Help, before I shoot my machine!
 

2 yr old IBM NetVista 2254G23
1 GHz Intel P3
512 Mb RAM

I have a problem that I've been trying to fix for 3 weeks. Here's a quick
list of some of the symptoms:

#1. Certain web pages containing Flash elements freeze the computer. Not
ALL pages with Flash locks it up, just certain ones like
https://webauth.comcast.betb (my broadband provider). The Macromedia site
works fine, as do other Flash sites.

#2. Opening certain images in Photoshop7 or trying to edit / manipulate
others freezes the computer. Oddly enough, the same images or operations
have no problems in Illustrator 10 or ImageReady.

#3. Receiving email from my default address in Outlook Express doesn't
freeze my computer, but it doesn't complete and I have to abort the
transfer. I can receive it all perfectly well in Outlook, but OE gets stuck
right in the middle of receiving the transfer.

Other than these issues the machine works fine.

After updating every driver / program / peripheral / BIOS / etc I finally
narrowed it down to the memory. I have two 256 Mb stick in each DIMM. If I
take out one of the sticks, everything works fine... the web pages,
Photoshop, Outlook Express, etc. It doesn't matter which stick is in there,
they both work perfectly alone. I even purchased a new stick just to be
sure. All 3 work perfectly by themselves, but no matter which 2 I use or
which DIMM I put them in, none will work with any other.

It's not the DIMMS, it's not the sticks. So what is it about putting in 512
Mb of RAM that could cause these problems?

Thanks in advance.

-Skip

-Skip2Maloo- wrote:

I have two 256 Mb stick in each DIMM. If I
take out one of the sticks, everything works fine...

What OS? Did it ever work right with both sticks and just now started this
out of the blue? Or is this a new ram setup and now it's acting up?

BTW using OE for anything is asking for problems, it and outlook are virus
magnets.

--

Stacey

On Wed, 19 Nov 2003 06:50:46 GMT, "-Skip2Maloo-"
wrote:

2 yr old IBM NetVista 2254G23
1 GHz Intel P3
512 Mb RAM

I have a problem that I've been trying to fix for 3 weeks. Here's a quick
list of some of the symptoms:

#1. Certain web pages containing Flash elements freeze the computer. Not
ALL pages with Flash locks it up, just certain ones like
https://webauth.comcast.betb (my broadband provider). The Macromedia site
works fine, as do other Flash sites.

#2. Opening certain images in Photoshop7 or trying to edit / manipulate
others freezes the computer. Oddly enough, the same images or operations
have no problems in Illustrator 10 or ImageReady.

#3. Receiving email from my default address in Outlook Express doesn't
freeze my computer, but it doesn't complete and I have to abort the
transfer. I can receive it all perfectly well in Outlook, but OE gets stuck
right in the middle of receiving the transfer.

Other than these issues the machine works fine.

After updating every driver / program / peripheral / BIOS / etc I finally
narrowed it down to the memory. I have two 256 Mb stick in each DIMM. If I
take out one of the sticks, everything works fine... the web pages,
Photoshop, Outlook Express, etc. It doesn't matter which stick is in there,
they both work perfectly alone. I even purchased a new stick just to be
sure. All 3 work perfectly by themselves, but no matter which 2 I use or
which DIMM I put them in, none will work with any other.

It's not the DIMMS, it's not the sticks. So what is it about putting in 512
Mb of RAM that could cause these problems?

Just to get the terminology correct: the memory "sticks" are DIMMs (Dual
In-line Memory Module) and you plug them into slots.

I've no idea who makes the mbrd your system uses. Have you tried the
single memory modules in different slots? How is the ventilation - no
cables obstructing airflow from getting at the memory modules? Are the
DIMMs all identical on timing parameters?... sometimes not an absolute
necessity but advisable.

Get memtest86 from http://www.memtest86.com and run it for at least two
full cycles - guessing about 2hrs on your system.

Where did you get the DIMMs from? IBM systems are often known to be very
picky about memory source and type - see what Crucial has to say:
http://www.crucial.com/store/listpar...ls&s ubmit=Go
or http://makeashorterlink.com/?M28151596 on the subject.

Rgds, George Macdonald

"Just because they're paranoid doesn't mean you're not psychotic" - Who, me??

"stacey" wrote in message
...
-Skip2Maloo- wrote:

I have two 256 Mb stick in each DIMM. If I
take out one of the sticks, everything works fine...

What OS? Did it ever work right with both sticks and just now started this
out of the blue? Or is this a new ram setup and now it's acting up?

BTW using OE for anything is asking for problems, it and outlook are virus
magnets.

--

Stacey

I'm sorry I didn't mention the OS the first time ... XP Home.

The machine has worked flawlessly with this RAM configuration for about a
year. This problem has only come up in the last 3 weeks or so. As best I can
remember, I didn't make any modifications to the machine in this time frame
that would account for this problem.

I just performed a little experiment just to see what would happen. I
replaced one of the 256 MB sticks with an older 64 MB stick just to see what
would happen with 2 sticks of any kind in the DIMMs. The machine worked
perfectly, no problems with the web pages, Photoshop or OE. I'm not sure
what this tells me, except for the fact that having 2 memory modules in the
machine isn't the problem.

As for Outlook / OE, I'm aware of their vulnerabilities. Fortunately, I have
and excellent antivirus and firewall that I have the highest confidence in.
So far, I haven't had reason to worry.

Any information that might point me in the right direction would be most
appreciated.

Skip

On Wed, 19 Nov 2003 06:50:46 GMT, "-Skip2Maloo-"
wrote:

2 yr old IBM NetVista 2254G23
1 GHz Intel P3
512 Mb RAM

I have a problem that I've been trying to fix for 3 weeks. Here's a quick
list of some of the symptoms:

#1. Certain web pages containing Flash elements freeze the computer. Not
ALL pages with Flash locks it up, just certain ones like
https://webauth.comcast.betb (my broadband provider). The Macromedia site
works fine, as do other Flash sites.

#2. Opening certain images in Photoshop7 or trying to edit / manipulate
others freezes the computer. Oddly enough, the same images or operations
have no problems in Illustrator 10 or ImageReady.

#3. Receiving email from my default address in Outlook Express doesn't
freeze my computer, but it doesn't complete and I have to abort the
transfer. I can receive it all perfectly well in Outlook, but OE gets
stuck
right in the middle of receiving the transfer.

Other than these issues the machine works fine.

After updating every driver / program / peripheral / BIOS / etc I finally
narrowed it down to the memory. I have two 256 Mb stick in each DIMM. If
I
take out one of the sticks, everything works fine... the web pages,
Photoshop, Outlook Express, etc. It doesn't matter which stick is in
there,
they both work perfectly alone. I even purchased a new stick just to be
sure. All 3 work perfectly by themselves, but no matter which 2 I use or
which DIMM I put them in, none will work with any other.

It's not the DIMMS, it's not the sticks. So what is it about putting in
512
Mb of RAM that could cause these problems?


"George Macdonald" wrote in message
...
Just to get the terminology correct: the memory "sticks" are DIMMs (Dual
In-line Memory Module) and you plug them into slots.

Sorry about this. I suppose if I knew what I was talking about I'd probably
be able to fix it :)

I've no idea who makes the mbrd your system uses. Have you tried the
single memory modules in different slots?

Yes. I have three 256 MB modules and two 64 MB modules, and it doesn't make
any difference which one is in which slot, and any combination of modules is
ok too.

Interestingly enough, the only time the problems occur is when I have two of
the 256 MB modules installed (and it doesn't matter which ones). Installing
one 256 MB module and one 64 MB module works perfectly, no problems at all.
But I've had the two 256 MB modules installed for a year now, weird it
suddenly doesn't work quite right.

How is the ventilation - no cables obstructing airflow from getting at
the memory modules?

CPU fan, power supply fan, video card CPU fan, case fan... all fine and free
flowing.

Are the DIMMs all identical on timing parameters?... sometimes not an
absolute
necessity but advisable.

Yes, I bought from Crucial in matching pairs.


Get memtest86 from http://www.memtest86.com and run it for at least two
full cycles - guessing about 2hrs on your system.

I tried IBM's startup diagnostics, which took about 3 hours to run. But I'm
totally willing to see if memetest can figure it out.


Where did you get the DIMMs from?

Crucial


Rgds, George Macdonald


I appreciate the help, George. Thank you for trying.

Skip

-Skip2Maloo- wrote:

"stacey" wrote in message
...
-Skip2Maloo- wrote:

I have two 256 Mb stick in each DIMM. If I
take out one of the sticks, everything works fine...

What OS? Did it ever work right with both sticks and just now started
this out of the blue? Or is this a new ram setup and now it's acting up?

BTW using OE for anything is asking for problems, it and outlook are
virus magnets.

--

Stacey

I'm sorry I didn't mention the OS the first time ... XP Home.

The machine has worked flawlessly with this RAM configuration for about a
year. This problem has only come up in the last 3 weeks or so. As best I
can remember, I didn't make any modifications to the machine in this time
frame that would account for this problem.

I just performed a little experiment just to see what would happen. I
replaced one of the 256 MB sticks with an older 64 MB stick just to see
what would happen with 2 sticks of any kind in the DIMMs. The machine
worked perfectly, no problems with the web pages, Photoshop or OE. I'm not
sure what this tells me, except for the fact that having 2 memory modules
in the machine isn't the problem.


Sounds like something is wrong with one of the 256 sticks. Seen ram that
works fine by itself but chokes when installed with another stick.

--

Stacey

"stacey" wrote in message
...
-Skip2Maloo- wrote:

"stacey" wrote in message
...
-Skip2Maloo- wrote:

I have two 256 Mb stick in each DIMM. If I
take out one of the sticks, everything works fine...

What OS? Did it ever work right with both sticks and just now started
this out of the blue? Or is this a new ram setup and now it's acting
up?

BTW using OE for anything is asking for problems, it and outlook are
virus magnets.

--

Stacey

I'm sorry I didn't mention the OS the first time ... XP Home.

The machine has worked flawlessly with this RAM configuration for about
a
year. This problem has only come up in the last 3 weeks or so. As best I
can remember, I didn't make any modifications to the machine in this
time
frame that would account for this problem.

I just performed a little experiment just to see what would happen. I
replaced one of the 256 MB sticks with an older 64 MB stick just to see
what would happen with 2 sticks of any kind in the DIMMs. The machine
worked perfectly, no problems with the web pages, Photoshop or OE. I'm
not
sure what this tells me, except for the fact that having 2 memory
modules
in the machine isn't the problem.


Sounds like something is wrong with one of the 256 sticks. Seen ram that
works fine by itself but chokes when installed with another stick.

--

Stacey

Interesting. I've never heard of that, but nothin' surprises me anymore.
I've tried every possible combination between the three 256 MB modules I
have, but if it is in fact an issue that only appears when installed
together, there's not much I can do to test that except buy a 4th stick I
probably don't need.

I'm still hopeful it's a conflict or configuration setting that I can correc
t. If not, wish me luck talking my wife into a new Dell :)

Skip

On Wed, 19 Nov 2003 12:38:54 GMT, "-Skip2Maloo-"
wrote:

snip

"George Macdonald" wrote in message
.. .
Just to get the terminology correct: the memory "sticks" are DIMMs (Dual
In-line Memory Module) and you plug them into slots.

Sorry about this. I suppose if I knew what I was talking about I'd probably
be able to fix it :)

I've no idea who makes the mbrd your system uses. Have you tried the
single memory modules in different slots?

Yes. I have three 256 MB modules and two 64 MB modules, and it doesn't make
any difference which one is in which slot, and any combination of modules is
ok too.

Interestingly enough, the only time the problems occur is when I have two of
the 256 MB modules installed (and it doesn't matter which ones). Installing
one 256 MB module and one 64 MB module works perfectly, no problems at all.
But I've had the two 256 MB modules installed for a year now, weird it
suddenly doesn't work quite right.

I usually start with the software - have you run a SFC /scannow? Have you
tried cleaning the contacts for the DIMMs and the slots? If it's something
going awry with the hardware it could be a power problem, either on the
mbrd or power supply. I believe your mbrd is possibly from the era of the
capacitor "problem":
http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/WEBONLY...eb03/ncap.html &
http://www.motherboardrepair.com/

IBM has apparently acknowledged the problem on some products and might
respond on it with a "warranty" repair. Check the capacitors around the
CPU for swelling at the top and ugh oozing.:-) See the images at
http://www.motherboardrepair.com/.

snip

Get memtest86 from http://www.memtest86.com and run it for at least two
full cycles - guessing about 2hrs on your system.

I tried IBM's startup diagnostics, which took about 3 hours to run. But I'm
totally willing to see if memetest can figure it out.

Try it. AFAIK IBM's diag is from PC Doctor which is not as good as
memtest86.


Where did you get the DIMMs from?

Crucial

The recommended "special" IBM compatible part numbers? Crucial *does*
guarantee with "money back" IIRC.

Rgds, George Macdonald

"Just because they're paranoid doesn't mean you're not psychotic" - Who, me??

-Skip2Maloo- wrote:


I'm still hopeful it's a conflict or configuration setting that I can
correc
t. If not, wish me luck talking my wife into a new Dell :)



Then try reinstalling windows fresh. That should fix any software issues and
is free, at least money wise.
--

Stacey

"stacey" wrote in message
...
-Skip2Maloo- wrote:


I'm still hopeful it's a conflict or configuration setting that I can
correc
t. If not, wish me luck talking my wife into a new Dell :)



Then try reinstalling windows fresh. That should fix any software issues
and
is free, at least money wise.
--

Stacey

Yeah, I was thinking this would be my next step. I was just hoping to find
the "switch" that would fix it without reinstalling everything from scratch.

I appreciate your time and input. Thank you.

Skip