Looking for Help with Computer Problem

[BusterStacks]

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My internet poker activity is being interrupted by my badly behaving computer. The problem (and my attempts to cope) involves Win ME, possibly defective RDRAM, the Norton Diagnostics program, and Microsoft's "Windows memory diagnostic" program. I'm not sure it would be appropriate to go into detail here. However, I would appreciate advice on where in the web I can find relevant expert advice.

Thanks!

MJS

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UGH!!! Cut bait and buy a new computer. Windows ME is a horrible piece of trash, and RDRAM is so potentially unreliable that you have to pay assloads to get a matched set with decent quality control. You'd be better off with a new e-machine (not that I think you should get one). Just consider replacing your machine instead of trying to repair it. If you're serious about repairing it, you're gonna have to have a decent test done on the memory, either from a tech company with the capability, or with expensive specialized software (not microsoft or norton). You're seriously better off buying a new machine that is more upgradable.

Freakin

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Freakin, you are my hero. I can add nothing to this.

[skoal2k4]

i bought winME when it first came out... i used it for about a month and then formatted my drive and went back to win98SE... I'm still using it. I read somewhere that winME was rushed out by Microsoft marketing before it was really ready. I wish I can remember where I saw that...

[GrannyMae]

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Before you buy new RAM test it first with this:
http://www.memtest86.com/

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is this only for his problem ancient? is this a good tool for XP users that are running slow?

[AncientPC]

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Before you buy new RAM test it first with this:
http://www.memtest86.com/

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is this only for his problem ancient? is this a good tool for XP users that are running slow?

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The program above is the best tool out there to test if your RAM is faulty or not. I've never used the Norton memory diagonstic, but if it's like any of their other utilities then it's most likely a waste of money.

Bad RAM in XP will most likely trigger the blue screen of death (or automatically restart the computer with default settings).

XP users running slow should first check Ad-Aware (or any other spyware killing program). Then they should check the programs that startup everytime they turn the computer on. I'm not talking about just the startup folder, but go to
Start -> Run -> MSCONFIG -> Enter -> Startup Tab

Then remove everything that is not necessary, here's a pretty good database as to what each startup item does: CastleCops Startup List

If the computer is still slow, then you need to open up Windows Task Manager (CTRL + ALT + DEL) -> Performance Tab. You need to basically monitor your computer's condition and whenever it slows down switch back to the Performance tab.

Is the available memory less than 64,000K? You might need more RAM. Is your CPU Usage maxed at 90%+? You need switch to the Processes tab, click on the CPU tab, and find out which process is using up the CPU.

[GrannyMae]

granny has cum a long way. i've actually gotten good with all of this and my registry is clean thanks to a link *you* had provided me months ago. however, we all want speed and i'm running slow all the time. but i'm always looking for these diagnostic sites that someone can attest for (i have gotten a keylogger from a google advertiser). i know i have to buy RAM to add, i just want to make sure that's the only problem.

[Michael J. Sykes]

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Before you buy new RAM test it first with this:
http://www.memtest86.com/

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Since I have not yet received any advice from the computer forums in which I posted, and since everyone here seems eager to address my problem rather than refer me to other sources, I will now provide details. First, let me state that I have long been aware of the need to upgrade both my operating system and my RAM. I chose to do the RAM first because I expected it to be much easier than upgrading the OS. It now seems that may not be the case.

Until recently, I was running my Dell Dimension 8100, P4, Windows ME system with 128mb of PC600 non-ECC RDRAM. My system had frequent crashes which I think were usually attributable to software/driver compatibility issues. Some crashes were related to memory limitations; in these instances, I think Windows ME's poor memory management was often more to blame than the actual amount of installed RAM. Nevertheless, I had hoped that upgrading to 512mb of RAM would enable me to open more than two Party Poker tables without causing the program to crash (as had generally occurred within 10 minutes of opening a third table). [My virus protection is up to date and scans have revealed no infections.]

After I replaced the old RDRAM (2x64mb) with 512mb of Samsung PC800 ECC RDRAM (2x256mb), my computer recognized the change in system memory, and now lists 512.0mb RAM in "system properties" instead of 128mb. However, my system crashes seemed to increase.

Although I no longer use the Norton Anti-Virus program, I still have Norton System Works (2001) installed and I ran their "Norton Diagnostics" program to test the new memory. The first test or pattern which this program runs is described as: "Testing memory using pattern with all bits cleared..." Each time I run this program, after about one second it indicates "Error detected at address xxxxx" and "Test: Failed." Every time I rerun the test it indicates an error at the same address. When I close the Norton program and attempt to open a different program, I get an insufficient memory error message even though I am not running any other programs other than a minimal number of start-ups (and when I open a small memory guage program, it shows only a small percentage of RAM being used). After I close the frozen program that I attempted to open, a new entry appears in the cntrl-alt-del program list: "route." When I run the Norton Diagnostic program again after rebooting, the address of the memory error changes and remains constant until I reboot again.

In an attempt to confirm that my new RDRAM was defective (as opposed to the Norton program), I researched other memory testing programs and discovered both the memtest86 program and Microsoft's "Windows memory diagnostic" program. I chose to go with the Microsoft program because the programs seemed similar (both run from a bootable floppy disk), the Microsoft program seemed more user-friendly, and I had some familiarity with the company! The Microsoft program runs a "standard" set of 6 memory tests and an "extended" set of 11 memory tests. My new memory passed the standard set of 6 tests so I switched to the "extended" test set and let it run overnight. In the morning, I discovered that my new memory passed all the tests with no errors.

HERE ARE MY QUESTIONS:

1. Does the Norton Diagnostic program use a test (i.e., using a pattern with all bits cleared) which can detect errors in ECC RDRAM that the Microsoft diagnostic program cannot detect?

2. What are the chances that the Norton diagnostic program's detection of a memory error is a false positive result?

3. What is the significance of the "insufficient memory" error messages after running the Norton Diagnostic program and the appearance of the "route" program in the cntrl-alt-del program list?

4. What are the chances that Microsoft's "windows memory diagnostic" program would detect defects in RDRAM that has the ECC feature?

5. What are the chances that the memtest86 program would detect defects in RDRAM that has the ECC feature?

Any other recommendations would be appreciated.

Regards,

MJS

[Michael J. Sykes]

I ran the memtest86 program for several hours using its standard default set of tests. No memory errors were found. I also tried running the tests with the ECC option turned on and again the program found no errors after two passes. I have not yet run the "bit fade test" which takes three hours to complete.

To what extent do these results increase the likelihood that the Norton Diagnostic program's consistent finding of memory errors is incorrect (i.e., a false positive result)?

-MJS

[Kev7554]

Get Rid of Windows ME = Problems solved [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[Kablooie]

You probably need to look at the size of your swap file, which iirc doesn't get automatically adjusted by windows when you increase your RAM. You should find this lurking under System, System Properties, Advanced, Performance Options and look for something called "Total paging size" or Virtual Memory.

As a rough rule of thumb, this should be a size at least twice the amount of RAM on your machine.

[wayabvpar]

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Get Rid of Windows ME = Problems solved [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

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This is sound advice. ME is the biggest POS OS to ever infest a HDD.