M$ suggests that you have at least 1GB of RAM running Vista, and then there are those that suggest that the optimum amount is 4GB:eek: .
The problem with that 512MB module is going to be matching it. In order to run in dual channel both modules have to have the exact same specs, ideally they would be the same model from the same manufacturer. This will give you the minimum 1GB of RAM and the advantage of dual channel which is appreciably faster in certain applications.
The other option is to go with the 1.5GB, it sounds like more RAM is going to be better with Vista. You can always purchase a second 1GB module later if you want to run dual channel.
If this was XP I would suggest going for the two 512MB modules in dual channel. But since you are using Vista this changes things. Personally...I would buy a matched pair of 1GB modules. There are better deals for purchasing a matched pair than purchasing them separately.
I guess you could say that RAM is like cars, some are better than others, some are more expensive, and there are lots of different manufacturers. There are high performance cars that cost more yet, and the same can be said for RAM.
You can find less expensive modules and may never have any problems, but if you are running dual channel. overclocking, video editing, or 3d imaging then the RAM starts becoming a lot more critical.
If you have more specific questions feel free to add them.
Let me see if I have this right...you formated, partitioned, and installed your OS on the hdd in your good computer and then installed it in your other computer?
If this is what you did then that's where you made the mistake. Taking a hdd that has been installed as the master on one computer and then installing it in another with a different motherboard will cause problems with your OS. It could even be fatal.
When you tried to install the OS on the other computer did you reformat it first?
With a computer of this age I doubt that you will find a BIOS update that is going to recognize anything larger than 10GB to 20GB, and that's the definitive point.
There may be another issue with a computer of this age, and that is whether the BIOS is on a EPROM or a EEPROM. The older computers used EPROMs which the BIOS was burned to , and that was it, the EEPROM can be rewritten.
The cyclic redundancy check is basically mathematics used to calculate that the data that you are transferring is ok. When data is transfered, it is usually in small blocks and each block is given a CRC value. If something goes wrong with the data between the time it leaves the source and arrives at its destination, the CRC sent at the source will no longer match the one that is calculated when the data arrives - this is when the cyclic redundancy check error will appear. If you get this message it means that your data is corrupted.
The good news is that a format doesn't delete the files, only the address tables. This means that you should be able to retrieve those files using software like Getdata.
The problem there Bondi is that the machine is so old that there probably will not be a BIOS upgrade that is going to allow him to use a hdd that size.
The flash most likely came from a little DC arc welding when he shorted something. A 12V DC circuit at 18amps will be strong enough to burn through a trace on a board when shorted, or weld components together.
Trying to repair the motherboard on a component level is a daunting task. Due to miniaturization there are few components on the motherboard that you can trouble shoot. If you look on the back of a modern motherboard you will see that most all of the components a surface mounted and very few components are though hole soldered. Most of the through hole devices are actually expansion slots or sockets. Even most of your ICs are surface mounted now, and even if they weren't how would you go about testing these? About the only component that you can check are the electrolytic capacitors, and most of the failed ones can be recognized by rounded tops, and may even leak at their bases. Other than the occasional diode that's about it for components. You can look for burnt traces and arc marks, usually if there's been a shorted connection there will be a visible smoke residue on the board.
If you are sure that the motherboard is the problem...replace it.
You have me a little confused, in you first post you mention a CD drive, in the second post you mention trying to burn a DVD, and now you say it's a CD drive.
It could be that it doesn't like the media that you are using, or it could be a driver.
A quick fix that often works for this is to uninstall the drive and cycle the computer on and off, reinstall the drive and the installation wizard should recognize it and try to find the proper drivers for it.
What is the make and model of you DVD-RW? Did it come with drivers?
I guess you now realize that you should try hot swapping items in the case.
Not knowing what happened to the PSU when it went bang, all I can say is yes there is a possibility that other components could have been effected. You won't know until you install the new PSU.
If you are comfortable with this, open the PSU and there should be a pc mounted fuse on the board, take a multi meter and read voltage across the two leads, this is a precaution, and the read the continuity between the two lead on a Ohm scale. If the fuse is blown and you have any soldering skills you could try replacing the fuse.
I can't help but feel that I should tell you to do this with the power off. You should also be aware that the capacitor/s in the PSU will hold a charge for a long period of time, if you should discharge the caps to yourself...let's just say that you ain't gonna like it.
You can reset the default values of the BIOS two different ways. 1) with the computer off remove the CMOS battery from the motherboard for fifteen or so minutes and replace it. 2) once again with the power off...there is a jumper on the motherboard which is usually located next to the CMOS battery, there are three pins, move the jumper over so that it is on the middle pin and the previous open pin, and then move it back.
You can reset the BIOS to the default values without any harm, you will loose any settings that you have enabled previously.
For what it's worth...it doesn't sound like a BIOS problem.
That's weird, this is the first time that I've seen a discrepancy like that. It would be interesting to learn why this happened with that board, if I have time this afternoon I'll try calling to see what gtopala has to add. I had seen the disclaimer, I just had not seen anything but great results before this.
Hu Caperjack, I feel like I'm busting in on someone elses thread here...but. The link that you provided takes me to the site with two options highlighted, wcpu330.exe . 268,491 Byte Win32 wcpu330.exe . From VECTOR(FTP) Win32. Neither one will download.
For me it's a moot point as I can and did get the download from Major Geeks. I was just wondering if anyone else was having a problem with it.
Is it just the browser or are other applications running slow?
I had always found IE to be slow, this is one of the reasons that I now use Firefox. There is a tweak that you can do to Firefox after it's installed to make it even faster.
It could have been defective, or the manufacturer could have installed the wrong value, or it could simply have been gremlins. Or it could be that the fuse saw a larger amount of current that it was rated to handle. I basically don't trust that a fuse just died, we will never know unless the problem repeats itself.
I stand corrected regarding the key to access the BIOS, I ain't never had wona them factory type built machines.
I had forgotten about CWPUID, good program. I did try your link and couldn't get either or the programs to download from there. I was able to download it from Major Geeks.
looks like a nice program ,will it actually tell the capacity of ram my board will take .never mind ,i downloaded it and ran it i guess it does,it says cap is 512 ,i assume it means per slot .as i have 768 installed in 2 slots
If you go to Memory under Memory Summary you will find the current capacity of RAM installed, below that it lists the motherboards capacity, the number of expansion slots, and the maximum module size.
Below that it will list the information on each RAM module slot by slot. This includes its capacity, memory type, speed, data width, form factor, and total width.
This is a great utility, it is one of three that I keep. I also keep Everest Home Edition, but it is not as reliable about finding information. If you go to mother board and choose SPD it will usually give the manufacturer of the RAM modules and their specs, it will do this with my old machine but not my new build.
Jessykah...some of us have lives out side of these forums and may not always have the time to make a prompt reply. If one of us can't get back to you quickly someone usually will as gerbil has in this case. You need to have patience.
The information that I was able to find regarding that specific drive is that it is picky about what media it likes, so your problem may not be the driver. You may have to experiment to find what it likes, I would suggest trying media by Verbatim or Ritek ReData. If this drive is picky it may not like CD+R.
it is sony make i donot know the model of it exactly
That is the important part of the information, without that I won't be able to find any information for you.
The only thing I can tell you is that by reading through information that I've googled it appears that there are some modules that you need to format using the manufacturers Disc and that using the XP to format can produce problems like yours.
As you may have already figured out the BIOS will not recognize a hdd that large in a system that old. You are probably looking at a limit of 10MB to 20MB. Try downloading SIW and see what the BIOS is and then google it to find out the max size it will detect.
By the way, system information for window is free and a great utility, try it...you'll like.
Do you have another computer you could install the hdd as a slave to see if it works? Do not place this in another computer with a different motherboard or more specifically a different chip set as a master, it will cause the OS not end of troubles.
If it will burn the DVDs I don't think your problem is the drive, have you tried reinstalling the drivers? What software are you using and what are you trying to burn?
In order to run in dual channel your modules have to have the exact same specs including the speed. For the best results your should purchase matched pairs for a reputable manufacturer like Crucial, you find better prices on matched pairs than purchasing them seperately. You can run the dissimilar modules, the faster modules will underclock to the speed of the slower module.
Your user's manual should have all the information regarding the RAM configurations.
Go to the hdd manufacturer's site and download their diagnostic tool. Most of these will require you to transfer them to a floppy to boot from. Insert the floppy and boot from it and run the diagnostic.
This is free and will determine the health of the hdd.
I did something very similar a while back, I changed my motherboard, CPU, and RAM. And when I fired it up the hdd booted up my OS, but it was very buggy. The next three times if booted the OS got progressively worse and finally wouldn't boot at all.
As I understand it the hdd was used to seeing the chip set from the other motherboard, and when it saw the new chip set on the new motherboard it got confused.
It sounds like the PSU's short circuit protection is shutting it down. This is a new one for me, I've never heard of a hdd having a short on the power side. But that's why we come here.
If you uninstall the drive and cycle the computer on and off and reinstall the drive the install wizard should recognize it as new hardware and try to find the proper drivers for it.
