Upgrading RAM problems

[vinCe]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsme.general (More info?)

In a previous (2/5/05) posting about a System Restore problem I mentioned
that I recently upgraded from 384 to 768 Mb which seemed to produce all kinds
of problems, one being system restore wouldn't complete; I later proved that
System Restore was working using the file on desktop cycle approach.
Noel at the time stated that I should add a line to the [vcache] in
System.ini that read
maxfilecache=512000
I did that which didn't seem to do anything; what is the entry for?
To check my memory I used the microsoft memory diagnostic after after
allowing 5 passes of 6 tests each had successful runs in each except "pass
1-INVC test. Address fault was "2a5cd738"
Can anyone tell me the reason for this? I am about to do a format and
system re-install.

Thanks
--
vince

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsme.general (More info?)

Win Me, like previous Win 9x operating systems can handle up to 2GB of RAM
(although often there are problems with greater than 1GB) however if you
have more than 512MB it is essential to limit the virtual cache to no more
than 512MB since if you allow the cache to exceed 512MB this will mean
that you run out of upper memory addresses and get Out of Memory errors.:
To limit vcache, open system.ini and add the lines
[VCache]
MaxFileCache=512000
Note that this will still mean that all memory is available to
applications but is simply limiting the amount used as virtual cache
memory See KB 253912 - ""Out of Memory" Error Messages with Large
Amounts of RAM Installed" (http://support.microsoft.com?kbid=253912).

See also:
MS KB 296773 - "Computer May Not Hibernate with More Than 192 MB of
Memory" (http://support.microsoft.com?kbid=296773). This makes reference
to an updated file vmm.vxd. Contact Microsoft, explain the problem, and
mention 296773 and you should be given details of how to obtain the patch
and the password of the day. Note that there should be no support charge
for this call other than for any telecom charges incurred in ringing
Microsoft.

MS KB 304943 - "Computer May Reboot Continuously with More Than 1.5 GB of
RAM" (http://support.microsoft.com?kbid=304943).
--
Mike Maltby MS-MVP
mike.maltby@gmail.com


vince <vince@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:

> In a previous (2/5/05) posting about a System Restore problem I
> mentioned that I recently upgraded from 384 to 768 Mb which seemed to
> produce all kinds of problems, one being system restore wouldn't
> complete; I later proved that System Restore was working using the
> file on desktop cycle approach.
> Noel at the time stated that I should add a line to the [vcache] in
> System.ini that read
> maxfilecache=512000
> I did that which didn't seem to do anything; what is the entry for?
> To check my memory I used the microsoft memory diagnostic after after
> allowing 5 passes of 6 tests each had successful runs in each except
> "pass 1-INVC test. Address fault was "2a5cd738"
> Can anyone tell me the reason for this? I am about to do a format and
> system re-install.

 

[vinCe]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsme.general (More info?)

Mike:

Thanks for the added info!

Vince

"Mike M" wrote:

> Win Me, like previous Win 9x operating systems can handle up to 2GB of RAM
> (although often there are problems with greater than 1GB) however if you
> have more than 512MB it is essential to limit the virtual cache to no more
> than 512MB since if you allow the cache to exceed 512MB this will mean
> that you run out of upper memory addresses and get Out of Memory errors.:
> To limit vcache, open system.ini and add the lines
> [VCache]
> MaxFileCache=512000
> Note that this will still mean that all memory is available to
> applications but is simply limiting the amount used as virtual cache
> memory See KB 253912 - ""Out of Memory" Error Messages with Large
> Amounts of RAM Installed" (http://support.microsoft.com?kbid=253912).
>
> See also:
> MS KB 296773 - "Computer May Not Hibernate with More Than 192 MB of
> Memory" (http://support.microsoft.com?kbid=296773). This makes reference
> to an updated file vmm.vxd. Contact Microsoft, explain the problem, and
> mention 296773 and you should be given details of how to obtain the patch
> and the password of the day. Note that there should be no support charge
> for this call other than for any telecom charges incurred in ringing
> Microsoft.
>
> MS KB 304943 - "Computer May Reboot Continuously with More Than 1.5 GB of
> RAM" (http://support.microsoft.com?kbid=304943).
> --
> Mike Maltby MS-MVP
> mike.maltby@gmail.com
>
>
> vince <vince@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:
>
> > In a previous (2/5/05) posting about a System Restore problem I
> > mentioned that I recently upgraded from 384 to 768 Mb which seemed to
> > produce all kinds of problems, one being system restore wouldn't
> > complete; I later proved that System Restore was working using the
> > file on desktop cycle approach.
> > Noel at the time stated that I should add a line to the [vcache] in
> > System.ini that read
> > maxfilecache=512000
> > I did that which didn't seem to do anything; what is the entry for?
> > To check my memory I used the microsoft memory diagnostic after after
> > allowing 5 passes of 6 tests each had successful runs in each except
> > "pass 1-INVC test. Address fault was "2a5cd738"
> > Can anyone tell me the reason for this? I am about to do a format and
> > system re-install.
>
>

 

[TomV]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsme.general (More info?)

Hi, Mike,

Is there ever any reason to use a vcache setting to limit the vcache
with 512MB or less of RAM? After reading your post, I took a look at
the vcache setting on my system and had an entry of MaxFileCache=179200.
I may have been experimenting with this setting but can't even remember
placing it there. I can't say that I've encountered any problems with
this setting having 256MB of RAM installed. I removed the entry for now
to see if there are any noticeable differences.

Regards,
Tom

Mike M wrote:
> Win Me, like previous Win 9x operating systems can handle up to 2GB of RAM
> (although often there are problems with greater than 1GB) however if you
> have more than 512MB it is essential to limit the virtual cache to no
> more than 512MB since if you allow the cache to exceed 512MB this will
> mean that you run out of upper memory addresses and get Out of Memory
> errors.:
> To limit vcache, open system.ini and add the lines
> [VCache]
> MaxFileCache=512000
> Note that this will still mean that all memory is available to
> applications but is simply limiting the amount used as virtual cache
> memory See KB 253912 - ""Out of Memory" Error Messages with Large
> Amounts of RAM Installed" (http://support.microsoft.com?kbid=253912).
>
> See also:
> MS KB 296773 - "Computer May Not Hibernate with More Than 192 MB of
> Memory" (http://support.microsoft.com?kbid=296773). This makes reference
> to an updated file vmm.vxd. Contact Microsoft, explain the problem, and
> mention 296773 and you should be given details of how to obtain the patch
> and the password of the day. Note that there should be no support charge
> for this call other than for any telecom charges incurred in ringing
> Microsoft.
>
> MS KB 304943 - "Computer May Reboot Continuously with More Than 1.5 GB of
> RAM" (http://support.microsoft.com?kbid=304943).

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsme.general (More info?)

In theory, setting VCACHE to 70% of RAM can prevent an unusual situation
where the VCACHE can overflow when moving/deleting a large number of files
simultaneously. This was a problem with Windows 98 but I haven't heard it
reported much (if at all) under Windows Me. In any case the limit you have
set is enough that it won't hamper system performance.

--
Richard G. Harper [MVP Shell/User] rgharper@gmail.com
* PLEASE post all messages and replies in the newsgroups
* for the benefit of all. Private mail is usually not replied to.
* My website, such as it is ... http://rgharper.mvps.org/
* HELP us help YOU ... http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm


"TomV" <t@nospam.net> wrote in message
news:e488AdUEFHA.3244@TK2MSFTNGP15.phx.gbl...
> Hi, Mike,
>
> Is there ever any reason to use a vcache setting to limit the vcache with
> 512MB or less of RAM? After reading your post, I took a look at the
> vcache setting on my system and had an entry of MaxFileCache=179200. I may
> have been experimenting with this setting but can't even remember placing
> it there. I can't say that I've encountered any problems with this
> setting having 256MB of RAM installed. I removed the entry for now to see
> if there are any noticeable differences.

 

[TomV]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsme.general (More info?)

Richard,

Thanks for the information.

Tom

Richard G. Harper wrote:
> In theory, setting VCACHE to 70% of RAM can prevent an unusual situation
> where the VCACHE can overflow when moving/deleting a large number of files
> simultaneously. This was a problem with Windows 98 but I haven't heard it
> reported much (if at all) under Windows Me. In any case the limit you have
> set is enough that it won't hamper system performance.
>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsme.general (More info?)

"vince" <vince@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:

<snip>

>To check my memory I used the microsoft memory diagnostic after after
>allowing 5 passes of 6 tests each had successful runs in each except "pass
>1-INVC test. Address fault was "2a5cd738"
>Can anyone tell me the reason for this? I am about to do a format and
>system re-install.
>

That indicates a memory chip defect, which is a hardware problem. A
format and reinstall will do nothing about this.

Get a second (and perhaps a third) opinion on your memory chips by
doing further tests.

1. DocMemory (free) http://www.simmtester.com
2. Boot the computer into Safe Mode at least half a dozen times. If
you get a series of error messages that say that "Himem.sys has
detected unreliable XMS memory ........." and then "Himem.sys is
missing/unable to load......." then that is confirmation of a
defective memory chip, or at least one that is not properly installed.

Good luck


Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca

"The reason computer chips are so small is computers don't eat much."