Windows Vista & the 4GB RAM Nightmare!

So, I got up on one fine Saturday and decided to stack my PC with 4 Gigs of DDR2 RAM. I checked the prices for RAM at lamington road, and to my surprise, the price for the 1GB stick was around 1300 bucks! Of course, that was after a little bargain and deciding to take 2 sticks of 1 GB each... So here I was, heading back home, with 2 Gigs of DDR2 RAM, all sticks operating at a voltage of 1.8V+ and FSB of 800Mhz. I was just so happy of getting them! I was going to have a real fast PC (This was in addition to the already installed 2 Gigs of RAM)!

So I installed the sticks with an anticipation of a rocking speed to my PC and great boot times. All that was turned into a nightmare, when I noticed that my Windows Vista Ultimate is taking over a minute and a half to boot my installation! My earlier RAM, standing @ 2 GB was booting it much much faster! I tried frantically to do somethings to get the boot time up. The first thing that did strike me is my previous experience of Windows OS installations. Add a new hardware, and Windows sometimes tumbles down! That was my first guess. So my troubleshooting started with re-installing my OS. Interestingly, the installation too, was taking ages! I had to abort installation and install just 2 Gigs of RAM to get my new installation up and running... What do I do now? :-)

Well, this is how I troubleshooted... And am sure, this is something that will work for all those out there who own an Intel DG965RY OR (DG965XX series). My motherboard was at 1687 BIOS version. The following technet forum helped me solve my problem. I upgraded my BIOS to 1698, the release note clearly specifies that the fix in this release is to handle the slow boot issue when 4 Gigs of RAM is installed. Also, I installed one KB fix. Installing just the KB fix did not help me. Only after upgrading my BIOS to 1698 did the RAM's work for me :-)

The Technet Forum I am referring to:
http://forums.microsoft.com/technet/showpost.aspx?postid=1292561&siteid=17&sb=0&d=1&at=7&ft=11&tf=0&pageid=0

The Microsoft KB I am referring to: (KB929777)
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929777

In case you face such similar problems, feel free to drop in a line to me :-). I'll be more than glad to help you!!

64-bit OS, Whats the Big Deal?

The computer industry is changing, and 64-bit technology is the next, inevitable step. With the Core 2 Duo processors flowing in at real cheap rates in Indian markets... 64-bit computing will be installed in almost every home buying a new PC! I too am one such user, and 64-bit computing was something that was always generating a lot of interest, as well as a few questions in my mind. Finally, I got sometime to really experience what the 64-bit fuss is all about! I'll try to address some questions that I had in my mind which am sure a few of you might be having in your mind too!

I started my 64-bit experience by installing the 64-bit Windows Vista Ultimate OS. Let me tell you, the installation process, look and feel and everything of the OS is just like its 32-bit variant. No difference at all! So, don't expect to look at the desktop and figure out if it's a 64-bit or a 32-bit! The only way to figure that out is to check your system properties, which gives you the following screen... See at the bottom where it mentions, that this is a 64-bit Operating System

Fine, so I was done, installing the OS now; what was new? The very first question I had was, Do I strictly need 64-bit applications for installing & running them on a 64-bit OS? The answer is 'NO'! You can very much run your 32-bit apps. However, the device drivers need to be 64-bit compulsorily. All hardware devices need 64-bit drivers to work on a 64-bit version of Windows. So if you are running some old legacy devices (quite unlikely) first make sure that 64-bit OS specific drivers for the same are available! I got a nice error screen while I tried to install 32-bit display drivers for my GeForce 7600GS Video Card.

So, how does Windows allow you to install 32-bit apps on a 64-bit OS? The answer to this is WOW64! Now I know, Vista was majorly using this keyword 'WOW' in the Vista marketing campaigns and product promotions, but there is a lot of difference in both these WOW's :-D! The WOW that I am talking about stands for 'Windows 32-bit on Windows 64-bit (WOW64 or WOW)', a subsystem of the OS.

What's the big deal? I mean, I have a 64-bit OS, I'll install an application & expect it to run. What's with these numbers? What's with the difference in 64-bit & 32-bit? The issues are related to the 64-bit processors and Windows itself.

The processors run in two modes: 32-bit and 64-bit. In the 64-bit mode, the memory pointers are larger than in the 32-bit mode. While this gives the 64-bit applications access to more memory, the execution contexts and data are incompatible with 32-bit applications. As a result, 64-bit and 32-bit code cannot be mixed within a single process. For example, if a 64-bit process loads a 32-bit Dynamic Link Library (DLL), or vice versa, an error results, saying that the DLL format is incorrect. Consequently, 32-bit applications cannot use the 64-bit system DLLs. WOW64 solves these and other problems.

That's all that I know about WOW... and also one more thing... Wondered how the segregation of 32-bit and 64-bit applications is done by Windows OS while installing a new program/ application? Well Well Well, Vista makes a new folder, 'Program Files (x86)' & also just 'Program Files'. As the name suggests, 1 is for storing your 32-bit apps while the other one is for you 64-bit apps!

That's all I know about the 64-bit OS. If you have any questions or even extra information to share, please drop in a comment. I'll try to answer the questions, if I can & would be more than happy to learn more, from the extra info that you might have for me :-)

Hi. Just so all my readers know, this is my very first blog and I am writing this, after one of my very good friend Abhishek suggested on me writing one! Without wasting much time of my precious readers I’ll just brief you about the idea of this blog…

Around 2 weeks back, I decided to purchase a new PC for my house. Ideally, I wanted to buy it after Windows Vista was launched for the consumer market. Unfortunately my old system’s hard drive was too old and tired to work more for me, and started showing it’s anger by making mechanical sounds! (It was a Seagate 60 GB IDE 5400 RPM drive)

My machine hunt started by checking prices of individual components, which one would require to make a powerful PC. I visited many sites, forums and even ebay which listed the peripheral prices. The listings on ebay are too pricey and you have to be really lucky to get a good deal! I also saw that not many forums have listed Mumbai prices… This is one reason that has made me write this blog for you people! Hope it is a little useful!

I have not listed any specific shops here because you’d end up buying from one who gives you the best deal and also, I am not here to advertise for any vendor! All the peripherals carry their nice individual warranties of which, only the warranties by Hard Disk excite us! 5 Years! Wow!

~ Who should read this? People from the beautiful Mumbai City who have heard about ‘Lamington Road’ and those cheap prices that they get the PC components at! Also, for readers who’d want to assemble their own PC someday!

~ Who should NOT read this? People wanting to run after branded PC’s… Dell, HP’s, Zenith (Ahem…) this really isn’t for you guys!

I have mentioned my PC configuration here... All prices in INR (Indian Rupees):

Genuine Intel 965 RY (also know RYCK at Lamington!) Motherboard - 6600

Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 Processor - 9000

LG GSN-H20 Dual Layer DVD Writer - 1950

Sony DVD – ROM Combo Drive (Don’t ask why I got one more!) - 1650

1 GB Transcend RAM (Single Module) - 5100

160 GB Samsung (Yucks!) SATA HDD 7200 RPM - 3150

19” ViewSonic Wide screen Monitor - 14000

1.44 Sony FDD - 350

Plain Keyboard and Optical Mouse - 500

Creative Decoder DDTS-100 (Explained later) - 7500

Creative Inspire T6060 (5.1 Speakers) - 4800

Delta 350 Watts Power Supply & Intex Cabinet (Monalisa) – 7 HDD Bay’s - 3250

Well as you see, this is my new PC! Yeps, I spend almost 58 Grand’s but you guys or girls who understand what I’ve purchased, you’d be like… “Whoooaaa” by now!

Warranty information:
The processor and motherboard carry 2 years warranty, the LCD monitor 3 years, RAM carry’s a lifetime warranty and rest all others carry 1 year warranty.

Also note that, as of today, prices have dropped further and the prices mentioned above are a little higher! (Well, I got the machine delivered at my house in Bandra and if you guys are good at bargaining then you can get a better deal than this)

If you have seen, I have not purchased a Video Card yet and this is because that is only thing I’ll purchase only after Vista debuts in India. All you people who want to buy a new PC, hang on to it and buy one after Vista releases! Ofcourse this advice is useless for people who are more than happy with Windows XP (I am happy too, just that newer OS’s excite me). Well, I’ve seen many forums and site’s mentioning about Vista’s powerful UI which is completely driven by a video card… an OS first of it’s kind from Microsoft (It always is, huh!). So if all you Operating System crazy people are awaiting Vista’s release like I am… think and buy a graphics card perhaps sometime later! Also, ideally purchase a 17” or 19” widescreen display… the typical 4:3 screens are a little out of style now!

Some components explained:

I’ll only explain why I got a Delta 350 Watts power supply and what’s with this Creative Decoder mentioned above, in my blog that I'll post later in a day or two! The reason: I still have to install my speakers and will try posting a review rather than just posting what it is!

Some extra information…

Where exactly is Lamington Road and where are all these peripheral shops?

Lamington Road, Grant Road Station - You get down at grant road and move towards the east (Grant Road East that is). The moment you get down out of the station you see a fly-over on your right. Move in the direction of the fly-over and follow the road, which goes left and is now parallel to the fly-over. At the foot of the fly-over you are near a signal crossing. Take a right here (cross the road) and this is a dream lane for any guy/ girl who wants to assemble his/ her own PC! Walk into any of the peripheral shops which are predominantly dominated by our good ol’ traditional Baniya’s! and list them your dream PC configuration

About me:

I am Ameya Bhakay. I completed my Graduation in Commerce from Chinai College, Andheri and then completed my Masters in Computer Application (MCA), Mumbai University. I am currently working as a Software Engineer at SmartStream Technologies (P.) Ltd.