RAM help needed, please

I would also run MRU Blaster manually by unchecking the MRU items.

 

Some places that sell Comps have been known to put in Cheapo Graphics cards that 'steal' some of your installed RAM to run......a friend of mine had that prob, she was supposed to have 128 Ram but only had 96, they call it 'Shared RAM'...(Wrong).. so I took it back to the shop and demanded they fitted a better GC with it's own power....they did it....no argument......it's just a money saver on their part.......it happens all the time if you don't know any better..


Cochise,

 

thanks Nod. the bottom two items from msconfig are Process Guard and Spywareguard.
so, tomorrow i'll ring up the local shop and and see if thet have two CT1664Z265, i'll take the box with me and get them to install it, so if there's any problems, they're their problems, not mine . should i do anything about the graphics card? considering that the speed my computer is right now isnt a problem for me.

when you said *If that IS your motherboard*, is there a chance that it isnt my motherboard? thanks.

Cochise, thats the problem i have right now

 

Those are Crucial's part numbers. I would think that you have to pay a little more at the shop for the same quality of RAM. If you are going to bring the PC, then you might as well let them do all matching.

If you're happy with the performance of the PC, then there is no need to spend more $ on a separate video card. Don't worry about the MB. The shop should take care of everything so don't worry about the motherboard.

 

Some places include Dell, and Gateway.

 

thanks for your help. Nod . i'll see what the prices are like then take it from there.
ive got Partition Expert, will moving things to a different partition help?

 

No, but putting your pagefile on a different physical drive will. And the thing about letting Windows manage your pagefile..... we all know that Windows doesn't always default to the best settings (damn M$!). Set the minimum to 1.5x your physical memory now and maximum to 2x your physical memory. I don't think you should buy Crucial. Here are the best manufacturors in order:

1. Mushkin
2. Corsair
3. Kingston
4. OCZ
And to a lesser extent...
5. Patriot
6. Crucial
I would recommend the top four. So when you walk into the store you ask for this "I need a stick of 256MB of PC2100 RAM".

Also thought you might want to look at this...
http://www.blackviper.com/WinXP/servicecfg.htm
It is a chart of the Windows XP SP2 services to turn off unnecessary M$ crap. The configuration marked as "safe" should work for almost everyone.

 

NOPE. In theory, moving the pagefile to another HD will help, but the difference in speed amounts to no more than 10MB/second. That's still 80x slower than the slowest RAM. If the system has adequate RAM, then you won't even notice any bump in system performance by putting the pagefile in another HD. WXP is very efficient if it has access to unused physical RAM.

Power users with plenty of physical RAM will disable the pagefile for optimum performance. Note that some programs will not be happy without the pagefile.

I have never encountered a PC where WXP inproperly allocates the pagefile. The pagefile dynamically expands and contracts based on the current memory load. You will never see an alert indicating that windows must increase the size of the pagefile. You will sacrifice a very tiny portion of your CPU clock cycles to accomplish this, but for 99% of the users, this is the best way to manage the pagefile.

If you set a minimum size for the pagefile, then you will always use that much hard drive space for the pagefile. Why would you want to burn 1.5GB of HD space just for the pagefile if you have 1GB of physical RAM? If windows manages the pagefile, then it will reduce the size of the pagefile to accomodate the current memory load.

As for memory vendors, Mushkin and Corsair are very good, but they are also VERY expensive. You're paying big bucks for CL1.5/2.0 RAMs and the gain can only be measured by benchmarking software! No need to put premium gas in a Honda Civic.

We've never had any problem with Crucial over the years. Had some issue with Kingston Value RAMs. For the average user, I would recommend Crucial, Samsung, or the premium Kingston brand.

 

You're right. Moving the pagefile to another drive doesn't help MUCH but every little bit helps right? Of course I'd recommend buying RAM over using the pagefile, that's a given.

Yeah! Try Windows! Even the Task Manager help says you should not turn off the pagefile no matter how much RAM you have. In fact it claims the more RAM you have the bigger your pagefile should be! (That's where I got the 1.5x figure) Granted we shouldn't always follow M$'s great advise but I would think they would at least know their own software.

As for hard drive space I have 180 GB so I'm not worried .
I'm sure you of all people knows not to buy cheap RAM. Yea, Mushkin may be overdoing it a bit but also, I don't know where you're buying it so I don't know what prices you're looking at .

 

thanks, erikguy. im going to let them do it in the shop, unless it will take them a few days to get it done. then i wont take the computer with me.

so, i go in the shop and ask for a stick of 256MB of PC2100 RAM, not two sticks of 128MD of PC2100 RAM? and i tell them that my Motherboard is -

Motherboard Name - Soltek SL-85MIV(-L)

sorry if im going over old ground, its still new to me, two days infact . thanks.

 

You have a clone PC. Therefore, I cannot confirm the identity of the MB and CPU. If the system supports DDR, then you should use two sticks of DDR RAMs to take advantage of the faster throughput. Again, a good shop should be able to figure this out.

 

thanks, got it, i think. well, i'll definately be taking the computer with me. i just hope i dont drop it
thanks again for the help, i have learned abit.

 

Easy test is to open the case and look at the RAM slots (use the Crucial installation pictures to assist you). If you see two sticks of RAM, then for SURE, you will need to add two more sticks of memory. If you only see one module, then the PC MAY STILL support DDR. Why? Because the vendor may try to save $ by adding one stick of RAM.

 

OK, i'll have a careful look before i take it in. thanks.

 

this is the last question, as i think ive gone on enough . does the screenshot show if i need one or two sticks?

 

If you have to ram slots and just one is being used you can just add one or you can remove the one that is there and put in two. and the two ram sticks do not have to match in capacity. They just have to match as in ddr ram or sd ram and frequency such as pc 2100 or what ever you computer is compatable with. In my computer shop I have installed thousands of ram upgrades and replacements.

bigc

 

OK, Bigc, before i go tomorrow i'll have a look and see how many slots there are. thanks.

 

I apologize for my ignorance, I mere skimmed through the pages on this topic.

Firstly I like to mention that Windows XP Professional minimum RAM requirements are 64MB of RAM, recommended requirements are 128MB, and you can verify this from Microsoft website.

Assuming you bought compatible and non-defective RAM for your system, make sure you place them in the right order otherwise problems like these will occur (Largest to Smallest).

Also from what I always have observed, Integrated Graphics takes up-to 8MB of the systems RAM, by Default.

 

This is one area ICE I'm short to offer any assistance.
I'm glad to see all the good support you've been receiving, you deserve it.

Since I'm unable to pm you direct nod32_9, I'd like you to know I'm grateful for all the system info and support you extend to everyone on this forum. Furthermore....by lurking the many threads I find you involved with, I've learned much searching the subject matter.....Thanks.

GF

 

Might want to check your warranty first, ice. My box is sealed and if anyone other than the manufacturer breaks the seal to open the PC I lose the warranty on the hardware.

 

thanks, but the shop already sent out a tech. to fix the A: drive. i dont think he put a seal in place, i hope not anyway. probably not worth the cost of a seal anyway.

i think when they were making this computer it was going to be a lawn-mower, then at the last minute they decided to make it into a computer hoping some wally (me ) would buy it. well, at least we're well matched in the memory department, until tomorrow anyway, i hope

 

thanks, Phant0m. i think i need 256MB because at the moment all the memory is used after booting up. i havent bought the RAM yet, but im hoping the shop will put it in for me.

 

with some programs, when i check, they say i have 128 of RAM, however, most say i have 96. i rang up the shop today, and a very uninterested man said that that sounds correct, as my graphics card would be taking from the 128 and leaving 96 left. is he right?


In System Properties, for General TAB, what do you see there for installed RAM?

 

system properties post#1

system infomation...start>all programs>accessories>system tools>system infomation post#9

 

lol

Ok, to save money you should probably keep the memory module (DIMM) that you already have in there. From your other post there it seems like you only have one other memory slot available so you should get one stick of 256MB. Now if I only knew the speed of your front side bus I could tell you what speed of memory to get.... I think from the link you made to the Crucial site it would be PC2100. That's why I wanted you to post a report from the Belarc Advisor because it gives this information (front side bus). Just remember that it also post personally identifiable information. Or we could go through BIOS but that would probably be much more complicated for you. In case you couldn't tell hardware was my first love .

For your reference:
SDRAM speeds: PC66, PC100, PC133
DDR speeds: PC2100, PC2700, PC3200

Standing at 2.4 GHz Celeron you'd most likely go with PC2100. Don't worry that's compatible with all DDR mobos. I'm just hoping that's the same speed of the module you already have in there (you don't want to mix speeds).

This is a picture of a DDR DIMM (dual in-line memory module). You'll notice there is one slit almost in the middle there. It is also known as a 184 pin DIMM. SDR memory has 168 pins and it has two slots. Don't let those computer salesmen trick you!