I've been having this problem for quite some time now. My computer will run any of my three ram cards in any of the dimm slots but when I run more than one, the computer either eventually freezes or freezes when i use things. It does this randomly. I have 168 pin type ram at 133 mhz and i have 3 dimm slots, it also won't run with all three. I have no idea what to do im thinking about getting a new motherboard like an Asus, but i don' t know how to set up the bios. I have tested each card in each slot individually and it ran perfect. Please help me!!

Hardware:
1.GeForce fx 5200 (had the problem with my old video card also)
2.Running 128 mb of ram on xp home (only way my computer doesn't freeze)
3.Amd athlon 1.1
4.no idea what my motherboard is. I only have a 1st mainboard cd and i can't get a hold of who built it

Are your sticks of RAM all the same or are they from different manufacturers? If they are different, they may have different timings.

If so, you could possibly disable SPD on the RAM modules and force them all to run with the same timings.

I have no idea what the timings are but there is one crucial 128 mb,168 pin, 133 mhz. The other two are 128 mb, NCP ram cards with 133mhz also. Hope this helps. Either tell me how i figure out if the timings are different or how to force time them or both. Sorry i am very new to this all so please be patient with me. Thank you.

So you have 2 identical sticks. Do they work OK together?

Does the Crucial memory work in all the slots (on its own)?

When you open the case to try this, see if you can get any identification off your motherboard too.

If you're using all the available DIMM slots, you'll need to increase the RAM driving strength in the system BIOS. It's a feature on some 133MHz chipsets that they couldn't really push the memory systems on standard settings.

If it's an Award BIOS, try these settings:- (look on the various screens to find them).
CPU Drive Strength = 2 (4 is possible, but likely to be unstable)
Spread Spectrum = Disabled
DRAM Clock = Host CLK
DRAM timing (may be split into three 'banks') = SDRAM 8/10ns
DRAM Bank Interleave = Disabled
Delay DRAM READ Latch = as big as you can make it (which is normally 1.5ns) - this setting is one that is NOT okay if left on AUTO when all DIMM slots are used.
MD Driving Strength = Hi (Again, this is important - you're pushing info into a lot of RAM chips)
SDRAM Cycle Length = normally 2 if an AMD Athlon or Duron. The safest setting is 3, if you're not sure on the spec of the RAM.
Fast R-W Turnaround = Disabled

If it's not an Award BIOS, look for similar entries.

Once this is done, check how much RAM is reported by the system start screen (it should count the RAM quickly, and you'll see 393216KB appear somewhere near the top of the first screen on the monitor if all the memory is being seen correctly).

HTH