Fried Motherboard

How did you install the memory incorrectly? Once the industry started using DIMM (which I would guess because you said 1Gb) the memory could not be inserted backwards unless you broke the chip or socket, so again how did you install it incorrectly? Have you tried stating the system without the new module in place? If so does it boot? If not, try it and see if it still boots. Does your system support the type of RAM you tried to install (I believe the Bus speed is 400 MHz on that system, depending on your processor speed)? As far as proprietary components, you can use generic memory in a Dell but some work and some don't, go with the better brand names like Kingston and Crucial, they have been doing it for a while and usually will work in most systems. You could also try booting w-o any memory to see if you get a POST error (usually 8 beeps), at least that will tell you if your mobo is good...kinda

If you are not familiar with this kind of thing it might be best to take it to someone who is for a look. Not likely that you burned out the power supply by adding memory, more likely you had another issue that showed up because you opened the case and moved something around....take a good look inside and make sure everything is connected that should be and the way it should be. Look for burned spots on everything just in case you did burn something out

You could also go down to ground zero and remove all cards and cords except the keyboard, mouse, power, CPU and a good memory stick and work up from there to determine the cause, plug one thing in at a time until you find the culprit..very time consuming but easy to find the faulty component. Good luck and keep trying, dont let a little smell keep you from checking things out....nothing is too dificult to replace if you have the patience.