PC much faster and I am so happy!

JustJean · Post by **JustJean** » Sun Mar 08, 2009 12:47 pm

oooh wait a sec...maybe this is what I was looking for....says Mobile AMD Athlon 64, Processor 3200+, 2.01 GHz, 960 mb RAM....guess I have 960 then...but can I add more???

Best wishes
Jean

Montrose Budie · Post by **Montrose Budie** » Sun Mar 08, 2009 4:13 pm

JustJean wrote:oooh wait a sec...maybe this is what I was looking for....says Mobile AMD Athlon 64, Processor 3200+, 2.01 GHz, 960 mb RAM....guess I have 960 then...but can I add more???

Best wishes
Jean

Ah dinna ken!, - whit dis yer instruction manual say, ken?

, - perchance buried away somewhere in an appendix, but then, if it was custom built, and the builder is no longer in business ............. then, perhaps you don't have an instruction manual

............. but surely there was some paperwork

960 Mb is a curious total, - 64, 128, 256, & 512 Mb, and 1 Gb being the most frequently occurring memory sizes.

But, if you add 64 to 128 to 256 to 512, guess what you get !

I'd be more than a wee bit discombobulated if a year and a half year old desktop such as yours can't be expanded to 3Gb or 4Gb or even more of RAM ........

A clue to your situation is to open up the tower (or get someone to open it up!), and see if there are any vacant memory slots on the system board.

But given the custom design nature of your system, the existence of any vacant memory slots is no guarantee that your system can take more memory ....................

Even if there aren't any vacant memory slots it may well be the case that a slot presently occupied by a 64Mb memory card, or 128Mb card or a 256 Mb card can be replaced by a card with a higher Mb rating !

Ain't 'puters wunnerful

mb

JustJean · Post by **JustJean** » Sun Mar 08, 2009 10:32 pm

Montrose Budie wrote:
JustJean wrote:oooh wait a sec...maybe this is what I was looking for....says Mobile AMD Athlon 64, Processor 3200+, 2.01 GHz, 960 mb RAM....guess I have 960 then...but can I add more???

Best wishes
Jean
Ah dinna ken!, - whit dis yer instruction manual say, ken? , - perchance buried away somewhere in an appendix, but then, if it was custom built, and the builder is no longer in business ............. then, perhaps you don't have an instruction manual ............. but surely there was some paperwork

960 Mb is a curious total, - 64, 128, 256, & 512 Mb, and 1 Gb being the most frequently occurring memory sizes.

But, if you add 64 to 128 to 256 to 512, guess what you get !

I'd be more than a wee bit discombobulated if a year and a half year old desktop such as yours can't be expanded to 3Gb or 4Gb or even more of RAM ........

A clue to your situation is to open up the tower (or get someone to open it up!), and see if there are any vacant memory slots on the system board.

But given the custom design nature of your system, the existence of any vacant memory slots is no guarantee that your system can take more memory ....................

Even if there aren't any vacant memory slots it may well be the case that a slot presently occupied by a 64Mb memory card, or 128Mb card or a 256 Mb card can be replaced by a card with a higher Mb rating !

Ain't 'puters wunnerful

mb

Alas...if I had a manual I wouldn't be asking

And perhaps there was paperwork but that was then and this is now

Don't make me go to the file cabinet and rummage....let's just saying filing is not my forte

If I opened the hood I wouldn't be knowing what a memory slot looks like....unless it happens to be handily labeled "memory slot" (not unlike the helpful notations under my car hood that tell me where to add the windshield wash and where to add the oil)

Since mine is still going and not always at a snails pace I may just try and defrag and archive and all those housekeeping tasks first.......I don't want to break it by mistake!

I wonder if he gave me one of each of the memory cards he had in stock?...Hmmmm...odd......

Thanks for the input!

Best wishes
Jean

Currie · Post by **Currie** » Mon Mar 09, 2009 5:51 am

Hello Jean,

He probably gave you all the memory types he had too many of. It sounds a bit like my drains. The Plumber just used the bits he had in stock. It didn’t really matter whether it worked properly or not because it was all out of sight.

For anyone interested here are some good free programs that have worked well for me over the years.

BELARC ADVISOR
This handy program will give you very basic details about your computer hardware and software and the state of your security updates etc. Available from http://www.snapfiles.com/reviews/Belarc ... elarc.html

SISOFTWARE SANDRA LITE
This program will give you a very comprehensive report on most things to do with your computer and for memory under Hardware/Mainboard will show manufacturer, model, serial no, type, speed, timing etc for each stick of installed memory. Available from http://www.softpedia.com/get/System/Sys ... ndra.shtml

EVEREST HOME EDITION 2.20.405
The free version ceased being updated in 2005 but if you have a computer manufactured prior to then it’s an excellent program with a simpler interface. See Memory/SPD for memory stick detail. Available from oldversion.com (there’s some interesting stuff there but it’s mainly for good programs no longer otherwise available or for when your machine wont handle a current version.) http://www.oldversion.com/Everest-Home-Edition.html

AIDA32
This program appears to be based on the previous one (Everest) and presumably can diagnose current hardware. It is rated very highly but I haven’t tried it myself. It looks like this is what is known as a Portable Application, you can install it onto a USB thumb drive and plug it into any computer to get hardware and system information. http://www.snapfiles.com/reviews/AIDA32/aida32.html

These types of programs will tell you the motherboard model number and if they don’t tell you maximum memory etc in most cases there will be a motherboard manual available on the internet unless the company has gone out of business.

Hope that’s useful,
Alan

JustJean · Post by **JustJean** » Mon Mar 09, 2009 1:16 pm

Hi there Alan

As always you've come up with just what was needed! Just downloaded the Sandra Lite (sounds like an American beer!) and a quick few minutes later know that I don't have 960 memory!!

I have two slots of 512 each!! Lol...I guess in computerland it depends on if you ask the chipset or you ask the system....and i furthermore guess that each answer is correct.

As mb has already commented....Ain't 'puters wunnerful!

Thanks for your help
Jean

Thrall · Post by **Thrall** » Tue Mar 10, 2009 2:50 am

Hi Jean, so it looks like you´re "good". Well, pretty good.

I almost regret starting this thread, it makes so many who were quite comfortable, like the bloke from Montrose, think that there is something wrong with their RAM. Just ´cos SP tried their patience.

All the same, it´s not too bad that a few realise that slow computers can be speeded up relatively cheaply.

Good to know that most are all right, just the odd one, like myself, who needed a little bit of RAM to get them moving again.

Guid hunting,

Thrall

If I had just thought of a less wimpy "subject"....

Post by **marilyn morning** » Tue Mar 10, 2009 3:17 am

If I had just thought of a less wimpy "subject".... Embarassed

Nonsense! Its a very note worthy subject.....

Regards
Marilyn

JustJean · Post by **JustJean** » Tue Mar 10, 2009 12:29 pm

Hey Thrall

How's life on the ice floe?

Hope we haven't completely globally warmed you out of your habitat yet!

(and that my friends is a totally sincere emoticon on that particular topic!)

Any excuse at all to virtually get together, compare notes, and knock around ways to learn something new is always worthwhile in my book! Just see what I managed to learn about my own computer and just because you opened this thread. So yeah....it's all your fault...you and your wimpy ideas.....

Best wishes
Jean

Thrall · Post by **Thrall** » Tue Mar 10, 2009 5:57 pm

Hi Jean, and thank you for your friendly concern.

"ice floe" - if only!

Over the last few years we have noticed a marked change in weather patterns in Iceland, the most obvious consequence being the retreat of most of our icecaps and glaciers, measured often in hundreds of metres over a few years. On a July trip over Hofsjökull right in the centre of the island two years ago, it took us over an hour to cross three kilometres of bare wet ice before we could dispense with crampons and put on our skis. If there is no snow to replenish an icecap it will quickly disappear.

Unfortunately, this is not our only concern in Iceland at present, as we have 20% of households technically bankrupt after the autumn crash, and another bank bit the dust yesterday, with only one left hanging on by its fingernails. My family has survived pretty well so far (touch wood), as we don´t have the speculative gen, and wait rather than borrow to buy. However, a young colleague of mine who got engaged at the weekend is buying a small basement flat, with a mortgage in Japanese yen which was 90% 16 months ago, but is now 150%, so some are suffering.

I just hope too many other countries don´t go the same way; one shred of hope for us is, that by reaching bottom first, we may recover first too.

Anyway, a lot of drift here, thread not snow....

Best wishes,

Thrall

JustJean · Post by **JustJean** » Tue Mar 10, 2009 8:49 pm

Hi Thrall

Drift away anytime!

Thanks for the update. Always interesting to hear first hand news on the tough issues facing the world out there. While I don't think we can perform a ritual dance and make it snow for you we can share some concern over your and the world's various manmade crises. People caring about people is about as fundamental as life gets. Take that away and no amount of economic stimulus is going to save us...or the planet!

Best wishes
Jean

TalkingScot.com

PC much faster and I am so happy!

"I´m so happy."