Adey Baker
Member
You have to go into Win '98 to alter one of the settings to get DVDs to play properly - trouble is I can't remember what it is!
Anyone else know?
Anyone else know?
-
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RAM options (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Andrew
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Andrew Rowlands
Well-known member
Adey Baker said:
DMA settings, Adey?
Device Manager - Hard Drive - double-click - find tick box to enable DMA- make sure it's checked - click OK on the pop-up box - click OK; similar for DVD - under CDroms and DVD; perhaps more important overall is:- Hard disk (or is it IDE) Controllers - find the drop-down that changes from default to both IDE channels enabled.
Regards,
Andy.
Andrew Rowlands
Well-known member
Andrew said:
Andrew,
It's the same setting in ME as it is in 98.
Andy.
Hi Satro, I work in IT, Sys Admins and I get fed up of having to give support to "Pee Cee" users, while our Mac users never really need any support and their hardware is much more realiable. I looked at this forum as I thought it was quite unusual to have such a section for birders on what is mainly a forum for people interested in natural history etc. I admire your patience with the members you offer support, as you can become a little bit long in the tooth after a few years doing my job.
Andrew Rowlands
Well-known member
Andrew said:
Hi Andrew,
On your desktop, right-click My Computer and click properties; second tab = Device Manager (or hold down the Windows key as you press Pause/Break, if you are a keyboard person). Same as Control Panel - System?
Andy.
Andrew Rowlands
Well-known member
Carson said:
Hi Carson,
Would you care to put us on the right track?
Regards,
Andy.
Carson
Well-known member
I think I can, Andy.
Here are 3 computer forums, all free, which all work just like BF. All of them would deal with the questions here.
In a computer forum, a poster is not likely to get away with advice that is too far from reality--just as a birder wouldn't get away with it here.
Many people posting here know all about computers, but, if someone does not, it would be very difficult to sort between good and bad advice.
Andrew's original question tells me that he is just becoming familiar with computer concepts. He has already been given bad advice. More bad advice--along with good advice--is given in this thread.
And Andrew himself says, "Seems to be getting out of hand...."
Plus, some of the best information given here is beyond the appropriate level of computer savvy--i.e., if a person could handle the info, he'd not likely be asking the question.
So how can a relative novice feel reasonably confident?
I suggest any of these forums. None are too technical or intimidating. I have used all of them; my personal favourite would be the last one (3):
(1) Tek-Tips Forums
Look in "Desktop Systems Forums - Desktop Software" at
http://www.tek-tips.com/
(2) Tech Support Forums at http://www.techsupportforums.com/
(3) This is my own personal recommendation:
Firefox Browser Forums - MozillaZine Tech
at
http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewforum.php?f=37
I won't point out the bad advice in the thread above, because I know computer techs can see it. I'm just suggesting that if you want bread, it's good to buy it at the baker's.
Here are 3 computer forums, all free, which all work just like BF. All of them would deal with the questions here.
In a computer forum, a poster is not likely to get away with advice that is too far from reality--just as a birder wouldn't get away with it here.
Many people posting here know all about computers, but, if someone does not, it would be very difficult to sort between good and bad advice.
Andrew's original question tells me that he is just becoming familiar with computer concepts. He has already been given bad advice. More bad advice--along with good advice--is given in this thread.
And Andrew himself says, "Seems to be getting out of hand...."
Plus, some of the best information given here is beyond the appropriate level of computer savvy--i.e., if a person could handle the info, he'd not likely be asking the question.
So how can a relative novice feel reasonably confident?
I suggest any of these forums. None are too technical or intimidating. I have used all of them; my personal favourite would be the last one (3):
(1) Tek-Tips Forums
Look in "Desktop Systems Forums - Desktop Software" at
http://www.tek-tips.com/
(2) Tech Support Forums at http://www.techsupportforums.com/
(3) This is my own personal recommendation:
Firefox Browser Forums - MozillaZine Tech
at
http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewforum.php?f=37
I won't point out the bad advice in the thread above, because I know computer techs can see it. I'm just suggesting that if you want bread, it's good to buy it at the baker's.
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digi-birder
Well-known member
The saying is that you can't make a silk purse from a sow's ear. Simply upgrading the RAM may not be the answer, but it could help. Changing hard drive may also not make the system run any better. The 7200 speed drives will still run at the slower speed, if it's attached to the same motherboard. So you have to upgrade the motherboard. Then you may need a new processor, as your old one may hold things back on the new speedy board. And so it goes on!
I was originally going to upgrade my first purchased computer, but ended up building a completely new one, as I could see that just changing one or two components to the latest specifications wasn't going to be any good.
I upgraded my old laptop once by adding memory right up to its limit and everything slowed down almost to a stop. Using Win 98 it couldn't cope with being at the top end of the memory allowance. I soon removed it.
Photoshop is very memory hungry - my computer struggles sometimes, especially if I leave other programmes open at the same time. You might be better sticking with one of the more basic programmes, but the image file sizes may still cause some slow-down.
This is the issue as I see it based on personal experience.
I was originally going to upgrade my first purchased computer, but ended up building a completely new one, as I could see that just changing one or two components to the latest specifications wasn't going to be any good.
I upgraded my old laptop once by adding memory right up to its limit and everything slowed down almost to a stop. Using Win 98 it couldn't cope with being at the top end of the memory allowance. I soon removed it.
Photoshop is very memory hungry - my computer struggles sometimes, especially if I leave other programmes open at the same time. You might be better sticking with one of the more basic programmes, but the image file sizes may still cause some slow-down.
This is the issue as I see it based on personal experience.
Carson
Well-known member
Yes, and I see my URLs didn't work very well for Andrew. (Andrew, you need to post your own thread, exactly as you do here.)
Therefore, um, what's left? I think I'll leave it to you Brits, because I'm not sure that solutions here apply there. In Windows, in North America, there are 2 platforms now. People without money, or who are techs with special purposes, use tweaked old Windows 98version2 systems. You need to be either poor or skilled to do that. When XP was introduced in late 2000, it changed everything, so it became pretty well synonymous with "Windows." Of course, there are a few ME users; and there are also certainly a lot of businesses still using Windows 2000, which remains a very decent program.
Therefore, a person here would tend to have XP, unless there was a reason to have 98v2. Apple remains popular with educators, although it is now third to Linux, which appears to have passed Apple going in the other direction!
Of course, XP was always fastest of the Windows OSs, and you can visit benchmarks on the net to see the comparisons. ME was almost useless on limited power, and crashed terribly, unless the system were upgraded. (I loved my ME, but I enjoy working with computers. Mine was silky smooth at the end, and very fast; I hated to let it go.) In NA, few systems have been slower than 1.2 GHz for a few years. Mine is a ho-hum 1.7, and would rate competent but ordinary.
RAM and hard drives are extremely cheap--virtually giveaways. Neither are considered an upgrade here. But Diane is right: you wouldn't mess around with a motherboard and things like that unless you were in that 98 category, setting up an old machine, maybe on Linux, to do some special task--or unless you were right into playing around with computers. You would pretty much have either one system or the other.
You don't hear about "sweet spots" anymore, although what appears above is, or was, true. ME takes 512 as easy as pie, though, so when costs dropped through the floor, the very few ME users remaining didn't hesitate to use 512. This is all in NA, and I'm just mentioning it for interest. And, as two people suggested [above], there is a point where the RAM is too much for the machine, and works against it. (That isn't the "sweet spot", which is the point of OPTIMUM efficiency, after which more RAM is still advantageous, but less efficient.)
CD-ROM manufacturers were not necessarily nice about changes in systems. Some were good business people, and made their drives adaptable. Others had the audacity to suggest you "upgrade," i.e. buy a brand new CD-ROM from them. That angered many consumers into buying their new CD-ROMs from competitors. However (again, as mentioned above) that kind of problem could certainly not be addressed with RAM. RAM is immediately-available memory that lets a computer do lots of things at once, or remember heaps of information; or perform tasks nice and fast. But it won't help if the hardware is simply incompatible.
No matter what hardware you have installed, it does require the computer to acknowledge its presence, whether or not you are using it at the time. On old 98v2 systems, you could not simply load things on board for a free ride. Well, you could six years ago; not for a long time now. That's why, now, these systems are generally dedicated to specific tasks. Of course, one such specific task is saving money a person doesn't have.
A brand new computer, monitor, and printer--the whole system, complete with ADSL--costs around Canadian $1500 now. In the States, it might be $1000, but that's US dollars. Basic systems are advertised from $300, but I'm talking about an honest-to-goodness finished product, all taxes paid, sitting and humming along on your desk.
The same amount of money would buy a pretty bad old beat-up car. Or, as pointed out above, it would buy one return air ticket to pretty well anywhere.
That's all just for conversation. I guess, Andrew, you have to take the ride that we all do. You can easily own a computer, but there is a lot to learning about it. You don't need to obsess with it, but I do urge you to make it fun. Like anything else, it's a lot easier to enjoy when you like what you're doing.
All those forums are friendly, but maybe I was wrong anyway; perhaps they're not for you. In reverse, I HAVE mentioned BIRDS in COMPUTER forums from time to time. Does that strike anyone as odd? Well, then, you get my drift.
I generally come to bird forums to talk about birds--and I go to computer forums to talk about computers. You do have a big audience of people watching the questions and answers in any forum, so, if the subject is their special interest, they tend to keep you pretty safe from anything but pretty good advice. That was my point.
And I don't mean any of this as advice, because I still think this is not the best place to get advice. As I said before, the people who know their stuff can glance through here and SEE the good advice--but they don't need to ask the question; it's easy for them, because they have that advantage.
I also apologize if I appear to have talked down to anyone, which was certainly not my intention. There are lots of very intelligent computer operators at ALL levels. Actually, all of this is an endless theme in the Firefox Browser forums. Firefox is a superb browser, but is it for beginners? The more people know, the harder it is for them to remember what was difficult at first. So, lots of techs advocate Firefox for just anyone. Others are more cautious. [Firefox replaces Internet Explorer, or can just be added to any system. Fx is nifty-keeners as a really NICE research tool, but you begin with basics and get to know it gradually.]
Good luck, and good birding!
Therefore, um, what's left? I think I'll leave it to you Brits, because I'm not sure that solutions here apply there. In Windows, in North America, there are 2 platforms now. People without money, or who are techs with special purposes, use tweaked old Windows 98version2 systems. You need to be either poor or skilled to do that. When XP was introduced in late 2000, it changed everything, so it became pretty well synonymous with "Windows." Of course, there are a few ME users; and there are also certainly a lot of businesses still using Windows 2000, which remains a very decent program.
Therefore, a person here would tend to have XP, unless there was a reason to have 98v2. Apple remains popular with educators, although it is now third to Linux, which appears to have passed Apple going in the other direction!
Of course, XP was always fastest of the Windows OSs, and you can visit benchmarks on the net to see the comparisons. ME was almost useless on limited power, and crashed terribly, unless the system were upgraded. (I loved my ME, but I enjoy working with computers. Mine was silky smooth at the end, and very fast; I hated to let it go.) In NA, few systems have been slower than 1.2 GHz for a few years. Mine is a ho-hum 1.7, and would rate competent but ordinary.
RAM and hard drives are extremely cheap--virtually giveaways. Neither are considered an upgrade here. But Diane is right: you wouldn't mess around with a motherboard and things like that unless you were in that 98 category, setting up an old machine, maybe on Linux, to do some special task--or unless you were right into playing around with computers. You would pretty much have either one system or the other.
You don't hear about "sweet spots" anymore, although what appears above is, or was, true. ME takes 512 as easy as pie, though, so when costs dropped through the floor, the very few ME users remaining didn't hesitate to use 512. This is all in NA, and I'm just mentioning it for interest. And, as two people suggested [above], there is a point where the RAM is too much for the machine, and works against it. (That isn't the "sweet spot", which is the point of OPTIMUM efficiency, after which more RAM is still advantageous, but less efficient.)
CD-ROM manufacturers were not necessarily nice about changes in systems. Some were good business people, and made their drives adaptable. Others had the audacity to suggest you "upgrade," i.e. buy a brand new CD-ROM from them. That angered many consumers into buying their new CD-ROMs from competitors. However (again, as mentioned above) that kind of problem could certainly not be addressed with RAM. RAM is immediately-available memory that lets a computer do lots of things at once, or remember heaps of information; or perform tasks nice and fast. But it won't help if the hardware is simply incompatible.
No matter what hardware you have installed, it does require the computer to acknowledge its presence, whether or not you are using it at the time. On old 98v2 systems, you could not simply load things on board for a free ride. Well, you could six years ago; not for a long time now. That's why, now, these systems are generally dedicated to specific tasks. Of course, one such specific task is saving money a person doesn't have.
A brand new computer, monitor, and printer--the whole system, complete with ADSL--costs around Canadian $1500 now. In the States, it might be $1000, but that's US dollars. Basic systems are advertised from $300, but I'm talking about an honest-to-goodness finished product, all taxes paid, sitting and humming along on your desk.
The same amount of money would buy a pretty bad old beat-up car. Or, as pointed out above, it would buy one return air ticket to pretty well anywhere.
That's all just for conversation. I guess, Andrew, you have to take the ride that we all do. You can easily own a computer, but there is a lot to learning about it. You don't need to obsess with it, but I do urge you to make it fun. Like anything else, it's a lot easier to enjoy when you like what you're doing.
All those forums are friendly, but maybe I was wrong anyway; perhaps they're not for you. In reverse, I HAVE mentioned BIRDS in COMPUTER forums from time to time. Does that strike anyone as odd? Well, then, you get my drift.
I generally come to bird forums to talk about birds--and I go to computer forums to talk about computers. You do have a big audience of people watching the questions and answers in any forum, so, if the subject is their special interest, they tend to keep you pretty safe from anything but pretty good advice. That was my point.
And I don't mean any of this as advice, because I still think this is not the best place to get advice. As I said before, the people who know their stuff can glance through here and SEE the good advice--but they don't need to ask the question; it's easy for them, because they have that advantage.
I also apologize if I appear to have talked down to anyone, which was certainly not my intention. There are lots of very intelligent computer operators at ALL levels. Actually, all of this is an endless theme in the Firefox Browser forums. Firefox is a superb browser, but is it for beginners? The more people know, the harder it is for them to remember what was difficult at first. So, lots of techs advocate Firefox for just anyone. Others are more cautious. [Firefox replaces Internet Explorer, or can just be added to any system. Fx is nifty-keeners as a really NICE research tool, but you begin with basics and get to know it gradually.]
Good luck, and good birding!
Last edited:
Andrew
wibble wibble
Thanks to you all for sound advice. I have decided to go with the flow and keep to my system and organise running software for when I want to play DVDs. Another step is to remove Photoshop and install Photo Album which what I want and has basic photo manipulation tools to suit me. (I'm no Andy Bright or Paul Hackett). The money is better spent on say a train ticket to a lifer or several year ticks.
Carson
Well-known member
Well, you know, Andrew...
When William Shakespeare was offered advice on a fine word-processor, he looked things over and said, "Tell you what, folks. I think I'll spend the money on a tablet of paper, a good quill pen, and a book on How to Write in Iambic Pentameter."
Like you, he went for the real experience.
And it ain't never hurt him none.
When William Shakespeare was offered advice on a fine word-processor, he looked things over and said, "Tell you what, folks. I think I'll spend the money on a tablet of paper, a good quill pen, and a book on How to Write in Iambic Pentameter."
Like you, he went for the real experience.
And it ain't never hurt him none.
Last edited:
Andrew Rowlands
Well-known member
Tannin said:
If the hardware is sound and compatible, there is every likelihood that Andrew's PC (Duron 700/256Mb/20Gb) would be almost as fast and certainly more stable with XP than on ME (probably faster, if set up correctly, than the average ME installation defaults). The slow hard disk and shared graphics are the biggest performance killers on his machine.
A 7,200 hard disk would not be noticeably slower on a DMA66 mainboard than a DMA 100 or greater; certainly a a big improvement in speed over a 5,400 on either.
Carson, the forums that you pointed out as being more suited to the question posed are just as tainted by false information as any thread here.
When the cost of making a new PC and 17" monitor costs the environment the equivalent in weight of the average car (1.75-2 tons) in raw materials, I will not advocate change for changes' sake; if it takes a little longer, make a cup of tea, visit some friends.....
Take the train, Andrew - you'll feel better for it.
Cheers,
Andy.
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