I'm 99.99 percent sure it IS the reason.
Running Vista 64 bit with only 1 gig of ram is like trying to tow a car with a motorcycle.
Vista is a resource hog. It needs 1 gig to even operate smoothly. With no RAM left for your applications to use, it's not a mystery why those applications are at crawl speed.

I'll definitely do that, then. I'm done with this computer running unbelievably slowly.

You'll thank yourself when you do.
Later on, if you want to get even faster, you can put in another 2 gigs and have 4. Vista 64bit supports up to 8 gigs, but I don't think you'll really need that much. 2 should be just fine, but if you find yourself wanting even more speed increase, your motherboard should be able to support 4 gigs with no problem.

Thank you. ^_^

You're welcome.

So I had to lower my maximum RAM output from 4 GB to 3 GB in order to a play a PC game that I finished a few days ago. Now I want to change it back to the way it was so my computer doesn't run as slow when I try to play newer games, but I forgotten what to do. All I can remember was that I went to my Start menu and had to do a search for something. I run a Vista 64 bit computer if that's any help.

Do you have integrated graphics (onboard video) as opposed to a dedicated graphics card? A dedicated graphics card uses its own memory whereas integrated graphics uses a chunk of main memory to operate.

It sounds like you might have allocated a gig of RAM for integrated graphics. If you want to adjust the allocation, you should be able to do this through the settings for your video card. Depending on your setup, these settings should be accessible through your Control Panel, either in Display, nVidia or ATI settings.

And how much of your memory you devote to integrated graphics should depend on whether the games you play tend to be more memory or graphics intensive.

Um... what?
I wasn't aware that you could "lower your RAM output" without physically reducing the amount of RAM you have in your computer....

You sure you're explaining the situation correctly?
You sure you're not talking about your page file, aka virtual memory? That's the only thing you can switch around, numerically, and it's basically just a certain amount of space on your harddrive that's used for temporary memory. Your hardware RAM capacity won't change unless you physically add or subtract your memory sticks.

Can you perhaps explain your scenario a little better?

Problem solved, I found the walk through to get it back to the way I wanted it.

To get the game Vampire: The Masquerade- Bloodlines working I had to go into my system configuration and the advanced options of the boot menu. From there I was able to change the output level of my RAM around so the game would play on my computer. Or at least so I'm told, I'm pretty green when it comes to computer tech shit. That's why I keep an IT guy locked in my basement, however it appears as though my steady diet of fish heads and regular physical and mental abuse have taken it's toll on him.

Ok so, I don't actually have a problem with my computer because it died last night during a storm. I've decided I spent way too much money on that piece of crap so I'm gonna buy a new one. Seeing as how there are a few computer savvy people now around, I thought I'd ask if someone could recommend a configuration (I live in Croatia so none of that "Oh just get a Dell or somesuchshit) with components I could probably find here.

I only use the computer to surf, download films, books and music and play music. The only more demanding job I do with it is converting DVD9 films into DVD5s...

So, can anyone suggest something that would be good for that purpose? I'm thinking a big hard drive (fast and silent if possible), but how much and what kind of RAM? What about the processor? Obviously, I probably don't need the top of the line stuff.

Here's just some specs I'm pulling out my ass right now, but feel free to discuss them and if anyone wants to edit/add, that's great.

For your needs, the following should be adequate:

• RAM: 2gigs, DDR2 or DDR3, no biggie on the brand, but Kingston and Corsair are the big two.
• CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo mobile (if you're getting a laptop, if desktop, just straight Core 2 Duo). There are other processors out there, but personally I know that the C2D's are fast, cheap, and reliable. In any case, you won't need more than 2 ghz of clock speed and a 4 MB L2 cache. FSB at 800 mhz should be fine as well.
• HDD: As big as you want, but you'll be more limited with a laptop. Either case, you want no less than 7200 RPMs.
• Graphics: Whatever the scenario, at least 128 MB will be fine if you're not gaming.
• Audio: Try to make sure your onboard soundcard is 24 bit if you're not planning on getting an external soundcard.
• OS: Windows XP pro w/ SP2 or SP3. ;)

Something I put together:

HDD 1000.0 GB SEAGATE, SATA, 32MB c., 7200 okr./min,
DVD±RW LG GH22NS, 22x, SATA, Dual layer, black, bulk
RAM PC-10600, 2 GB, KINGMAX, DDR3 1333 MHz
Cooler ARCTIC-COOLING Freezer 64 Pro PWM, socket 754/939/940/AM2
Power 400W, CORSAIR CX Series CMPSU-400CXEU, ATX2 v2.2, 120mm vent.
MBO GIGABYTE MA785GMT-UD2H, 785G/SB710, DDR3, sound, SATA, VGA, RAID, G-LAN, FW, HDMI, PCI-E, mATX, s. AM3
CPU AMD Athlon64 X2 250 BOX, s. AM3, 3.0GHz, 2MB c.
Casing COOLERMASTER Elite 331, MIDI,

Any thoughts? Will it work? Anything clashing? Didn't put a separate graphics or audio card as I think the MBO already has both...

Looks good.
If you selected those parts at one of those build-your-rig sites, you don't have to worry about mismatching, as they usually only provide options that work together when you're selecting your parts. If you're not using one of those sites, your main concern is whether your motherboard supports all the components that are going to be interfacing with it. Yours does, so no worries in that dept.

A terrabyte of HDD storage is PLENTY. You won't be running out of space any time soon. But if I could make a suggestion: Instead of a single terrabyte drive, you may want to split that between two physical drives. It's a good idea to back up your data and store a copy of that backup on another physical drive in case one craps out on you. I can't tell you how many times I wish I had practiced that in the past.

With your setup, 400 watt PSU should be sufficient as well. No worries there.

CPU is plenty fast enough. I'm not an AMD guy, but that's just me.

Now just promise you'll use XP and not Vista, and you're golden. lol..

Sweet, thanks for the help. :)

And I was going to run Vista. It's so much prettier...what seems to be its problem...? :(

Looks to me like you should be running the 64 bit version of windows vista. That's what I'm doing and although I have twice as much RAM as you do, it's been nice and stable in my experience.

64-bit Windows XP is - at least last time I heard - quite the hassle compared to Vista.

Vista has a worse rep than it deserves imo. I have two stationary comps right next to eachother, one with xp sp3 and the other with vista home professional (I think) 64 bits. Both work fine, but on a new comp with nice hardware, I'd definetly get Vista.

Hopefully someone more knowledgeable than myself can help me with this situation i have.

My computer is up stairs and picks up a wireless connection to the internet using a Belkin usb thing that sits in a little dock and is connected to the back of my PC with a cable through one of the usb slots. I've not had any problems with it until today, my pc disconnected from the internet and when i tried to reconnect it told me there was no networks available to connect to. And yet the computer downstairs is still connecting fine and the wireless was working on my friends lap top. Obviously i have it working now, i took the little usb thing out of its docking station thing and just slotted it into one of the usb slots at the front of my pc (random idea i thought it was worth a shot) and hey presto i'm back on the itnernet (connection also seems to be stronger).

Anyway, can anyone tell me what may have went wrong?

If the USB controller lost communication with your USB device for any reason, that could have caused it. Being that USB devices are based on PnP technology, simply pulling them out and re-inserting them usually brings them back up without any other necessary intervention.

I'm not sure if your "docking station thing" is a USB hub (device that allows you to plug multiple USB devices in while only using a single USB port), but I never had any luck with maintaining a fast, reliable connection using them with multiple devices plugged in because the USB bandwidth and voltage per port is limited.
I would recommend that for any USB device that requires stability, you plug that device directly into its own port on the PC.

I don't see why he'd need Vista 64bit. 64bit allows for a higher capacity in some areas, but none of which he actually needs as per his usage. If anything, it would be more of a hassle at this point because of his not getting much out of 64bit versus the fact that he would no longer be able to run 16 bit programs nor utilize 32bit drivers. So if he uses anything that doesn't support 64bit, then he's just crap out of luck.
Not a real big payoff considering he's only going to be running 2 gigs of RAM and a processor that, while it's 64bit capable, isn't pushing any performance limits in any scenario.
He could add 2 more gigs and swap to a quad-core CPU on a 32bit platform and still be well over his possible requirements in the foreseeable future.

I'm looking into getting a Zune because my iPod broke but the only problem is I heard Zunes can't play MPEG audio files or AAC files, and that's a hefty majority of my library + aac files purchased from the iTunes store classified as purchased aac files.

Anyway of getting around this? What do I do?

I'm sure there are a number of format converters available on the web.
Problem is, you may spend a while converting all your music.
Why not just get a new iPOD and then you won't have to worry about it?

^I'm really tired of ipods and I don't want to spend a ****load onanother touch because the only IPod I can see well are the touches due to my awful vision, and i also like the Zune interface a lot more.
Do you know of any free converters? Also, would I have to convert one by one or can I do all of it at the same time?

You know, there are other MP3 players out there besides iPOD and Zune. You should try scouting around and weighing your options. Might even save a lot of money that way. But if you're committed to getting a Zune, then definitely spend some time researching free format converters.
I don't know any music-related converters offhand, as I don't have a use for them, but I know there are plenty out there. Unless you're asking me to Google something for you, then the best advice I can give is to spend some time searching until you find something that meets your needs.

And yes, most format converters allow for batch conversion, which lets you select any number of files of a specific file type, and converts them one after another without any user intervention. Most often, the only interaction you have with format converters are the setup of your output file specifications, and identifying the files you want to be converted.

It's a very straightforward process. You just have to find a program that meets your needs. The rest will be self explanitory.

Ok, thanks a lot, I'll look into it.

thanks for the advice, earlier i put the USB device directly into a usb slot at the front of my computer about a minute later the screen went blue and this giant message came up i didn't have time to read it all but it said something about performing an emergency shut down. Next thing i know my computers restarting but after it restarted itself everything seems to be working.

go figure. lol

Yea the Blue Screen Of Death is quite an Oh Shit moment, but as long as you're back up and running without any further incidents, you can chalk it up to a random error as long as it's not a constant thing.

So you're moving from an iPod to a Zune?

Because I did that, too. I didn't have to convert anything. It takes music from everywhere you ask it to take music from.

you can often make the computer boot from a recovery disk instead of HDD if you into bios so you can repair your computer,

Removable media is usually set higher than the hard drive the OS is on, by default from the vendor. But yea, if it happens to be set so that the hard-drive boots first, then the user would have to enter the bios and change the boot order if he/she wanted to boot from a disk.

Captain Awesome doesn't need a repair disk though, so I don't see how it's relevant.

has anybody else's MediaMonkey crapped out on them because they needed a new version of Quicktime?

i have a bunch of m4a files in my library and i can't seem to play any of them because it keeps giving me the same error message: "new version of Quicktime required to play this song." i tried downloading it and installing but it didn't make a bit of difference.

sorry i totally forgot i asked about this, its stopped recently. but i would still like to know what was going on etc :).

i have version 2009 (build 14.0.8089.726).

anything useful amounst that?

So, what about that Windows 7, is it worth getting? My computer just arrived and I'm wondering what OS I should steal to put in it...:D I've already put the 32bit Vista to download but if the W7 is better, speak now or...!

Windows 7 is everything vista should have been.
It's faster and more reliable.
Get it!

No shit. So no problems with driver support? 64 or 32 bit?

Not as far as I'm aware. A couple of computer geeks at work have windows 7 already and they swear it's faster than XP.
Don't even consider vista.

Point is...it's a waste of time getting vista cos it's slower than XP and less reliable with compatability issues. Vista is a step backwards IMO.
7 is the next step up. And if it's better than XP...

I'd go with 32 bit. Why ask for trouble!

Word. Will report the results later...(:

When I make a spelling mistake and press backspace my Firefox goes back a page and I lose what I'm writing, it never used to do this, and it's really pissing me off. Help me :(?

Learn to spell.

I can spell, cheeky. :(