How to determine RAM chip? 2

[StevenB]

Howdy all. Aha! This time I'm writing to get help for SOMEONE ELSE, not me! I swear it! (^_-)

A friend of mine is running *gasp* XP Home on one of those boxes built out of parts by some random internet-based company. He knows nothing about the company or anything. Anyway, I've been recruited to figure out why his PC is so slow.

Apart from the obvious Norton Internet Security Hog, he's only got 256 MB of RAM. So, first and foremost, I figure that's going to be his biggest boost right there.

Thing is, when you have a no-name box, how do you figure out what kind of RAM chip to buy? I've run the Belarc advisor on the machine, and have the results, but I'm not sure what to look for or where to go with it.

Suggestions?

Steve

 

[bcastner]

Look at every number on the chips and elsewhere on the existing RAM modules.

Also, Belarc should at least have identified the motherboard by make and model.

 

[StevenB]

bcastner, depending on what I come up with, where then is a good place to go to enter that information to get prices on RAM chips?

Any recommended web sites?

 

[bcastner]

http://techrepublic.com.com/5100-6255-1058485.html

http://www.crucial.com/systemscanner/

http://www.crucial.com/promo/index.asp?prog=desktop2

The above is what I would do:

. If I could unambiguously identify the RAM by visual inspection and the Belarc results, you could purchase the RAM nearly anywhere.

. If in doubt, I would use the Belarc or my third link, to identify the RAM required by the motherboard;

. Or use link #2 to automaticly scan your system and identify what is required. I have bought a lot of RAM from Crucial, and have had absolutely no hassles about returns of compatability issues.

Do not focus solely on price. Most RAM is essentially market priced, with few variations of consequence. The Crucial site will scan the system and identify what is required.

Be sure to read all of the notes produced as a result of the scan. Often there are no free slots because of the use of lower density RAM modules. You may have to throw out some RAM to use higher density modules.

 

[StevenB]

This is great information, as always. I'm about to try the scanner, but meanwhile I've cracked the case and identified the RAM as Samsung 256MB 16x8 DDR 266.

There are three empty slots, but as you mentioned, my biggest concern is getting memory that can't work with the existing memory. Hopefully, the links you provided can give me some more ideas of what to do next!

Steve

 

[StevenB]

Ugh, they can never make things easy, can they? Well, the scanner failed to recognize the system, so it's on to the manual hunt. Did some poking around on Samsung's web site - big mistake. Since it's not a brand name machine, the third link you provided doesn't help much, since it starts with a drop-down asking the brand of your PC.

I guess I'll look more closely at what Belarc came up with and go from there. Unfortunately, I don't have the chip in front of me now, so I can't compare it to the pics in the techrepublic article.

Further recommendations always welcome.

(Oh, since you seem to be the only one watching this thread bcastner, another quick question: any idea why on Win XP home, the Windows Messenger sys tray item always shows up, yet in Services there isn't even a Messenger service? Any way I can get rid of the sys tray guy safely?)

 

[linney]

It might be easier to try a few other solutions before changing the RAM. Any Computer Repair Store should be able to advise you what your RAM requirements are, and it would only be a 10 minute job for them to install it.


windows XP running very slow
thread779-796508

FAQ779-4784 may help.



Try some of these.

302089 - How to Prevent Windows Messenger from Running on a Windows XP-Based Computer

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;302089&FR=1&PA=1&SD=HSCH

327390 - Windows Messenger Starts When You Start Outlook Express After You Remove Access to

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;327390&FR=1&PA=1&SD=HSCH

http://www.dougknox.com/xp/tips/xp_messenger_remove.htm

How To uninstall Windows Messenger completly from your computer
faq779-1380

The other method to uninstall it completely,
Go to Start > Run, then type in this and run it. (one Line)

RunDll32 advpack.dll,LaunchINFSection %windir%\INF\msmsgs.inf,BLC.Remove

 

[StevenB]

Thanks for the messenger info!

Just to clarify, the RAM question was unrelated to the messenger one.

The latest update on the RAM thing:

Basically, the machine only has 256 MB of RAM, and is struggling mightily (Norton Internet Security alone is chewing up over 100MB of that regularly.) I mean really, what XP machine is going to run well with 256MB of RAM anyway?

So, I'm just trying to identify what kind of RAM this guy could buy to bump that up, but since it's a no-name, I'm not sure what he can get.

Belarc has the following info about the system:

[snip]
System Model
ECS M922 1.0
Asset Tag: 0123ABC

Processor
1.40 gigahertz Intel Pentium 4
8 kilobyte primary memory cache
256 kilobyte secondary memory cache

Main Circuit Board
Board: ECS M922 1.0
Bus Clock: 100 megahertz
BIOS: American Megatrends Inc. 07.00T 04/02/01

Memory Modules
256 Megabytes Installed Memory

Slot '0' is Empty
Slot '1' has 256 MB
Slot '2' is Empty
Slot '3' is Empty
[/snip]

The RAM chip itself reads "Samsung 256MB 16x8 DDR 266".

So, based on that, any idea what kind of memory I could stick in those extra slots if I wanted to bump him to 1GB or so?

To be honest, I'm so lost when it comes to memory, it would be best if someone could just link me to a specific memory chip at ZipZoomFly or some such and say "Buy this, it would work."

Steve

 

[bcastner]

SAMSUNG 256MB 184PIN ECC REG PC2100 DDR (16X8)

Put the above into Google and pick a vendor.

 

[StevenB]

bcastner,

Do I have enough information to know if I could mix in a 512 MB chip?

 

[bcastner]

According to this it will work:

http://www.4allmemory.com/index.cfm...orySearch&manufacturer_id=5635&model_id=-4371

By the way, your motherboard: ECS Elitegroup Computer M922

 

[StevenB]

You guys are the best!

 

[bcastner]

Make sure you put it in the next slot to the existing memory. Slots 3 & 4 are for SDRAM and not DDRAM modules.

 

[cdogg]

Also just to add...

If you are convinced that the "amount of memory" is the problem, then why not reduce the amount of programs that are loading with Windows as a test first?

Go to Start -> Run and type msconfig. Hit OK and go to the startup tab. Uncheck all Norton components, and any other resource hogs that you see. Reboot and see if there is any noticeable difference. If there's a huge difference, then adding more memory may help somewhat.

It's also possible that the PC is infected with spyware/adware, which seems like the #1 cause for slowness nowadays. forum760 is a place to start. One of the FAQ's there (faq760-3862) lists some free scanners available to try.

Good luck!



~cdogg
[tab]"All paid jobs absorb and degrade the mind";
[tab][tab]- Aristotle
[tab][navy]For general rules and guidelines to get better answers, click here:[/navy] faq219-2884

 

[StevenB]

Thanks for the suggestions. I may try it, but I'm pretty comfortable that I have that angle covered. His system was slow before, but it slowed drastically when he installed Norton. With Norton installed, the system can barely move, and certainly can't handle doing multiple things at once. If I disable Norton and get it out of memory, it's slow, but almost functional.

I've installed and run both AdAware and SpyBot to sweep any spyware away. I've also defragged his hard drive and run cleanmgr to get rid of excess junk.

I've shut down a few services that BlackViper recommends getting rid of, although I still have system restore turned on.

Thanks for the suggestions everyone!

Steve