crap ok here i realize that i cut off a sentence without realizing itYes, everything that needs to be inserted has been inserted. I know this for sure because the guy at the computer repair place was able to successfully install my OS and everything with the idea that the computer would be ready to work as soon as I came home to plug it into the monitor.
is your RAM in the correct slot? some motherboards are finicky about that. your manual should have a guide on memory configurations.
I don't know if this applies to my motherboard, as my manual doesn't say anything about which specific slot the RAM needs to go in. Only information concerning memory configurations is for dual channel configurations, which I am under the assumption is not what I'm doing.