Memory trouble

Nevyn · 08-16-2004, 12:38 PM

System is:
Asus P4P800 Deluxe Mother
Intel Pent 4 3.0 GIG
2x Kingston 512 PC3200 DDR Dimms
Geforce 4 Ti 4400 Video
Soundblaster Live 5.1
US Robotics Modem
DVD Drive
CD Burner
8 Gig hard drive (C:\)
120 Gig Hard drive (D:\)
Antec 350 Watt
Windows 98 SE
Norton Systemworks 2001

Trouble is memory failure

Built this system new in April. It's been running perfectly since then. About 3-4 weeks ago I contracted a Trojan Horse. After I managed to get rid of this virus my system starting showing little graphical glitches. Nothing major, just enough to let me know something had changed. System still ran fine. Then I decided to run Nortons checkup. When I did I started having a memory failure. Not knowing much about viruses I decided to format my C: drive and reinstall windows just be be safe. Did that yesterday and as I was reinstalling my device drivers I noticed that the physical ram count was going down. It started with 1021 ram. Then after my video drivers it went to 1018, then after sound it went to 1016. Now after I have my modem and norton back on here it's staying at 1015 Ram. Norton continues to tell me that it doesn't have enough memory to run correctly. Also if I run a program (a game for say) it might run just fine, but after I exit and try to run it again I will get insufficient memory messages from windows. Then nothing will run, and I'll have to reboot. I have tried swapping out the ram chips with other chips and the problem remains. I've tried running with just one 512 chip in and the problem remains. I don't see how it could be a windows corruption because I just did a clean format and install. I've tried removing the modem and disconnecting the second hard drive in case it was some kind of hardware failure with them. No help. I'm wondering whether there could be something failing on the Motherboard itself or perhaps in the Bios. The Bios does report 1024 ram just fine. It doesn't come up short until windows loads. I know about the WIN98 ram cache trouble. I worked around that in April and the system has been fine.

Anyway, that's a brief rundown of my adventure. Any insights would be appreciated

ZinOwl · 08-16-2004, 01:02 PM

Using Windows 98, if your computer has 1 gigabyte (GB) or more of RAM installed, Windoes may not start. Also, when you try to start your computer you may receive the following error message:

Insufficient memory to initialize Windows.

Quit one or more memory-resident programs or remove unnecessary utilities from your CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files, and restart your computer.

This behavior may also occur during Windows Setup, or when you try to start Windows for the first time.

More information on this can be viewed at the following Microsoft Knowledge Base Article - 184447 Site (url)

http://support.microsoft.com/default...47&Product=w98

Nevyn · 08-16-2004, 02:22 PM

Yes, I already ran into the 1 gig ram cap. This is a totally different problem. With this problem windows will load up ok with no errors, but after I start running programs it will crash at any given moment. For some reason Windows does not want to recognize the actual amount of physical ram installed. Even if I only put in 512 ram windows will only recognize 511 or less. And it does this with any combination of chips. This is a recent problem. I have had this configuration working just fine for the last 4 months. I can't help but think it's a hardware failure, but I don't know what it could be.
Thanks

**johnwill** · 08-17-2004, 10:35 AM

I'd be thinking virus/malware if I saw this issue.

Nevyn · 08-17-2004, 12:31 PM

A virus was my major concern too, but I thought that would have been cured when I formatted the drive and reinstalled windows. I also ran my Norton (which I keep up to date) and the system came up clean before and after I formatted the drive.

08-19-2004, 04:35 PM

Hi There

I Hope I could Be Of Some Assistence

Actually Windows 95 & 98 Recognizes A Ram Upto 768MB

Talking About Memmory Leaks Now.........
Most Of The Systems , Devices, Peripherals Attached To the PC requires
Memmory (If They Don't Come With In Built RAM Chips) Which They Take It From The Installed RAMs In The PC.
eg: A Display Adapter Card, BIOS Shadowing, Addition devices In PCI Slots etc.

So Gobbling Of Some RAM Is Normal In A PC (As A 40GB HDD Shows 37-38 GB Though That's A Different Concept, It's just An example)

If You Are frequently Getting Memmory Errors (& You Should)
Restart Your Computer In DOS Prompt
Jump To your System directory eg.. cd windows
type edit system.ini (press Enter, There Is A Space B/W Edit & System.ini)
Scroll Down To The Header [386Enh]
Add A Line Below It------ MaxPhysPage=30000

It Will Resolve Your Problem

C Ya (In Hell

)

08-16-2004, 12:38 PM	#1 (permalink)
Nevyn Registered User Join Date: Aug 2004 Posts: 3 OS: Win98 SE	Memory trouble System is: Asus P4P800 Deluxe Mother Intel Pent 4 3.0 GIG 2x Kingston 512 PC3200 DDR Dimms Geforce 4 Ti 4400 Video Soundblaster Live 5.1 US Robotics Modem DVD Drive CD Burner 8 Gig hard drive (C:\) 120 Gig Hard drive (D:\) Antec 350 Watt Windows 98 SE Norton Systemworks 2001 Trouble is memory failure Built this system new in April. It's been running perfectly since then. About 3-4 weeks ago I contracted a Trojan Horse. After I managed to get rid of this virus my system starting showing little graphical glitches. Nothing major, just enough to let me know something had changed. System still ran fine. Then I decided to run Nortons checkup. When I did I started having a memory failure. Not knowing much about viruses I decided to format my C: drive and reinstall windows just be be safe. Did that yesterday and as I was reinstalling my device drivers I noticed that the physical ram count was going down. It started with 1021 ram. Then after my video drivers it went to 1018, then after sound it went to 1016. Now after I have my modem and norton back on here it's staying at 1015 Ram. Norton continues to tell me that it doesn't have enough memory to run correctly. Also if I run a program (a game for say) it might run just fine, but after I exit and try to run it again I will get insufficient memory messages from windows. Then nothing will run, and I'll have to reboot. I have tried swapping out the ram chips with other chips and the problem remains. I've tried running with just one 512 chip in and the problem remains. I don't see how it could be a windows corruption because I just did a clean format and install. I've tried removing the modem and disconnecting the second hard drive in case it was some kind of hardware failure with them. No help. I'm wondering whether there could be something failing on the Motherboard itself or perhaps in the Bios. The Bios does report 1024 ram just fine. It doesn't come up short until windows loads. I know about the WIN98 ram cache trouble. I worked around that in April and the system has been fine. Anyway, that's a brief rundown of my adventure. Any insights would be appreciated

08-16-2004, 01:02 PM	#2 (permalink)
ZinOwl Registered User Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Nebraska (West) Posts: 20 OS: XP Media Edition	Error Message: Insufficient Memory to Initialize Windows Using Windows 98, if your computer has 1 gigabyte (GB) or more of RAM installed, Windoes may not start. Also, when you try to start your computer you may receive the following error message: Insufficient memory to initialize Windows. Quit one or more memory-resident programs or remove unnecessary utilities from your CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files, and restart your computer. This behavior may also occur during Windows Setup, or when you try to start Windows for the first time. More information on this can be viewed at the following Microsoft Knowledge Base Article - 184447 Site (url) http://support.microsoft.com/default...47&Product=w98

08-17-2004, 10:35 AM	#4 (permalink)
johnwill Manager, Networking Forums Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: S.E. Pennsylvania, US Posts: 41,720 OS: Windows 7, XP-Pro, Vista, Linux Blog Entries: 1	I'd be thinking virus/malware if I saw this issue. __________________ If TSF has helped you, Tell us about it! or Donate to help keep the site up! Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience

08-19-2004, 04:35 PM	#6 (permalink)
UnknownFromHell Guest Posts: n/a OS:	Hi There...........Chillx Hi There I Hope I could Be Of Some Assistence Actually Windows 95 & 98 Recognizes A Ram Upto 768MB Talking About Memmory Leaks Now......... Most Of The Systems , Devices, Peripherals Attached To the PC requires Memmory (If They Don't Come With In Built RAM Chips) Which They Take It From The Installed RAMs In The PC. eg: A Display Adapter Card, BIOS Shadowing, Addition devices In PCI Slots etc. So Gobbling Of Some RAM Is Normal In A PC (As A 40GB HDD Shows 37-38 GB Though That's A Different Concept, It's just An example) If You Are frequently Getting Memmory Errors (& You Should) Restart Your Computer In DOS Prompt Jump To your System directory eg.. cd windows type edit system.ini (press Enter, There Is A Space B/W Edit & System.ini) Scroll Down To The Header [386Enh] Add A Line Below It------ MaxPhysPage=30000 It Will Resolve Your Problem C Ya (In Hell )

08-16-2004, 02:22 PM	#3 (permalink)
Nevyn Registered User Join Date: Aug 2004 Posts: 3 OS: Win98 SE	Yes, I already ran into the 1 gig ram cap. This is a totally different problem. With this problem windows will load up ok with no errors, but after I start running programs it will crash at any given moment. For some reason Windows does not want to recognize the actual amount of physical ram installed. Even if I only put in 512 ram windows will only recognize 511 or less. And it does this with any combination of chips. This is a recent problem. I have had this configuration working just fine for the last 4 months. I can't help but think it's a hardware failure, but I don't know what it could be. Thanks

08-17-2004, 12:31 PM	#5 (permalink)
Nevyn Registered User Join Date: Aug 2004 Posts: 3 OS: Win98 SE	A virus was my major concern too, but I thought that would have been cured when I formatted the drive and reinstalled windows. I also ran my Norton (which I keep up to date) and the system came up clean before and after I formatted the drive.