iPostNaked

Hi, I am new here and kind of new in terms of testing RAM as well. I have been reading a lot on this forum as well on the internet and I wanted to verify a few things and ask a few of you for some suggestions in testing my new RAM.

I just purchased two 1gb ddr 400 sticks... I read about a few memory testers and found out about memtest86+, it seems that it is a very popular program.

I also read a few tips that I should follow when testing my memory;

1. Test one stick at a time
2. Use the same slot (I have been using the first slot, dimm1, since when I placed the sticks onto my second and third slot the computer did not come on at all... is this right to happen?)
3. Run the tests as long as possible

Any suggestions, ideas, or tips on what I should do or not do is appreciated. Also... are there any other programs out there that I can run other them memtests86+? I mean... good ones of course. TIA to all.