[Don_S]

I have a Dell Dimension E510 desktop with the following:
1GB DDR2 SDRAM 533MHZ  2x512MB DIM.M

I have found the correct Kingston memory.  They only offer a 1GB card.

My questions may seem obvious but I don’t want to miss any secret handshake.  In my Dell I see DIM 1&2 are populated. DIM 3&4 are empty. 1&3 are paired 2&4 are paired.  The only differences I see are the colors of the retaining tabs. Even numbers are one color and odds are another. Is there any significance to the colors?

My assumption is I can move the #1 card to the #3 spot and add a new card in #1 and leave #4 empty. Just like I did with my old HP except there I only had three slots so I pulled the #1 card and replaced it.  Is that a valid assumption?

How much memory do I need?  Should I add two 1GB cards in addition to the two 512MB cards or just one? And will that solve my problem?  I keep getting pages that won’t close.  They freeze and when I use control/alt/delete it still takes a long time for the pages to close.  Then I get the nuisance pop up “error reporting screen” for IE. That usually is accompanied by a warning of high memory usage by the reporting tool.

Do the screens freeze because of insufficient memory or is it IE just sucking or is it the website (Yahoo is a prime offender).  At least once a day I have to kill power to my computer because I can’t get a screen to close or can’t wait for it. I frequently have Java-based eTrade Pro running and I think it is a memory hog but I also get pages freezing when eTrade Pro is not running. I usually have multiple screens open at a time.

Thanks for any help.

[srb]

The DIMM slot securing clip colors are color coded to indicate which slots are to be used for pairs of memory modules.  The "positions" 1,2,3,4 are actually numbered 1,3,2,4.  Dell recommends that memory for this board be installed only in matched pairs, using the white slot numbers 1 and 2 ("positions" 1 and 3) if only one pair of modules is installed.  http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/SYSTEMS/dim5150/en/sm/parts1.htm#wp1370145
 
I assume you are using Windows XP.  I have used 1GB Windows XP systems with multiple web pages and applications open without any problem.  Although more memory can always improve a systems performance, I suspect your freezing problem is related to possible faulty physical memory or the Windows software condition itself.
 
Some things to try or consider:
 
1. Download Mozilla Firefox as an alternate browser to see if your problem only exists with Internet Explorer.  http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/new/
 
2. Download a free memory test program to make a bootable CD to test your existing memory.  http://pcsupport.about.com/od/toolsofthetrade/tp/memorytest.htm
 
3. Make sure you have a paging file enabled.  If you have the hard disk space available, it is often preferable to not use the Windows dynamic paging file, but instead specify a fixed size.
 
Steve

[Steidl Guitars]

Yahoo's java pages sometimes give me fits too, so you're not alone. 

Upping your RAM above 1 GB might not solve this problem, but it will surely help your machine to move along in general. 

[Don_S]

Thanks guys.  I think it is agreed that 1GB of memory is not enough so I ordered two 1GB cards from Kingston. Less than $35 delivered.  I will put them in the 1&2 positions.  After I see how they work I might add the 512s one at a time.  I know that is not paired but I have a friend who says none of his computers are balanced. It may also tell me if I have bad card.  Memory testing was just too complicated.

Steve, you lost me on this one. " Make sure you have a paging file enabled.  If you have the hard disk space available, it is often preferable to not use the Windows dynamic paging file, but instead specify a fixed size."

[srb]

Steve, you lost me on this one. " Make sure you have a paging file enabled.  If you have the hard disk space available, it is often preferable to not use the Windows dynamic paging file, but instead specify a fixed size."

The Paging File, or virtual memory, is a file on the hard drive that Windows uses as additional memory when it runs out of physical memory.  Although obviously slower than RAM, it can prevent running out of memory.
 
Virtual Memory is set under Control Panel > System > Advanced tab > Settings button (under Performance section) > Advanced tab > Change button (under Virtual Memory section).
 
The default is normally 1.5 X system memory and is dynamically allocated, with an initial and maximum size set, allowing it to grow as needed.  I was recommending to set both initial and maximum sizes the same so that the paging file size was fixed.  The system will need to be rebooted for it to take effect.
 
Because I have 8GB of RAM, mine is only set to ~ 4GB.
 

 
Steve

[Don_S]

Steve, 

Thank you for the details.  I changed my settings from 1536/3072 to 3072/3072.

[Doublej]

Sounds to me like there is something else going on. 1 GB should be a reasonable amount of  memory unless you have lots of things loading at startup or many programs open at once.

It could be a problem with Adobe Flash or lack of hard disk space or the dreaded Windows XP get slower over time issue which can be fixed by reinstalling the OS.

I have seen all of these problems on various machines. I reinstalled XP on two machines and found the performance to have improved from a machine no longer being useable to why do I need to buy a new machine.

[Don_S]

Doublej,

Unfortunately you may be correct.  But I would rather do almost anything before I reload XP again and all the programs I need to get my computer back to its current configuration.  Except for pages not closing (sometimes) everything else is working just fine.

My thoughts are if it ain't broke (too bad) don't fix it (too good).    So I will try duct tape and super glue (more memory and disk cleaning) and hope for the best.

[Don_S]

Thank you to all who shared their knowledge. I am updating this thread in case it helps anyone in the future.

Two days ago I removed the two factory 512MB cards and replaced them with two Kingston 1GB cards. That was a great move.  My computer is faster and pages all behave themselves now. It is like getting a new machine.

Any thoughts on whether the factory cards were corrupted or just undersized?  Shoud I install them in the #3 and #4 DIMM spots or leave them out?

Some praise for Kingston. I originally went to their site to see if I could find out exactly what I needed to order.  I did not know they also had an online store. The search function was great if you use the right one.  Don't use the generic blank search bar. Use the "search by brand" function.  After inserting the brand of computer, a drop down menu allows you to select what model you have.  After that a page is displayed with all the Kingston products for that model.

My memory was on "promo" so it was $16/1GB card.  Free shipping over $25. They do collect tax for many states.  Only complaint is their tracking is slow.    I ordered before noon on Friday and received my shipment in the mail on Tuesday (Monday was a holiday). Tracking still showed it as "order received".  Their shipping is so fast their tracking programs can't keep up.  Great job Kingston. 

[jqp]

You could try the two 512s in 3 and 4. If it is slower, take them out.

You could get 2 more 1GB simms and give yourself a total of 4GB. Under XP you would see only 3.2 to 3.4GB RAM depending on the hardware.

It may or may not be worth the extra $36 to you, some programs could take advantage of the extra RAM, many may not seem any faster. But you would give XP as much as it could use.

Probably better to put that $36 towards a new SolidStateDrive C: drive if you really want to make it faster.

Something like this

http://slickdeals.net/permadeal/54529/amazon.com-kingston-ssdnow-solid-state-drives-ssd-v100-series-2.5-64gb-ssd-60-after-60-rebate-v100-series-2.5-64gb-ssd-notebook-bundle-65-after-55-rebate-ssdnow-v-100-96gb-ssd