The Day After...

Merry Christmas!

While I do despise Celine Dion, Kris likes this arrangement. So please enjoy and have a Merry Christmas.

Weekend Giveaway...

This weekend was quiet and uneventful.

I spent much of the time tweaking Annie's computer after the upgrade I put in there. She still had something dragging performance way down. I'm almost certain it is because it is still running off the original HP installation of XP Home. The previous owner also had alot of spyware programs on there and I'm sure that has contributed to the poor performance.

Annie's computer is running a 2.19 GHz proc with 760MB of RAM. I intend to bump it up to 1GB and drop a Nvidia 5500 or 5200 256MB PCI graphics card into it. This will improve some of the gaming performance issues and it should also help system performance.

Ultimately, I will need to wipe her hard drive and reformat. She has a 80GB harddrive, which is set up on two partitions - common practice with HP machines, in my experience. Since we now have 500GB of storage (thanks dad!), we have room to back up all of her files an get the machine up and running rather quickly.

I am still planning to build a file server for the basement, but am trying to decide if I want to build an actual computer or a NAS - Network Attached Storage - which is essentially a hard drive enclosure that connects via Ethernet as opposed to USB or Firewire. The nice thing about doing an NAS is you don't have to build the entire machine or worry anything other than the hard drive. Yes, having a fourth desktop would be nice, but it also means having to build another machine, which takes away from being able to upgrade the others and also brings with it power consumption issues. Right now the Home Network has three desktops - Infernal Gateway, foxxcon, and Annie's HP; two laptops - Think pad and Compaq; and one Windows CE machine.

So, finding a time to do a back-up and reinstall of XP Home is really the only hurdle. It also means Annie Pouting will be at an all-time high. Bah!

My next step is to (a) pick up a small switch for the living room desktop and (b) run a 50 foot cable into our bedroom. Kris already OK'ed the project as it would allow her to play Pogo and watch TV in bed, thus freeing up the living room computer for more entertaining projects.

Far Cry
I picked up Far Cry from Ubisoft's website on Friday and spent most of the weekend perplexed at how difficult level one is. Laugh if you want, but I'm playing the game on "Realistic" setting, which means you get hit once or twice and you die.

You start with a Desert Eagle and machete, eventually picking up an M4. Trust me, the game is very difficult on this setting and taking down the mercs has proven a most difficult affair.

The graphics on my machine are simply awesome. Again, this machine is awesome for an aged game like this.

I do plan to pick up a hard copy of this game to add to the collection. I'm looking for the small box edition and not the jewel case. So far, I've seen them on eBay for about $15 with one listed at $12.

Virtual Facehugger...

Memory Issues: Other

Apart from the two issues below, you have some additional concerns when upgrading your computer.

What type of RAM does my computer take?
There are several different types and capacities of RAM to choose from. This can be found out a few ways:

1. Check the Retailer: This gives you the opportunity to avoid having to do the other work, yourself. Most Computer Retailers will be able to tell you whether or not the RAM they are selling is compatible with your computer.
   
2. Check the Computer Manufacturer: They will have specs on what type of RAM you can use, how much your board can support, and other issues with the RAM. THis may give you the opportunity to download updates for the BIOS, as well.
3. Check the Motherboard Manufacturer: If you don't have the manual, check the manufacturer's site for the Specs on the motherboard itself. This requires you to know who details about the computer's motherboard such as manufacturer and model number. This may give you an additional opportunity to download updates for the motherboard BIOS, some of which may be additional compatibility for RAM.
   
4. Check the Memory Manufacturer: Many of the larger manufacturers will have some kind of information form to list what computers their RAM is compatible with by simply entering your computer's Model number.

Can my motherboard support an increase in RAM?
This becomes the real question. The majority of computers manufactured with Pentium III or older may not be able to support more than 512MB of RAM. As noted before, you will need to find out if the board is capable of handling a specific amount of RAM.

First, you have to figure out how you plan to add this RAM, as in what physical amounts will be added to accomplish the total amount. This requires you to identify how many Slots are available on your board (1, 2, 3, 4?)

Secondly, you will need to check with the manufacturer to find out how much RAM each slot can hold. Some boards may only support 128MB, 256MB or 512MB per slot and would then purchase a specific chip to accommodate those requirements.

For example, our motherboard has 3 slots, each of which can accommodate a maximum of 256MB per slot. That means, that the motherboard is ultimately limited to a maximum of 768MB of RAM. It also means I could have a few options for getting other totals. Use of a 512MB stick may or may not work, and there is the chance the operating system would not recognize any more than what it is capable of.

Can my Operating System support an increase in RAM?
This may be a problem when moving beyond the Windows 98, ME, or 2000 into XP or higher. This may also present problems when you are running programs or games that require additional RAM.

As noted in the below Article "Memory Problems," Windows 9x-based operating system require an edit to the system.ini file to allow more than 512MB and Ultimately may only be able to support a maximum of 800MB of RAM. Additional modifications may be necessary, and I would have to refer you to some of the Windows Enthusiasts' Sites, such as www.mdgx.com.

In my case, I ran Windows 98SE on a Motherboard that supported a 1GB chip in two slots. Windows did recognize I had 1024MB of RAM, but ran into the memory problems list in the previous article. After making changes to the system.ini file, I still had problems. I was forced to buy a 512 chip and limit the RAM. This was fine as a Windows 98 machine with 512 ran beautifully, especially when coupled with a 2+ GHz processor.

When Windows 98 began showing sigs of incompatibility with the software I was using, I knew it was time to move to the next operating system.

Windows ME was considered simply for compatibility with some of the older games I run on the system, but I knew the RAM limitations, even with modification, would still be an issue. I wanted the ability move to upgrade to 2GB, if desired as this machine was fully capable of running XP or Vista.

Windows 2000 does not appear to have any limitations to RAM as with 98/ME. I prefer 2000 to XP Home because it allows better security and the possibility of creating a domain for the network later on. I can upgrade the RAM to 2GB and have no problems from Windows 2000.

Conclusion
I hope this will at least be of some help to anyone looking to upgrade. It can save you the time and money of getting the wrong part or potentially damaging their system.

Memory Problems in Windows 95, 98 and ME

Use of Memory Configurations Greater than 512MB in Windows 95, 98 and Windows Millennium Edition

There have been numerous questions that have arisen since the release of Windows 95 regarding memory limitations in Windows 9x. These questions resurface with each subsequent release, and cover Windows 95 OSR2, Windows 98, Windows 98SE and the Windows Millennium Edition. Windows 9x does have a memory limitation, however if your needs require in excess of 512MB of physical memory, there are methods you can use to overcome this limitation.

The information in this document is supported by the following articles that can be found in the Microsoft^® Product Support Services Technical Knowledge Base:

Out of Memory Error Messages with Large Amounts of RAM Installed

Some symptoms to help you identify if your are experiencing this problem

If a computer that is running any of the versions of Windows listed above contains more than 512 megabytes (for example, 768 megabytes) of physical memory (RAM) installed, you may experience one or more of the following symptoms:

• You may be unable to open an MS-DOS session (command prompt) while Windows is running. Attempts to do so may generate the following error message:
  
  There is not enough memory available to run this program.
  Quit one or more programs, and then try again.
  
  
• The computer may stop responding or hang while Windows is starting, or halt and display the following error message:
  
  Insufficient memory to initialize windows. Quit one or more memory-resident programs or remove unnecessary utilities from your Config.sys and Autoexec.bat files, and restart your computer.
  

The Cause
The Windows 32-bit protected-mode cache driver (Vcache) determines the maximum cache size based on the amount of RAM that is present when Windows starts. Vcache then reserves enough memory addresses to permit it to access a cache of the maximum size so that it can increase the cache to that size if needed. These addresses are allocated in a range of virtual addresses from 0xC0000000 through 0xFFFFFFFF (3 to 4 gigabytes) known as the system arena.

In Computers having large amounts of physical RAM memory, the maximum cache size can be large enough that Vcache consumes all of the addresses in the system arena, leaving no virtual memory addresses available for other functions such as opening an MS-DOS prompt (creating a new virtual machine).

Possible Workarounds
Try one of the following methods:

• Use the MaxFileCache setting in the System.ini file to reduce the maximum amount of memory that Vcache uses to 512 megabytes (524,288 KB) or less.
  
  We recommend that you remove all but 512MB of memory from your computer and then start it normally. Change the Vcache settings as necessary, shut down, and then reinstall your remaining RAM memory.
  
  For additional information about how to use the MaxFileCache setting, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
  
  32-Bit File Access Maximum Cache Size
  
  
• Use the System Configuration utility to limit the amount of memory that Windows uses to 512 megabytes (MB) or less.
  
  We recommend that you remove all but 512MB of memory from your computer and then start it normally. Adjust your settings as necessary, shut down, and then reinstall your remaining RAM memory.
  
  For additional information about how to use the System Configuration utility, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
  
  System Configuration Utility Advanced Troubleshooting Settings
  
  
• Reduce the amount of memory that is installed in your computer to 512 MB or less.

MORE INFORMATION
Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the Microsoft products listed at the beginning of this article.

Vcache is limited internally to a maximum cache size of 800 MB.

This problem may occur more readily with Advanced Graphics Port (AGP) video adapters because the AGP aperture is also mapped to addresses in the system arena. For example, if Vcache is using a maximum cache size of 800 MB and an AGP video adapter has a 128-MB aperture mapped, there is very little address space remaining for the other system code and data that must occupy this range of virtual addresses.

Windows 2000 Hard Drive Limitations

When formatting a large capacity hard drive in Windows 2000, you may run across a few barriers to “Ultra High Capacity Bliss.” Windows 2000 only supports a hard drive up to 137GB, but to get around this issue, you must make changes to the registry. This is the easy part. And I found this article detailing the procedure:

You must enable the support in the Windows 2000 registry by adding or changing the EnableBigLba registry value to 1 in the following registry subkey:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\atapi\Parameters

To enable 48-bit LBA large-disk support in the registry:

1. Start Registry Editor (Regedt32.exe) or Run: regedit.

2. Locate and then click the following key in the registry: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Atapi\Parameters

3. Locate “EnableBigLba” subkey and change the registry value to “1” If the subkey is not present, you will have to create one:

a. In Windows 2000 SP2-3: On the Edit menu, click Add Value, and then add the following registry value:
Value name: EnableBigLba
Data type: REG_DWORD
Value data: 0x1

b. In Windows 2000 SP4: On the Edit Menu, click new ->DWORD,

Value name: EnableBigLba

Value data: 1

4. Quit Registry Editor.

The Second Issue is your motherboard bios must support large capacity drives (48-bit LBA-compatible BIOS). If your motherboard’s BIOS doesn’t support this function, your options are:

· Check with the motherboard manufacturer for a 48-bit LBA-compatible BIOS update.

· Purchase and install a 48-bit LBA-compatible hard drive controller.

You can check for compatibility by referring to your motherboard documentation, checking the manufacturer’s website, or by contacting the computer manufacturer’s technical support. Additionally, you can check the motherboard manufacturer’s website.

The hard drive controller card simply requires you to purchase a PCI controller card, install the driver software, and allow the hard drive to be detected and installed.

For more information about this procedure, please consult Microsoft Knowledge Base Article – 305098.