So I thought I noticed the other day that my computer was showing 512MB of RAM installed. I thought to myself, "I'm pretty sure I bought two 512MB sticks, making an even 1G." Later that week, to assure myself that I had indeed not gone crazy, I opened up my case and found two sticks of RAM installed, 512MB each. So then I dismissed me seeing the 512MB of installed RAM as me going crazy on an earlier occasion (maybe I was reading the swap space size?).

So, I double checked. My BIOS said I had 512MB of RAM installed. So I cracked the case again. Yep, still two sticks of 512 in there. Now I was thinking, "Oh, great I have to send back one of these sticks gone bad." Luckily I bought them from a reputable dealer (newegg.com) and they were a reputable brand (crucial) that has a lifetime warranty. So I took one out to see if my computer still boots.... it does. "So what is wrong with this stick of RAM I'm holding?" I asked. Given the reputable source and brand I would have never expected this:

An inventory sticker on the back of the ram-stick covering several pins.

Now I'm mostly embarrased. Not because of the fact that I missed this, but because I had tried to use it (unsucessfully) on two other motherboards, which I consequently returned. I'm not upset about it, but actually thankfully suprised. I ended up with a motherboard that I really like, and is apparently over-tolerant to user error. Plus I now have twice the memory than I did 3 months ago. I like to think of it like a tax return - an unexpected dividend, which was always yours to begin with.

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