What kind of Ram?

[wonderings]

Well I need to add some more ram to our work PC running Win XP Pro. How do I find out what kind of ram I need to buy for this computer? Its very simple on a mac, just system profile, and it tells you everything about whats in your mac. I right clicked on My Computer, went to properties, it showed how much ram I had, but did not tell me what kind. Where can I go to see this? Also same question for video card. I think this machine just uses the mother board for its video card, not excatly sure how that works, but I would like to drop in a video card, probably a 64 mb video card of some sort. So really the main question is, where do I find detailed specs about whats in this computer?

thanks

[wonderings]

Well guess I will answer part of my own question. I have located System Information under system tools. But now I seem to have a problem. This is the message I get in the systems tools window:

Can't Collect Information

Cannot access the Windows Management Instrumentation software. Windows Management files may be moved or missing. Ok whats going on here? I never touch any of those types of files. The only thing done on this computer is Corel Draw. and email, and thats it. Anyone have any ideas?

[iansl]

Maybe some admin has it partitioned off...try going to the Device Manager. See what you find there.

[wonderings]

ok... not to sure what the device manager is, can you give me a step by step? I do know this computer has a few partitions, so it sounds like your on the right track. Where is the device manager located?

thanks for your reply

[iansl]

No, about the partitions. I meant that the permissions were mussed up so as not to allow end users in there. But to get to the Device Manager, which should be just as good (if not better),

1. RIght-click My Computer and click Properties (you did that).

2. Go to the Hardware tab.

3. Click Device Manager.

That's it. Report back what you find.

[wonderings]

Ok that worked, I now am in the device manager, kinda confused as to where it shows my ram

[query]

It may or may not tell you - most likely, it will not.

What make and model is the system, or what make and model is the mainboard - if you can't find a name, boot the system - on the boot screen at the top or bottom will be a long string of alphanumerics.  Record that and poast it and we'll see what we can turn up for you.

[wonderings]

thanks for your help, I will have to check that tomorrow, I am back at my Mac workstation ahhhhhh *sigh of relief* It was put together  machine. So its not dell or anything like that. Thanks again for  your help

[wonderings]

Ok I am a complete noob when it comes to this. I rebooted the computer, but it goes right into XP before I can read anything. How do I "boot the system"?

thanks

[wonderings]

I am absolutely amazed at how difficult this seems to be on a PC running XP Pro. It takes 2 clicks of a mouse on my mac to see details about every little thing on my mac. Still trying to figure out the type of ram needed in my work pc and getting more frustrated at why this is so hard to do.

[Chandler]

The best thing is to install SiSoft Sandra Lite; it will tell you the type of memory.

[wonderings]

Are you serious? I need to install software to find out what type of ram my pc uses? The more I use this pc the more I love macs. Sorry just frustrated at how difficult this seems to be for me. I will try your recommendation Chandler. Do you have a link to a place for download? and please tell me is a free program

thanks

[wonderings]

Well I installed the SiSoft software, and it did not solve my simple question. It still just tells me how much ram I have, not what kind of ram its using. I cannot believe that this is giving me so many problems on a stupid question. Please somebody just tell me I am doing something wrong.

[Buffalo2102]

What type of PC is it?  Is it a manufactured model, e.g. Compaq, Dell, etc.? If so, go to http://www.crucial.com/ and follow the instructions.

Otherwise, you may have to open the machine up and actually look at the memory modules to identify them.  Have a look here http://www.memorystock.com/adding-memory.html.

Hope this helps.

[Chandler]

In SiSoft Sandra, open up the Mainboard Information module.  Make a note of the System BIOS string (for example 12/10/2003-nVidia-nForce-6A61BB01C-00) and the chipset name (e.g. nVidia nForce2 ICP)

If you scroll down to the Memory Module(s) section it will list the existing memory modules including manufacturer name and part number (e.g. Kingston 8A0F8766 512MB 16x(32Mx8) DDR-SDRAM PC2700U-2533-700).

In the above example you would need PC2700 DDR DIMM modules.

[wonderings]

it was custom made. I was kinda hoping to avoid opening the computer up, its so nicely tucked away. And I still cant believe thats the only real solution that has come up so far. Maybe I should just put VPC on my mac and be done with my work PC for good! dang this is so frustrating!! >:(

[slaxorz]

open the machine up there should only be 3 differant types of ram for the computer.  The only reason macs are easier in this way is its completely standardized everything is made specifically for the mac well except memory of course. Here are some examples.

http://photobucket.com/albums/v76/mydogsucks13%40hotmail.com/

[wonderings]

Thanks Chandler I will try that again today and hopefully find what I am looking for. Slaxorz, every little thing I have plugged in my mac shows up in detail,  me logitech optical mouse, epson scanner, to my cheap 4 port usb hub. This has nothing to do with stadardized, it is just built better then XP. Everything has its own id and the Mac OS can see that and display that very simply. The ram I use is Kingston ram, it tells me its kingston, and all the other info that I need. Even when I plug in my digital video camera, which is not mac only by any means, it tells me I have a Canon ZR65 plugged in via my firewire.

[wonderings]

Thanks Chandler that worked. I need PC2100 ddr-sdram. I still cant believe I needed a seperate program for that! Oh well, I hardly ever you use PC anyways so its not that big of a deal. I dont know how you guys put up with this kind of stuff though. Anyways, enough of my rant. Thanks alot everyone for helping solve my *big* problem. I will now go out looking for some ram.

[Chandler]

I consider SiSoft Sandra to be an essential tool, as it makes up for the shortcomings of hardware information Windows provides.  Just about everything you need to know about your PC can be told by Sandra.

JA, the "Lite" version works indefinately, it's just that some modules aren't available.  But the good news is that for most people, including myself, the additional modules in the "Pro" version are unnescessary.

[Buffalo2102]

Sounds like the Mac takes all the "fun" out of computing. ;)

[wonderings]

I would say it puts the fun in computing because it lets you use it  ;D

[wonderings]

get OS X on your G3 and you will be networking with your Win machine with very few problems

[query]

If it doesn't come with it, upgrade to Panther (10.3.6).  The support for internetworking with Windows and LInux is markedly better than with the earlier releases of the OS - and unlike Microsoft, Apple manages to improve performance with each new release of X, so it's faster as well.   A G3 with at least 256 - preferably 512 or more RAM - will run X handily.

[wonderings]

Panther is the way to go, you will love expose! its incredible, and no one else has been able to produce anything like it yet. Also, OS X is a ram hog, the more the better, I would not operate OS X without at least 512. Any questions you have regarding macs and mac osx, feel free to ask. I am sure you will soon love the Apple OS X.

[Carskick]

There is a cool free app called CPU-Z, which can identify the CPU and memory in your PC and many details about it. It's free. YOu can get it by googleing CPU-Z

[wonderings]

Panther is the most amazing OS out there at the moment. But if you have some patience, I would maybe wait. Apple will be unveiling OS X "Tiger" sometime in the new year, well thats what the rumours are anyways. "Tiger" will make the advances to come in Longhorn obsolete before Longhorn even hits the markets. Check out http://www.apple.com/macosx/tiger/