Author Topic: Upgrading RAM amount; please help me choose. (Read 37,598 times)

Shades · « **Reply #25 on:** January 04, 2012, 06:29 PM »

@Ath:
At the risk of taking this thread too off-topic...that is the first time I hear of that, to be honest.

The system that contains this setup is my most stable PC (running Ubuntu 10.04 Server) to date. Actually, the drive rack from the server case in which the drive is mounted is oriented vertically by design (right above a cooling fan). There are 8 horizontal slots for a RAID setup (of which 4 are in use) in the adjacent section from this server case.

Anyway, I thought the setup to be smart with the design of the server case as it is. Server case is from a company called Meridian and was bought from a yearly auction held by the US embassy here in Paraguay. Paid about 10 USD for it at the time. Although the case was used for several years I thought it to be a good deal, because it is still running great after 5 years.

Trying to go to the topic at hand:
Only the word Itunes already causes an allergic reaction with my person. I also believe that each time you start the application your I.Q. drops with 1 point. Permanently!

So it is not so hard to imagine that the damage it does on your PC will be devastating!

If I was allowed to compare It.n.s with a disease, it would be ebola!

J-Mac · « **Reply #26 on:** January 04, 2012, 08:20 PM »

Hey Supe - why do you have iTunes installed? For an iPad or iPhone? I got an iPad for Christmas and I have nt yet installed iTunes. Don’t think I will either. So far I have been able to get most files I want on the iPad via DropBox. However each time I download a file from DropBox it (DB) stops showing my list of files! Page says "Loading" but the entire file list is missing. Next day I go to the DB site and it's fine. I select a handful of files again and download them. Then the file list disappears once again. I haven't figured this out yet.

Thanks!

Jim

superboyac · « **Reply #27 on:** January 04, 2012, 08:51 PM »

Quote from: J-Mac on January 04, 2012, 08:20 PM

Hey Supe - why do you have iTunes installed? For an iPad or iPhone? I got an iPad for Christmas and I have nt yet installed iTunes. Don’t think I will either. So far I have been able to get most files I want on the iPad via DropBox. However each time I download a file from DropBox it (DB) stops showing my list of files! Page says "Loading" but the entire file list is missing. Next day I go to the DB site and it's fine. I select a handful of files again and download them. Then the file list disappears once again. I haven't figured this out yet.

Thanks!

Jim

Yeah, I have the ipad1. I don't know what you're problem is, but I've had lots of problems with things like dropbox, evernote, (cloud stuff) in that a lot of the wifi security can really restrict a lot of that stuff. They have a stupid amount of security at my work, and even with all my special access profiles, I can't use my ipad or any tablet with dropbox and evernote because it gets blocked. it's not the intent of IT here, but that's what happens. Again, too much paranoia to the point where these devices become largely unusable.

The iOS can just be finicky at times. Usually things connect really easily, but when there's a problem, it's difficult to troubleshoot it. Apple is not troubleshooting friendly exactly because they are easy to use.

I'm surprised you haven't had to use itunes yet. Didn't you have to connect it to itunes initially just to start using it? I just jailbroke my ipad yesterday to ios5.01 so that I can use the comic reader mobi app.

I'm really just waiting for a nice windows tablet. These androids and ios don't cut it for me

J-Mac · « **Reply #28 on:** January 04, 2012, 09:09 PM »

I looked at them but there was no place to purchase one except Verizon or AT&T - and I am not going to do that. They always manage to try and control what I can do, trying to force me into buying it or subscribing to it through them. They can kiss my butt!

I have always rooted any smartphone to get around that stuff. My iPad 2 is wifi only, but I can use it at home and most anywhere else via Comcast's hotspots - they are all over this whole area; I have nt found a location where I can't log in to a Comcast hotspot.

Jim

superboyac · « **Reply #29 on:** January 04, 2012, 09:53 PM »

Quote from: J-Mac on January 04, 2012, 09:09 PM

I looked at them but there was no place to purchase one except Verizon or AT&T - and I am not going to do that. They always manage to try and control what I can do, trying to force me into buying it or subscribing to it through them. They can kiss my butt!

I have always rooted any smartphone to get around that stuff. My iPad 2 is wifi only, but I can use it at home and most anywhere else via Comcast's hotspots - they are all over this whole area; I have nt found a location where I can't log in to a Comcast hotspot.

Jim

Interesting...I also don't use the data plan even though I have the 3g model (I needed the gps). I was just thinking of paying time warner my ISP an additional $20 a month to carry around the mobile hotspot. It's cheaper than a data plan and would work with all my devices.

Stoic Joker · « **Reply #30 on:** January 04, 2012, 11:37 PM »

Quote from: Ath on January 04, 2012, 02:58 PM

Quote from: Shades on January 04, 2012, 02:51 PM
The only disk where I never gave done this fix is one that is mounted vertically with the power and SATA connectors on top.
OT:
That's the only position that's not allowed/recommended by most manufacturers $:-\$

Quote from: Shades on January 04, 2012, 06:29 PM

@Ath:
At the risk of taking this thread too off-topic...that is the first time I hear of that, to be honest.

I'm a tad baffeled by that one myself. I've seen several manufacturers (HP, Dell, etc.) mount drives that way quite frequently. Especially the convertable desktops where it has two sets of feet to run standing up or lying down.

JavaJones · « **Reply #31 on:** January 05, 2012, 12:04 AM »

J-Mac, nice one on the new Puget system! Let us know what you think of it (and your overall experience), I still haven't reported on mine, but I'm still loving it 2+ months later.

SBAC: Your BSODs could be Comodo, that's definitely something I'd check early on, but do seem potentially hardware-related. Run a memory scan (Memtest86+ is my recommendation). Also, did you actually move/change any hardware *inside* the case recently? If so you might have bumped something...

- Oshyan

40hz · « **Reply #32 on:** January 05, 2012, 12:43 AM »

Quote from: JavaJones on January 05, 2012, 12:04 AM

SBAC: Your BSODs could be Comodo, that's definitely something I'd check early on, but do seem potentially hardware-related. Run a memory scan (Memtest86+ is my recommendation). Also, did you actually move/change any hardware *inside* the case recently? If so you might have bumped something...

You could try some "quick and dirty" elimination rounds to save time with Memtest86+ since the in-depth scans take a while to run.

Try pulling out half your RAM and the see if you're running into the same problems. If so, replace those with the other half and see if the problem goes away. If that's the case, a suspect bad stick is in the first group. Then try alternate loading the sticks in the suspect group one at a time until you get your error.

Once you've identified the "most likely bad" stick, pull all the other memory out, install the bad one and run Memtest to confirm it's the culprit. It takes a lot less time to test one RAM stick than it would all four if you're reasonably sure you've identified the bad guy.

If the suspect stick passes Memtest's scan (or if you get the same errors no matter which RAM sticks are installed) then there's a chance there's a mobo or memory slot hardware issue. You can do a similar process of elimination round on the slots to see if one of those is giving you hassles. If it doesn't matter which slots are used, or what RAM is installed, then there's a good chance it's a board issue. If updated motherboard firmware and drivers don't fix the problem (you already checked for those, right?) you may have a flaky mobo. Bummer if so... Check and see if there's been a recall or announcement at the mfg's site. You may be able to get a free replacement if so.

Note: Due to the low-level integration of video, a spooky video card can also cause a huge number of weird problems that don't seem related to video. So I'd also suggest you run your manufacturer's video board diagnostic (if they offer one) before deciding your mobo is shot.

I recently donated a nice PC somebody gave me last summer to a non-profit. It was throwing BSODs every hour or two. The owners decided to toss it and buy a new one because a big store service department ("after extensive testing" $$) told them the motherboard was shot. It wasn't. Once the bum vid card got replaced it worked like a dream.

Luck!

J-Mac · « **Reply #33 on:** January 05, 2012, 03:49 AM »

Quote from: JavaJones on January 05, 2012, 12:04 AM

J-Mac, nice one on the new Puget system! Let us know what you think of it (and your overall experience), I still haven't reported on mine, but I'm still loving it 2+ months later.

SBAC: Your BSODs could be Comodo, that's definitely something I'd check early on, but do seem potentially hardware-related. Run a memory scan (Memtest86+ is my recommendation). Also, did you actually move/change any hardware *inside* the case recently? If so you might have bumped something...

- Oshyan

Oshyan

Don’t have it yet; ordered it late last week - should be shipped late this week or early next week. My current box just needs too much work. I do plan to overhaul itut it will take me longer than I want to be without a PC.

Jim

JavaJones · « **Reply #34 on:** January 05, 2012, 04:11 AM »

Or you could save all the swapping around, which is *hands-on* time, and just let Memtest run over night.

But I'll agree I've done my share of swapping things about for diagnoses purposes too. Usually when I'm impatient.

- Oshyan

40hz · « **Reply #35 on:** January 05, 2012, 04:20 AM »

Quote from: JavaJones on January 05, 2012, 04:11 AM

just let Memtest run over night

Assuming there's "enough night" for it to finish with some RAM configurations.

superboyac · « **Reply #36 on:** January 05, 2012, 06:11 PM »

Ok! I now have a month of no side projects so I can play around with all this stuff...

I think the problem is .Net. My .net installations are corrupt I think. I'm going to try doing a repair installation of windows 7 to fix it first. If that doesn't do it, I'll check the hardware. But I haven't touched the hardware, other than moving audio cables.

I'm betting on .Net, and if not that, Comodo. It 'feels" like a software issue to me.

Stoic Joker · « **Reply #37 on:** January 05, 2012, 07:15 PM »

Quote from: superboyac on January 05, 2012, 06:11 PM

I'm betting on .Net, and if not that, Comodo. It 'feels" like a software issue to me.

With those two for options, you don't need a repair install. Personally if anything weird happens I tend to go after the security software first. I seldom need a step two...

For .NET issues, use the removal tool to strip out everything cleanly. Then reinstall (only) what you need.

As a rule .NET stuff tends to crash/hang/error .NET stuff (only)...I don't recall ever seeing a .NET related OS crash.

f0dder · « **Reply #38 on:** January 05, 2012, 08:45 PM »

Quote from: Stoic Joker on January 05, 2012, 07:15 PM

As a rule .NET stuff tends to crash/hang/error .NET stuff (only)...I don't recall ever seeing a .NET related OS crash.

Beat me to it.

OTOH, I've seen a fair amount of (different) 3rd party security pieces of s*** BSOD like happy hour. Really, just go with MSE

superboyac · « **Reply #39 on:** January 05, 2012, 08:57 PM »

Quote from: Stoic Joker on January 05, 2012, 07:15 PM

Quote from: superboyac on January 05, 2012, 06:11 PM
I'm betting on .Net, and if not that, Comodo. It 'feels" like a software issue to me.

With those two for options, you don't need a repair install. Personally if anything weird happens I tend to go after the security software first. I seldom need a step two...

For .NET issues, use the removal tool to strip out everything cleanly. Then reinstall (only) what you need.

As a rule .NET stuff tends to crash/hang/error .NET stuff (only)...I don't recall ever seeing a .NET related OS crash.

For Windows 7, the .net fixes are different because it comes with the OS. A lot of articles say to really repair it, you need to do a repair reinstall:

Quote

Unfortunately, there is not an easy way of repairing the registry keys/values that are installed by Windows Vista like there is for files. If you want to try to repair the registry keys/values that are a part of the .NET Framework 2.0 and 3.0, you will need to run Windows Vista OS setup again and repair the OS.

The explanation is here:
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/3413-repair-install.html

The reason why i suspect .NET is because I've been looking at the events log and before every crash there is usually some errors happening with .net and comodo. They are the two consistent items there.

superboyac · « **Reply #40 on:** January 05, 2012, 08:57 PM »

Quote from: f0dder on January 05, 2012, 08:45 PM

Quote from: Stoic Joker on January 05, 2012, 07:15 PM
As a rule .NET stuff tends to crash/hang/error .NET stuff (only)...I don't recall ever seeing a .NET related OS crash.
Beat me to it.

OTOH, I've seen a fair amount of (different) 3rd party security pieces of s*** BSOD like happy hour. Really, just go with MSE

OK...so you guys are saying get rid of Comodo first and if that doesn't work, then try repairing Windows?

I can do that, it makes sense.

Stoic Joker · « **Reply #41 on:** January 05, 2012, 10:50 PM »

On the (albeit unlikely) odd chance that the new duly appointed step one fails...
The .NET Removal Tool has served me well in the past. I usually strip everything with it then and start over (it hasn't failed me yet).

superboyac · « **Reply #42 on:** January 05, 2012, 10:58 PM »

Quote from: Stoic Joker on January 05, 2012, 10:50 PM

On the (albeit unlikely) odd chance that the new duly appointed step one fails...
The .NET Removal Tool has served me well in the past. I usually strip everything with it then and start over (it hasn't failed me yet).

have you ever used it with Windows 7? I've used it successfully with XP, but not vista or 7.

Stoic Joker · « **Reply #43 on:** January 06, 2012, 12:39 AM »

Quote from: superboyac on January 05, 2012, 10:58 PM

Quote from: Stoic Joker on January 05, 2012, 10:50 PM
On the (albeit unlikely) odd chance that the new duly appointed step one fails...
The .NET Removal Tool has served me well in the past. I usually strip everything with it then and start over (it hasn't failed me yet).
have you ever used it with Windows 7? I've used it successfully with XP, but not vista or 7.

Yes.

40hz · « **Reply #44 on:** January 06, 2012, 12:57 AM »

Quote from: Stoic Joker on January 06, 2012, 12:39 AM

Quote from: superboyac on January 05, 2012, 10:58 PM
Quote from: Stoic Joker on January 05, 2012, 10:50 PM
On the (albeit unlikely) odd chance that the new duly appointed step one fails...
The .NET Removal Tool has served me well in the past. I usually strip everything with it then and start over (it hasn't failed me yet).
have you ever used it with Windows 7? I've used it successfully with XP, but not vista or 7.

Yes.

Ditto.

Renegade · « **Reply #45 on:** January 06, 2012, 01:07 AM »

Quote from: 40hz on January 06, 2012, 12:57 AM

Quote from: Stoic Joker on January 06, 2012, 12:39 AM
Quote from: superboyac on January 05, 2012, 10:58 PM
Quote from: Stoic Joker on January 05, 2012, 10:50 PM
On the (albeit unlikely) odd chance that the new duly appointed step one fails...
The .NET Removal Tool has served me well in the past. I usually strip everything with it then and start over (it hasn't failed me yet).
have you ever used it with Windows 7? I've used it successfully with XP, but not vista or 7.

Yes.

Ditto.

I have never had to use it, but I have had customers use it to fix a .NET problem, and have never had any issues there. In every case it has solved the problem. That includes Windows 7.

superboyac · « **Reply #46 on:** January 06, 2012, 02:00 AM »

Thanks guys.

Well good news. I didn't have any crashes today so far. I just uninstalled Comodo. Everything's fine now. I kinda liked Comodo, though.

40hz · « **Reply #47 on:** January 06, 2012, 02:11 AM »

Quote from: superboyac on January 06, 2012, 02:00 AM

I just uninstalled Comodo. Everything's fine now. I kinda liked Comodo, though.

If it's any consolation, many of us did as you did, and walked away from Comodo.

And many of us also felt the same way about it.

superboyac · « **Reply #48 on:** January 06, 2012, 07:55 PM »

Quote from: 40hz on January 06, 2012, 02:11 AM

Quote from: superboyac on January 06, 2012, 02:00 AM
I just uninstalled Comodo. Everything's fine now. I kinda liked Comodo, though.

If it's any consolation, many of us did as you did, and walked away from Comodo.

And many of us also felt the same way about it.

Ha! Yeah, that does make me feel better. Thanks buddy!

superboyac · « **Reply #49 on:** January 07, 2012, 12:11 AM »

I just checked my event logs, and there has been nothing to note since the removal of Comodo. Whatever they did in that last update that polished the look of the interface really screwed up my computer. But...I did dig the new look.