[mawmaw]

Finally found the right board. I came to look up how to find out how much memory my comp will take and found more questions.. Let me just tell you my problems. I have a Gateway pentium 4, 2.4 ghz 80g hard drive, windows xp home with service pack 1. I had sp2 but it is gone-don't know how. I need sp2 to put my anti virus on. I get a virtual mem low error and my comp locks up all the time, having a hard time researching what I have to do. I know i need memory. all i have is 512mbDDR333, 2700. I was asked to find out how much memory my mother board can hold and i can't figure out how. The lady at the store tried to look it up using my model # but it came up celeron. I can't get up with gateway since my warranty is out. I don't have the paperwork anymore. To find out the speed of this memory I needed i went into my bios. Processor type: pentium 4 , processor speed: 2.40 Ghz , System bus speed: 533 Mhz , System memory speed: 333Mhz , Cache Ram: 512 kb , Total memory: 512 mb , memory Bank 0: 512 mb DDR333 , Memory bank 1: not installed. Anything else you need you'll have to tell me how. I'm not good with the insides of these things. How do i find out how much memory i can get?

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Go to the following sites and see what you get.

http://crucial.com/
http://www.4allmemory.com

[123Runner]

Go to the following sites and see what you get.

http://crucial.com/
http://www.4allmemory.com

[mawmaw]

Great that was what i needed. Can i do that for sound and video cards too? Oh and i downloaded the fan temp program and i have 2 fans i see running but it only lists one. its at 37. The one the power cord plugs into seems to be running alot slower than the one on my mother board. Can i just remove that one and take it into the comp store to replace? I read that this could also make the comp slow down.

[Troy]

Hi mawmaw

What fan temp program are you talking about?

Not all fans in a computer are necessarily connected to a sensor - and then you'll need a program that is capable of reading that particular sensor!

You should never remove the fan from inside the PSU. Do not ever attempt to open a PSU at all.

You're looking to upgrade this system a fair bit by the looks of it - how much money are you willing to spend on it? I'm tempted to suggest the Gateway you have is not worth throwing away too much cash on...

It also sounds like you need to do a bit of "cleaning up" within your system, clean out temporary files, uninstall unused programs, run a disk defragmenter, apply the latest Windows Updates (SP3 is now out), and run a full scan with an up-to-date antivirus program. You'll find these steps can help big time, if the computer has not been maintained.

Cheers

Troy

[mawmaw]

I installed the speed fan program mentioned in one of the posts. I have already done the things you suggested except installing sp3. I can't even install sp2 which i need to put my anti virus back on (got corruopted somehow and most wouldn't update so uninstalled and couldn't reinstall) For some reason my background intelligent updater won't update and i guess i need this to get sp2. I don't know anymore. I have little money ( 1 gig was only 29.99) I updated my nvidia driver and now can't update windows.) I'm getting so confused.

[Troy]

Windows not updating properly is possibly being caused by your Windows not being activated properly.

Please visit the following website and run through the check to test your system:

Please go HERE (Microsoft website) using Internet Explorer (not Firefox or any other browser as they won't work)

• Click on Windows Validation Assistant
• Click on the Validate Now button.
• Be patient while the ActiveX loads, do not click on any links.
• Read the instructions on this page while it's loading. You will be prompted to install - click YES.
• Enter your product key then click continue
• When it says "Validation Complete" please click Continue to return to your previous activity
• Copy what it says and paste it here.

If your Windows fails, then you'll need to reactivate it. This means you'll need to tell Windows your COA key through the Activation Assistant.

Or it might mean you need to purchase a legal version of Windows, if yours is not.

Once you have a legal and validated version of Windows, you should be able to run updates.

Troy

[mawmaw]

I went to the page and windows validation assisstant wasn't there. I did use the Genuine windows Validation after hunting a bit and it said i was genuine. I would have put it here but all it said was it was genuine.The windows xp came with my Gateway comp. I have only been having the prob since trying to update my nvidia drivers so now i'm trying to figure out how to fix that. I'm prob. going to have to reinstall windows as i can't use restore and my fire wall won't work either. (p.s. I don't know how to copy and paste but had my daughter on stand-by if needed.)

[Troy]

So let me get this straight - at the moment you don't have a firewall, or anti-virus installed on your computer? If this is incorrect, please let me know. Otherwise...

First things first, open the Windows Firewall applet from within the Control Panel, and enable the firewall.

Next, download and install an anti-virus - Avira is excellent, free, and in my signature.

Last, it's possible all this is being caused by a virus already on your system. Run a full scan with an updated antivirus. Then, I strongly suggest you head to the malware forum.

Specifically, follow all the instructions in this link (click here).

Step 5 will explain how you post a log. Make sure you start a new topic in the Malware forum (click here).

Make sure to explain the problem you're having, and provide them with a link to this thread, so they can get a better understanding of your issue.

One of our experts will review your log and help you clean your machine like new

Just beware the forum is very busy, please don't reply to your own thread as it will look like somebody is already helping you. If it is 3 days or longer with no reply, feel free to post a New Topic in the Waiting Room (click here).

If after the all-clear from our experts over there, you are still unable to download Windows Updates, then return to this thread and let me know. Provide a link to the malware topic.

Cheers

Troy

[mawmaw]

Hey Troy, I tried to start my firewall and it did what it always does This message appears. "Due to unidentified problems windows cannot display windows firewall settings". I have been trying to get a anti virus to install but some wouldn't. i bought Norton 360 and can't install it without sp2, so I have been running around chasing my tail ever since.I finally got avast to install last night. There were many! trojans and malware and a root kit. i couldn't keep up. I scanned thoroughly and will do a scan from boot tonight. I will do the rest tomorrow. For now i have to go to the how to sight and find out how to link the 2 sites for you and them. . Thanks for helping me. more soon. MawMaw

[mawmaw]

Just an update on my progress with malware board. My comp is clean and I figured out how to download. The malware wasn't the only problem. I updated my nvidia driver using my cd and after that everything is running well. My thanks to you Troy and to Essexboy on malware board. Yall are aces in my book.

[Troy]

You're very welcome, Essexboy is a master and we all love the work he does here.

I'm glad your problems are sorted. I'm glad I could help!

Troy

EDIT: I see the malware thread is not finished yet ("finished" is when the log is closed). Make sure you wait until Essexboy posts again, and follow any further instructions and advice he has for you. I personally would not install Norton, but would return it and get the money back for it. We'll see what he has to say!

Edited by Troy, 12 October 2008 - 12:21 AM.