I see this was Posted sometime ago now but maybe this will help someone else.