"Memory size decrease"

[JAY]

my dell 4100 xp home, is shutting down by itself & restarting to a
set-up page which counts system ram upto 132 mb (it actually has full
512 mb) and proclaims- "MEMORY SIZE DECREASE"-any ideas welcome-thanks
to all in advance.-also machine is running suddenly s-l-o-w. all
antivirus scans are virus free.

 

[John]

my dell 4100 xp home, is shutting down by itself & restarting to a
set-up page which counts system ram upto 132 mb (it actually has full
512 mb) and proclaims- "MEMORY SIZE DECREASE"-any ideas welcome-thanks
to all in advance.-also machine is running suddenly s-l-o-w. all
antivirus scans are virus free.

The "MEMORY SIZE DECREASE" is a BIOS error message.
It points to a RAM SIMM that is defective or improperly seated.

If you only have one SIMM, try reseating it.
Next, try a different slot.

If you have 2 X 256, try them one at a time to see which one gives the
problem.
The good one will count to 256, the bad one only to 4.
It won't boot to windows, but should boot to your Dell Diagnostics to do a
memory tesy.

Last, try the bad SIMM in another slot if available.
If it turns out to be a bad slot, Dell will replace the motherboard if in
warranty.
If not in warranty, just leave the third slot empty. Replacing a Dell
motherboard is expensive.


John