Windows 98 SE-Additonal RAM added-problems

I am running Windows 98 Second Edition. In order to
increase the number of applications I could work with, I
had an additonal 256 MB of RAM installed. I now have 512 MB
of RAM and keep getting system resources low errors. I have
been as low as 0%. Programs are crashing or moving
extremely slow. This did not happen until I had the
additional RAM installed. Does anyone have any idea what
the problem could be?
Thank you.

Hi April,
When you approach that amount of RAM, certain modifications must be made to
your SYSTEM.INI file. I was going to post only the part relevant to the
amount of RAM you have installed, but chose to provide this post in it's
entirety. This courtesy of MS-MVP Bert Kinney:

Originally Windows Me and Windows 98 were designed to handle 2GB's of
RAM. In reality it will only handle 1 GB of RAM. This will also depend on
hardware installed, in particular the mother board and it's components.
In some cases Win98/ME will function normally with 1.5 GB of RAM.
See the MS KB articles below.

If the system has 384MB's of RAM installed following line can be
added to the [vcache] section of windows\system.ini file.
MaxFileCache=275000

If the system has 512MB's of RAM installed following line can be
added to the [vcache] section of windows\system.ini file.
MaxFileCache=358000

If the system has 700MB's of RAM or more installed following line MUST be
added to the [vcache] section of windows\system.ini file but never more.
MaxFileCache=512000

If you go over 1GB of RAM and still receive errors add the following line
to the [386enh] section of the System.ini file: MaxPhysPage=40000
This limits the amount of physical RAM that Windows can access
to 1GB. If the errors go away with this setting remove the memory over
1GB as it will not be used with this setting.

Windows 95 Can Access Up to Two GB of RAM:
http://support.microsoft.com/support.../q181/5/94.asp

Error Message: Insufficient Memory to Initialize Windows:
http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;EN-US;184447

"Out of Memory" Error Messages with Large Amounts of RAM Installed:
http://support.microsoft.com/support.../Q253/9/12.ASP

Computer May Reboot Continuously with More Than 1.5 GB of RAM:
http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;en-us;304943

Now the question arises, is the increase of RAM going to make my system
faster! Ron Martel [MS MVP] has a technique for determining this.
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca/tips.htm#faster

--
Regards,
Bert Kinney [MS-MVP DTS]
http://dts-l.org/

Please post back, and let us know how this works April.

--
HTH,
Curt

W98 Support & Discussion:
http://dundats.proboards27.com/index.cgi
Windows How-tos and and Freewa
http://mvps.org/PracticallyNerded/
Windows Help & Discussion:
http://forum.aumha.org/

"April Cleveland" wrote in message
...
I am running Windows 98 Second Edition. In order to
increase the number of applications I could work with, I
had an additonal 256 MB of RAM installed. I now have 512 MB
of RAM and keep getting system resources low errors. I have
been as low as 0%. Programs are crashing or moving
extremely slow. This did not happen until I had the
additional RAM installed. Does anyone have any idea what
the problem could be?
Thank you.



---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.708 / Virus Database: 464 - Release Date: 6/18/04

Thank you so much. I am going to send this on to the
technician who has been working on my system. I'll let you
know how it works.
Thanks again.
April
-----Original Message-----
Hi April,
When you approach that amount of RAM, certain
modifications must be made to
your SYSTEM.INI file. I was going to post only the part
relevant to the
amount of RAM you have installed, but chose to provide
this post in it's
entirety. This courtesy of MS-MVP Bert Kinney:

Originally Windows Me and Windows 98 were designed to
handle 2GB's of
RAM. In reality it will only handle 1 GB of RAM. This will
also depend on
hardware installed, in particular the mother board and
it's components.
In some cases Win98/ME will function normally with 1.5 GB
of RAM.
See the MS KB articles below.

If the system has 384MB's of RAM installed following line
can be
added to the [vcache] section of windows\system.ini file.
MaxFileCache=275000

If the system has 512MB's of RAM installed following line
can be
added to the [vcache] section of windows\system.ini file.
MaxFileCache=358000

If the system has 700MB's of RAM or more installed
following line MUST be
added to the [vcache] section of windows\system.ini
file but never more.
MaxFileCache=512000

If you go over 1GB of RAM and still receive errors add the
following line
to the [386enh] section of the System.ini file:
MaxPhysPage=40000
This limits the amount of physical RAM that Windows can access
to 1GB. If the errors go away with this setting remove the
memory over
1GB as it will not be used with this setting.

Windows 95 Can Access Up to Two GB of RAM:
http://support.microsoft.com/support.../q181/5/94.asp

Error Message: Insufficient Memory to Initialize Windows:
http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;EN-US;184447

"Out of Memory" Error Messages with Large Amounts of RAM
Installed:
http://support.microsoft.com/support.../Q253/9/12.ASP

Computer May Reboot Continuously with More Than 1.5 GB of RAM:
http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;en-us;304943

Now the question arises, is the increase of RAM going to
make my system
faster! Ron Martel [MS MVP] has a technique for
determining this.
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca/tips.htm#faster

--
Regards,
Bert Kinney [MS-MVP DTS]
http://dts-l.org/

Please post back, and let us know how this works April.

--
HTH,
Curt

W98 Support & Discussion:
http://dundats.proboards27.com/index.cgi
Windows How-tos and and Freewa
http://mvps.org/PracticallyNerded/
Windows Help & Discussion:
http://forum.aumha.org/

"April Cleveland" wrote in message
...
I am running Windows 98 Second Edition. In order to
increase the number of applications I could work with, I
had an additonal 256 MB of RAM installed. I now have 512 MB
of RAM and keep getting system resources low errors. I have
been as low as 0%. Programs are crashing or moving
extremely slow. This did not happen until I had the
additional RAM installed. Does anyone have any idea what
the problem could be?
Thank you.



---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.708 / Virus Database: 464 - Release Date: 6/18/04


.

April -

Aside from the fine suggestions by Curt, check the following:

Are you sure the Ram is compatible with that which was already in the PC?
Did the PC "recognize" the added Ram by displaying a message to you as it
was re-booted for the first time? How about in My Computer
propertiesgeneral tab and/or performance tab shows 512 MB ram? Try
removing the original Ram stick and using the PC with the new Ram all by
itself. Also there are tools to check if the Ram is up to quality. Memtest
is one (of many) of them and is freeware.
http://hcidesign.com/memtest/

Other freeware Ram testers:
Doc memory
http://www.simmtester.com/PAGE/products/doc/docinfo.asp
(The above page is Very slow loading today)
http://www.majorgeeks.com/download315.html
http://techrepublic.com.com/5100-6255-5034301.html
Memtest86
http://www.memtest86.com/
--

LuckyStrike

--------------------------------------------------------------------
"April Cleveland" wrote in message
...
I am running Windows 98 Second Edition. In order to
increase the number of applications I could work with, I
had an additonal 256 MB of RAM installed. I now have 512 MB
of RAM and keep getting system resources low errors. I have
been as low as 0%. Programs are crashing or moving
extremely slow. This did not happen until I had the
additional RAM installed. Does anyone have any idea what
the problem could be?
Thank you.

How old is this technician? Win98 SE's problem with high RAM levels has been
well known for many years.

wrote in message
...
Thank you so much. I am going to send this on to the
technician who has been working on my system. I'll let you
know how it works.
Thanks again.
April
-----Original Message-----
Hi April,
When you approach that amount of RAM, certain
modifications must be made to
your SYSTEM.INI file. I was going to post only the part
relevant to the
amount of RAM you have installed, but chose to provide
this post in it's
entirety. This courtesy of MS-MVP Bert Kinney:

Originally Windows Me and Windows 98 were designed to
handle 2GB's of
RAM. In reality it will only handle 1 GB of RAM. This will
also depend on
hardware installed, in particular the mother board and
it's components.
In some cases Win98/ME will function normally with 1.5 GB
of RAM.
See the MS KB articles below.

If the system has 384MB's of RAM installed following line
can be
added to the [vcache] section of windows\system.ini file.
MaxFileCache=275000

If the system has 512MB's of RAM installed following line
can be
added to the [vcache] section of windows\system.ini file.
MaxFileCache=358000

If the system has 700MB's of RAM or more installed
following line MUST be
added to the [vcache] section of windows\system.ini
file but never more.
MaxFileCache=512000

If you go over 1GB of RAM and still receive errors add the
following line
to the [386enh] section of the System.ini file:
MaxPhysPage=40000
This limits the amount of physical RAM that Windows can access
to 1GB. If the errors go away with this setting remove the
memory over
1GB as it will not be used with this setting.

Windows 95 Can Access Up to Two GB of RAM:
http://support.microsoft.com/support.../q181/5/94.asp

Error Message: Insufficient Memory to Initialize Windows:
http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;EN-US;184447

"Out of Memory" Error Messages with Large Amounts of RAM
Installed:
http://support.microsoft.com/support.../Q253/9/12.ASP

Computer May Reboot Continuously with More Than 1.5 GB of RAM:
http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;en-us;304943

Now the question arises, is the increase of RAM going to
make my system
faster! Ron Martel [MS MVP] has a technique for
determining this.
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca/tips.htm#faster

--
Regards,
Bert Kinney [MS-MVP DTS]
http://dts-l.org/

Please post back, and let us know how this works April.

--
HTH,
Curt

W98 Support & Discussion:
http://dundats.proboards27.com/index.cgi
Windows How-tos and and Freewa
http://mvps.org/PracticallyNerded/
Windows Help & Discussion:
http://forum.aumha.org/

"April Cleveland" wrote in message
...
I am running Windows 98 Second Edition. In order to
increase the number of applications I could work with, I
had an additonal 256 MB of RAM installed. I now have 512 MB
of RAM and keep getting system resources low errors. I have
been as low as 0%. Programs are crashing or moving
extremely slow. This did not happen until I had the
additional RAM installed. Does anyone have any idea what
the problem could be?
Thank you.



---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.708 / Virus Database: 464 - Release Date: 6/18/04


.

I'm not sure... perhaps 30. What is considered to be "high
RAM?" I only have 512 MB.
Thank you. April
-----Original Message-----
How old is this technician? Win98 SE's problem with high
RAM levels has been
well known for many years.

wrote in message
...
Thank you so much. I am going to send this on to the
technician who has been working on my system. I'll let you
know how it works.
Thanks again.
April
-----Original Message-----
Hi April,
When you approach that amount of RAM, certain
modifications must be made to
your SYSTEM.INI file. I was going to post only the part
relevant to the
amount of RAM you have installed, but chose to provide
this post in it's
entirety. This courtesy of MS-MVP Bert Kinney:

Originally Windows Me and Windows 98 were designed to
handle 2GB's of
RAM. In reality it will only handle 1 GB of RAM. This will
also depend on
hardware installed, in particular the mother board and
it's components.
In some cases Win98/ME will function normally with 1.5 GB
of RAM.
See the MS KB articles below.

If the system has 384MB's of RAM installed following line
can be
added to the [vcache] section of windows\system.ini
file.
MaxFileCache=275000

If the system has 512MB's of RAM installed following line
can be
added to the [vcache] section of windows\system.ini
file.
MaxFileCache=358000

If the system has 700MB's of RAM or more installed
following line MUST be
added to the [vcache] section of windows\system.ini
file but never more.
MaxFileCache=512000

If you go over 1GB of RAM and still receive errors add the
following line
to the [386enh] section of the System.ini file:
MaxPhysPage=40000
This limits the amount of physical RAM that Windows can
access
to 1GB. If the errors go away with this setting remove the
memory over
1GB as it will not be used with this setting.

Windows 95 Can Access Up to Two GB of RAM:

http://support.microsoft.com/support.../q181/5/94.asp

Error Message: Insufficient Memory to Initialize Windows:

http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;EN-US;184447

"Out of Memory" Error Messages with Large Amounts of RAM
Installed:

http://support.microsoft.com/support.../Q253/9/12.ASP

Computer May Reboot Continuously with More Than 1.5 GB
of RAM:

http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;en-us;304943

Now the question arises, is the increase of RAM going to
make my system
faster! Ron Martel [MS MVP] has a technique for
determining this.
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca/tips.htm#faster

--
Regards,
Bert Kinney [MS-MVP DTS]
http://dts-l.org/

Please post back, and let us know how this works April.

--
HTH,
Curt

W98 Support & Discussion:
http://dundats.proboards27.com/index.cgi
Windows How-tos and and Freewa
http://mvps.org/PracticallyNerded/
Windows Help & Discussion:
http://forum.aumha.org/

"April Cleveland" wrote in message
...
I am running Windows 98 Second Edition. In order to
increase the number of applications I could work with, I
had an additonal 256 MB of RAM installed. I now have
512 MB
of RAM and keep getting system resources low errors.
I have
been as low as 0%. Programs are crashing or moving
extremely slow. This did not happen until I had the
additional RAM installed. Does anyone have any idea what
the problem could be?
Thank you.



---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.708 / Virus Database: 464 - Release Date:
6/18/04


.



.

Thank you. Yes. Under My computer, properties, performance
it actually shows 511 MB of RAM.
April
-----Original Message-----
April -

Aside from the fine suggestions by Curt, check the following:

Are you sure the Ram is compatible with that which was
already in the PC?
Did the PC "recognize" the added Ram by displaying a
message to you as it
was re-booted for the first time? How about in My Computer
propertiesgeneral tab and/or performance tab shows 512
MB ram? Try
removing the original Ram stick and using the PC with the
new Ram all by
itself. Also there are tools to check if the Ram is up to
quality. Memtest
is one (of many) of them and is freeware.
http://hcidesign.com/memtest/

Other freeware Ram testers:
Doc memory
http://www.simmtester.com/PAGE/products/doc/docinfo.asp
(The above page is Very slow loading today)
http://www.majorgeeks.com/download315.html
http://techrepublic.com.com/5100-6255-5034301.html
Memtest86
http://www.memtest86.com/
--

LuckyStrike
om
--------------------------------------------------------------------
"April Cleveland" wrote in message
...
I am running Windows 98 Second Edition. In order to
increase the number of applications I could work with, I
had an additonal 256 MB of RAM installed. I now have 512 MB
of RAM and keep getting system resources low errors. I have
been as low as 0%. Programs are crashing or moving
extremely slow. This did not happen until I had the
additional RAM installed. Does anyone have any idea what
the problem could be?
Thank you.



.

I wouldn't consider 512 MB Ram to be in the excessively high range. FYI:
W98se/ 1 GB Ram (two - 512 MB sticks) /P4 2.0 GHz processor is what I use
with no problem. Maxfilecache set at 512000.

See Curt C's post to you in this thread on MaxfileCache settings:
paste
If the system has 512MB's of RAM installed following line can be added to
the [vcache] section of windows\system.ini file. MaxFileCache=358000
paste/

Also he
Ron Martells site
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca/tips.htm
Specifically:
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca/tips.htm#faster
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca/tips.htm#64mb
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca/tips.htm#vcache

HTH -
--

LuckyStrike

--------------------------------------------------------------------

wrote in message
...
I'm not sure... perhaps 30. What is considered to be "high
RAM?" I only have 512 MB.
Thank you. April
-----Original Message-----
How old is this technician? Win98 SE's problem with high
RAM levels has been
well known for many years.

512 is the where the problems begin, according to dozens of articles found
in a Google search. The solutions already posted will take care of your
problem.

wrote in message
...
I'm not sure... perhaps 30. What is considered to be "high
RAM?" I only have 512 MB.
Thank you. April
-----Original Message-----
How old is this technician? Win98 SE's problem with high
RAM levels has been
well known for many years.

wrote in message
...
Thank you so much. I am going to send this on to the
technician who has been working on my system. I'll let you
know how it works.
Thanks again.
April
-----Original Message-----
Hi April,
When you approach that amount of RAM, certain
modifications must be made to
your SYSTEM.INI file. I was going to post only the part
relevant to the
amount of RAM you have installed, but chose to provide
this post in it's
entirety. This courtesy of MS-MVP Bert Kinney:

Originally Windows Me and Windows 98 were designed to
handle 2GB's of
RAM. In reality it will only handle 1 GB of RAM. This will
also depend on
hardware installed, in particular the mother board and
it's components.
In some cases Win98/ME will function normally with 1.5 GB
of RAM.
See the MS KB articles below.

If the system has 384MB's of RAM installed following line
can be
added to the [vcache] section of windows\system.ini
file.
MaxFileCache=275000

If the system has 512MB's of RAM installed following line
can be
added to the [vcache] section of windows\system.ini
file.
MaxFileCache=358000

If the system has 700MB's of RAM or more installed
following line MUST be
added to the [vcache] section of windows\system.ini
file but never more.
MaxFileCache=512000

If you go over 1GB of RAM and still receive errors add the
following line
to the [386enh] section of the System.ini file:
MaxPhysPage=40000
This limits the amount of physical RAM that Windows can
access
to 1GB. If the errors go away with this setting remove the
memory over
1GB as it will not be used with this setting.

Windows 95 Can Access Up to Two GB of RAM:

http://support.microsoft.com/support.../q181/5/94.asp

Error Message: Insufficient Memory to Initialize Windows:

http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;EN-US;184447

"Out of Memory" Error Messages with Large Amounts of RAM
Installed:

http://support.microsoft.com/support.../Q253/9/12.ASP

Computer May Reboot Continuously with More Than 1.5 GB
of RAM:

http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;en-us;304943

Now the question arises, is the increase of RAM going to
make my system
faster! Ron Martel [MS MVP] has a technique for
determining this.
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca/tips.htm#faster

--
Regards,
Bert Kinney [MS-MVP DTS]
http://dts-l.org/

Please post back, and let us know how this works April.

--
HTH,
Curt

W98 Support & Discussion:
http://dundats.proboards27.com/index.cgi
Windows How-tos and and Freewa
http://mvps.org/PracticallyNerded/
Windows Help & Discussion:
http://forum.aumha.org/

"April Cleveland" wrote in message
...
I am running Windows 98 Second Edition. In order to
increase the number of applications I could work with, I
had an additonal 256 MB of RAM installed. I now have
512 MB
of RAM and keep getting system resources low errors.
I have
been as low as 0%. Programs are crashing or moving
extremely slow. This did not happen until I had the
additional RAM installed. Does anyone have any idea what
the problem could be?
Thank you.



---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.708 / Virus Database: 464 - Release Date:
6/18/04


.



.

Odd; that the PC has "recognized" it but you have this problem. Showing 1 MB
less than the actual amount installed is quite normal BTW.

So then, have you tried any of the other offerings to see if they disclosed
anything? Ram Test? One stick of memory, swapping out new for old, old for
new, reversing slots, compatibility factors, etc.

Hmmmmm. *However*, a close reading of your post reveals what I had
overlooked before. System Resources and Memory are two different things. You
may be running more (and more intensive programs) than you previously ran
when you had but 256 MB ram. That may well explain the Resource problem.

See he
System Resources vs. Memory
http://www.aumha.org/win4/a/resource.htm
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca/tips.htm#resources
about memory management (different issue, but of some interest)
http://www.aumha.org/win4/a/memmgmt.htm

In the event that you have too many programs loading at startup, see he
http://aumha.org/a/loads.htm
A variety of sites that have lists of programs which load at startup, etc.
http://www2.whidbey.com/djdenham/Uncheck.htm
http://www.answersthatwork.com/Taskl...s/tasklist.htm
http://greatis.com/regrun3appdatabase.htm
http://www.pacs-portal.co.uk/startup_content.php
http://www.windowsstartup.com/wso/browse.php?l=0
http://www.windowsstartup.com/wso/index.php

HTH -
--

LuckyStrike

--------------------------------------------------------------------

wrote in message
...
Thank you. Yes. Under My computer, properties, performance
it actually shows 511 MB of RAM.
April
-----Original Message-----
April -

Aside from the fine suggestions by Curt, check the following:

Are you sure the Ram is compatible with that which was
already in the PC?
Did the PC "recognize" the added Ram by displaying a
message to you as it
was re-booted for the first time? How about in My Computer
propertiesgeneral tab and/or performance tab shows 512
MB ram? Try
removing the original Ram stick and using the PC with the
new Ram all by
itself. Also there are tools to check if the Ram is up to
quality. Memtest
is one (of many) of them and is freeware.
http://hcidesign.com/memtest/

Other freeware Ram testers:
Doc memory
http://www.simmtester.com/PAGE/products/doc/docinfo.asp
(The above page is Very slow loading today)
http://www.majorgeeks.com/download315.html
http://techrepublic.com.com/5100-6255-5034301.html
Memtest86
http://www.memtest86.com/
--

LuckyStrike
om
--------------------------------------------------------------------
"April Cleveland" wrote in message
...
I am running Windows 98 Second Edition. In order to
increase the number of applications I could work with, I
had an additonal 256 MB of RAM installed. I now have 512 MB
of RAM and keep getting system resources low errors. I have
been as low as 0%. Programs are crashing or moving
extremely slow. This did not happen until I had the
additional RAM installed. Does anyone have any idea what
the problem could be?
Thank you.



.