PC Crashed again with alarming message

[Rik]

I can see why Rik we are indeed on a different machine.when this thread started I was talking about the machine upstairs but decided in the light of the ease of upgrading to us the information on my PB desktop.

Thanks for that. 

[David]

Are you sure you sent Crucial the details of the right machine, David? 

No Simon they sent the details to me.as the scan could not identify my machine they took a week to track down exactly what I had.at no time did I give any information but relied on what they advised I needed.

The Emailed me with we have identified your machine you are currently etc just click this link to order...so thats all I have done...you know the rest.

[David]

I know this is a pain in the rear but I think one good thing has come out of it: Since your machine is now running noticeably faster with the same amount of RAM it used to have I think you've pretty much proved there's something wrong with one or both of the old modules and fixed it.

Am I right this machine is a Packard Bell? If so then this wouldn't be the first time I've seen one of their machines where the official spec said the machine had a certain amount of RAM as standard but the actual machine had a different amount. This could be the part of misunderstanding if Crucial read the PB gumph and and it said the machine should have 512MB total.

Cheers,
Paul.

Yes paul the machine is a PB. has 2 512k memory sticks installed and I just wanted to double the speed.
In reality I just left it to Crucial to do this.I have had a baptism of fire on this.Last week I wouldn't have even know the difference didn't have a clue what I was buying I do now I did wonder when the price was mentioned as I checked the correct sticks late last night and they should have been £23 odd each and these 512 are only £7 odd.a big difference.

So the entire cost will be around £50 with the tax...the first 512k were £32 odd.this decreased to £7..there is a marked difference in the price of these.

I have only for a week been spending a lot of time on "How To "websites and found one which has video film of the main things on a pc.motherboard,ram.bios etc..how to install so Im working hard to ensure a basic understanding and will continue...
If nothing else this is certainly an education.would have been quicker to go and buy another pc 

It will get sorted.............

[David]

Thanks for that. 

No thanks to all of you for such patience.Im sure Im jinxed with anything to do with pcs.from migrating to changing RAM it should be fairly easy....but the gods at the electronics karma have an unwritten rule...if he tries anything ......throw a big spanner in the work's

[Simon]

As you say, David, it's an education, and at the end of the day, you will have the satisfaction of knowing you have done the upgrade for yourself.

Just as an idle suggestion, if you know of anyone who's throwing out an old PC, or somewhere you could get one for some loose change, it might be worth grabbing it as something just to take to bits and put back together again, so you can see where all the parts go, and how they fit.  OK, so newer machines may be different to some degrees, but you would at least get an idea of the principal of how they are put together. 

[Rik]

throw a big spanner in the work's

A feeling I know well, the five minute job which takes two hours...

[David]

Got one and doing that as we speak Simon.can identify.Bios Ram.Optic Drives,Ram.hard Drives.Motherboards
.fans and much more so it is getting there.learned that AMD is better for Gaming than Pentium I am really swatting up...taken stuff out of the machine upstairs ans put it back,and it still works..seen how easy it was to fit a graphics card in that machine (which I supplied and was charged  over £100 for that...I could do it now in 15 minutes so Im doing a lot of self educating...its very enlightening to see how easy it is to get a modicum of basis understanding of the hardware inside a pc...so something very good will come out.

This final statement will give readers a laugh I have set £ 300 -£500 aside to build my own just to see what spec I will get for this money...it would be easier to go to pc world but I want to do it and decide what goes in from the motherboard to the mouse I want to do it all and if it turns out I waste my money then so be it.......I doubt it though........I never give up 

[David]

A feeling I know well, the five minute job which takes two hours...

I think its called Murphys law 

[Noreen]

Good heavens, David, you're got more nerve than me.

[David]

Well I don't Drink and could end up with a nice machine in the knowledge I built it and it should compare with some of the higher range.its the experience I want as long as I don't need to solder I will be ok but from what I see most of it is like the loom of a car and they have never frightened me.....Could end up with a box of parts................then there is always Ebay

it has to be worth a go just for the fun of it....and the knowledge I will never pay over the odds for someone to call. tut and charge me a fortune just to add something and then download drivers to make me think.he is a genius.....

Ignorance has proved expensive for me.

[Simon]

This final statement will give readers a laugh I have set £ 300 -£500 aside to build my own just to see what spec I will get for this money...it would be easier to go to pc world but I want to do it and decide what goes in from the motherboard to the mouse I want to do it all and if it turns out I waste my money then so be it.......I doubt it though........I never give up 

That's exactly how I felt when I built my first one, David, and to be honest, I had less trouble with that than with the latest one, which, as you will remember, I had the issue with the SATA connectors, among other things, and even now, about one in three times, it fails to start on first attempt.  Even so, it's great to sit here working on a machine I know I built myself, with my own choice of components. 

[David]

Thanks Simon already decided on Maplins for a lot of the parts   

[Glenn]

This final statement will give readers a laugh I have set £ 300 -£500 aside to build my own just to see what spec I will get for this money...it would be easier to go to pc world but I want to do it and decide what goes in from the motherboard to the mouse I want to do it all and if it turns out I waste my money then so be it.......I doubt it though........I never give up 

Novatech have a good bundle on their site at the moment http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/specpage.html?MBB-P35842

[David]

  Thanks Glenn....

[Glenn]

It's a pleasure to help

[Glenn]

I don't know if you need a graphics card or not, but ebuyer have a good deal http://www.hotukdeals.com/item/202460/sapphire-hd-4850-512mb-pci-e-graphi/

[Sebby]

Great deal, but perhaps an overkill for non-gamers like me.

[Dangerjunkie]

Hi Dave,

There is one gotcha I would share with you (after my friend SNAFUed badly):

The holes you need to screw the motherboard down are not in the same place on all boards. Many cases come with "snap in" plugs with the threads for you to screw the motherboard screws into and the cases have a number of places to snap them in. The idea is you snap the right number in to the correct places in the case for that particular board and then put it in and screw it down.

If you put a snap-in into the wrong place for the board  (where it doesn't have a hole) then screw the board down using the others (you won't be able to see the one that is wrong as it's behind the board) you run a very high risk of damaging the motherboard (probably fatally)

I recommend counting the number of fixing holes in the board (twice!), matching them to the holes in the case then putting the snap-ins in the case. Put a piece of red (or other bright colour) electrical tape on every snap-in, make sure the IO-Shield plate (goes round the connectors) isn't fitted to the case then gently lower the board onto the snap-ins and line it up. Then count how many holes you can see the red through and that they all line up. If it's not the number you thought of earlier then check it again. If it's right then take the board out, remove the red tape (important!), put the IO-Shield in then put the board back in gently and screw it down. Be careful not to drag the board over the snap-ins.

It's not difficult but the important thing is not to scratch or short out the board by putting a sharp bit of metal behind it in the wrong place. You'll be fine. Go for it.

Cheers,
Paul.

[vitriol]

Been building Pc's for years now, best advice I can give you is

take your time
don't be afraid to check something over more than once
read the manuals
take a break now and again

[Noreen]

David, you may find this interesting http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/news/index.cfm?newsid=13433

[Rik]

Nice link, Noreen. 

[David]

Been building Pc's for years now, best advice I can give you is

take your time
don't be afraid to check something over more than once
read the manuals
take a break now and again

Thanks Vitriol.one thing this turn out has taught me is all of the above...have a feeling this could prove addictive more so if successful on the first project 

[vitriol]

you don't know how right you are.  The "upgrade" bug has bitten me a few times.

Looking at a watercooling kit at the moment, just need to free up some funds first.

[Rik]

Shouldn't you wait to see if we get a summer first??

[J!ll]

Worse things happen at sea I guess