RAM Question

[Guest]

Please pardon my ignorance when it comes to computers, but I need advice...a
couple of years ago, I upgraded my RAM to 516 MB. Recently it has gotten
very slow...and I notice when I boot up, it only displays 128 MB of RAM when
booting, but when I go into System Properties, it still shows 512 MB or
RAM...what is going on here????? I have also been getting some "low on
virtual memory" messages. The computer is a Compaq Presario with AMD Athlon,
2.00 GHz. Anybody got any ideas what the deal is...has my RAM gone bad?????
I probably have not done a good job of explaining this, but again, I am not a
computer person....

 

[Jerry]

And the tech support folks at Compaq have said what?

 

[Bob Willard]

Please pardon my ignorance when it comes to computers, but I need advice...a
couple of years ago, I upgraded my RAM to 516 MB. Recently it has gotten
very slow...and I notice when I boot up, it only displays 128 MB of RAM when
booting, but when I go into System Properties, it still shows 512 MB or
RAM...what is going on here????? I have also been getting some "low on
virtual memory" messages. The computer is a Compaq Presario with AMD Athlon,
2.00 GHz. Anybody got any ideas what the deal is...has my RAM gone bad?????
I probably have not done a good job of explaining this, but again, I am not a
computer person....

The gold standard for RAM testing is MemTest86+, currently at v1.65.
You can
download it from www.memtest.org, then use the included .BAT file to copy
the executable to a FD, then reboot. Plan on a long run (overnight is good)
to make sure your RAM is healthy; if you get errors (or if memtest86+
doesn't find all of your RAM), you'll know what to do.

If your RAM appears bad, you might try turning the power off (completely,
using the switch on the PS) and removing/reseating the RAM sticks.