Avi's Monthly Stupid Computer Question

[Avi]

Hi fellas.

I have been looking for deals on RAM for this laptop that I'm making into a portable studio, but I cannot decide on what to go with. The RAM in this model is PC2100...so does that mean it HAS to be replaced with the same type of memory?

I'd also like to know about this stuff to apply it to my desktop PC. It uses PC3200 RAM, but I've noticed that you can pick up a gig of PC5200 (or is it 5300?) for the price of 512MB of PC3200. Would PC5200 also work for my PC's Pentium 4 3.1 Ghz Processor? Can someone tell me how come I don't know this yet? Why am I so stupid?

[TronFAQ]

I have been looking for deals on RAM for this laptop that I'm making into a portable studio, but I cannot decide on what to go with. The RAM in this model is PC2100...so does that mean it HAS to be replaced with the same type of memory?

Your options with laptop memory are much more limited than desktops. Laptops use SO-DIMMS, which are not the same type of memory used in desktops. The modules are physically different.

Without knowing which model laptop you have, I can't say what the highest speed memory is that you can use. But the owner's manual should tell you that. Or you can look it up online, on Toshiba's web site.

I'd also like to know about this stuff to apply it to my desktop PC. It uses PC3200 RAM, but I've noticed that you can pick up a gig of PC5200 (or is it 5300?) for the price of 512MB of PC3200. Would PC5200 also work for my PC's Pentium 4 3.1 Ghz Processor? Can someone tell me how come I don't know this yet? Why am I so stupid?

No, PC5200/5300 RAM will not work on your computer. That's DDR2 memory. You computer uses DDR memory. Again, they're physically different. You can't plug DDR2 modules into a motherboard that only supports DDR, like in your case. You've already got the fastest RAM you can get for your computer.

As for why the older memory is more expensive than the newer . . . it's because the retailers know they've got you by the balls. The newer memory won't work, and the older DDR memory is slowly being discontinued. Soon no one will be making DDR memory any more. So for those people with old computers who don't want to do a complete upgrade, it's either fork out a little more for old DDR RAM or go buy a whole new computer.

[Avi]

Ouch, man! The truth hurts...

I'm not looking to buy a new PC at this point, so I guess I'll have to shell out the dough for some more memory. The only thing my PC can't do right now is play these new games that have been coming out lately on high settings...but I've been buried with music projects lately, so there's not much time for gaming anyway.

As for the laptop, I might just buy a new one instead of investing a few hundred bucks for some memory. I saw some pretty impressive laptop setups for under 700 bucks recently...2 Gb RAM, widescreen display, Windows Vista, etc.

[TronFAQ]

There's a remote chance that your motherboard is using DDR2 instead of DDR, now that I think about it. There was a brief overlap where DDR2 modules were sold at the same speed as DDR ones (3200), but this didn't last long.

So your motherboard might be sporting the slowest DDR2 rather than the fastest DDR. Anything faster than PC3200 is DDR2. And anything faster than PC8500 is DDR3. Though, again, there's a bit of overlap in speeds between DDR2 and DDR3.

Yes, there's a DDR3 now. Which, naturally, doesn't work with DDR and DDR2 motherboards.

So check your computer's manual to see if it supports DDR2, or look it up online. It depends on how old it is. I have a strong feeling it will be DDR.

[Avi]

Here's another one for you guys:

I don't have possession of the Windows CD that came with my laptop, and after thoroughly cleaning all of the viruses and malware in it I get frequent Windows error messages. Usually, I get a message saying that Windows has encountered an error, click OK, blah blah blah. The screen blinks off and comes back up with my desktop icons in their previous location (I usually shift them around as I save different things to the Desktop).

My questions is this: Is it possible to repair Windows without the install cd? The previous owner has misplaced it and there's no chance that it will be found anytime soon. I read somewhere how you can create a boot CD from an installed version of Windows, but I don't have the serial number (which will be needed in the process) and I'd end up screwing myself big time.

[Jademz]

Avi, I've used this key finder to retrieve my lost CD key, also, you may be able to find the missing windows/software at ebay, that's about all I can think of off hand. here's the link to a keyfinder: http://magicaljellybean.com/keyfinder

[Avi]

Thanks, man...that's great. I'll be sure to use it and figure out where to go from there.

[xistence]

Honestly i won't recommen a try to repair Windows. It is such a crap, unstable OS that repairing it would result in much more trouble. So making a fresh installment would be the best. But you surely need a copy of Windows for it.
To create a Boot-CD (or better a LiveCD, as it can be found in many variations in the Linux-community for their OS-derivates) is not a real deal. Those Live-/BootCD are not a real Windows-Installation in the end. It is modified in many ways and with lots of tricks, to make it possible to start Windows from a CD/DVD, you'll miss tons of usual components of a normal Windows-installation. Also installing new programs is not possible or way to difficult, as everything is on CD, most times not writable. And to add programs to a selfmade Boot-CD is freaky as you need to write scripts for the tool use to create the Boot-CD. Might be easier now, but in the past it was terrible.

So your best deal would be to get a copy of a Windows-CD and to setup a clean installation. Anything else might work, but i won't bet on it.

[Avi]

The other possibility is to just deal with the error messages that pop up randomly. They don't ever cause any major malfunctions, but they're a pain in the ass nonetheless. They usually occur every time I start the computer, close a program, or wake it up from hibernation. The actual message says:

An error has occurred. Windows will close the following programs.
Windows Explorer.

After I click Okay, another message pops up and says that an error has occurred and spits out a long string of numbers that I still have yet to identify. After I click "Close" on that Window, the screen goes blank, the icons disappear from the desktop for a few seconds, then everything comes back up as if the PC just started, but it never actually shuts down.

[TronFAQ]

You can give the Windows Repair feature a try. But it usually doesn't work, or makes things worse. I would honestly just leave things alone for now. As long as the system isn't constantly popping up error messages or blue-screening on you, that is.

Whenever the opportunity arises where you have the time or it's convenient, I'd just format the hard drive and start over.

[xistence]

So far it sounds as the cleaning of viruses removed some major components of windows (e.g. a DLL) which is used by the windows-explorer. That it goes blank and come back, is just the effect when the explorer is starting again (if you don't know: the 'windows-explorer isn't just the file-explorer, it is the whole shell used for desktop, filesystem-access and other things).
Maybe, if you can find out which files might be removed by the cleaning, and you could grab them from a Windows-CD you could be able to repair this mistake. But this is very tricky.

[Avi]

Me again...

Last night my video card died on me. Whenever you load a game, it says that the hardware acceleration wasn't responding to the driver. This happened for several games. I reinstalled the latest driver with no luck. I think the card just went kaput.

I only have about a hundred bucks to play with this week. What would be the best card to get for one Benjamin until I upgrade my whole system this year?

My old card was the Radeon X1600 512MB.

[Avi]

Scratch that last post...

Come to find out, it is an issue with the new driver that I downloaded hours before everything went crazy. I downloaded an earlier driver, and everything ran fine...Spore, HL2, CS:S, etc.

I figured it was just a hiccup within the system, so I installed the newest driver again hoping for a clean installation. Everything went stupid again.

If anyone else has any of the Radeon series of video cards, let me know if the new driver is causing any issues for you also.

[TronFAQ]

ATI has been having a problem lately, getting their recent drivers to work properly with older AGP video cards. They shifted their focus to supporting the newer PCI-E video cards, and in the process they botched AGP support.

A lot of people have been sticking with older drivers, until ATI gets the problem fully sorted out. (Actually, it was already supposed to be solved. But because of your experience, perhaps not.)

[Avi]

Mine is a PCI-E video card, so their attention is definitely not focused on those.

I just installed the latest driver one more time, but without the Catalyst Control Center. Everything works just fine now, but I'm not able to run my secondary monitor since the CCC is no longer installed. It's no big deal...I'll just wait and see what happens with the next driver release.