Max RAM for NVIDIA nForce 2

Hello,

I have an HP Pavilion a430n that I bought new in April 2004. I'm giving that computer a mid-life upgrade by installing a new hard drive with a fresh OS installation.

I also want to add more RAM. According to the specs that I can find, the motherboard is an NVIDIA nForce2 that has two RAM slots. Memory type is PC2700 184 pin sticks.

The specs say that each slot can only hold a maximum 512 MB RAM stick for a total max RAM of 1 GB.

I really want to upgrade the RAM to 2 GB total so I can virutalize Kubuntu (for me) inside of XP (for the wife and kids) and I think a memory upgrade is needed to do this.

My questions:

1. It seems strange to me that this mobo only supports 1 GB max of RAM. The computer isn't *that* old. Are those specs I'm finding correct?

2. Assuming they are correct, is there any way I can get the mobo to recognize 2 GB of RAM? Like a BIOS flash or something like that? I haven't done one of those before and would be leery of doing so. Where could I find an updated BIOS and how do I install it?

3. What else don't I know that I should be asking?

Thank you for your help!!!

-Ryan