got a crashed computer...

[squirrel1970]

Y'know... I'd kiss that computer... but I haven't cleaned the outside of it yet

---------- Post added at 17:09 ---------- Previous post was at 15:17 ----------

it's still only seeing the 128mb from the gfx card and using that as opposed to the 1Gb of ram in the ram slots (of which there are two)

Is it
a) the previous owners fault for getting someone to just stick any random RAM in that fitted into the slots
b) a possible issue with Ubuntu not seeing/using the 1GB RAM?

Or something else?

---------- Post added at 18:09 ---------- Previous post was at 17:09 ----------

Ok, I have the MoBo pinned down, it's a gigabyte 8s661fxmp-rz and it's refusing to see the RAM still.

There's also an 'AverTV' card in it - as yet, I haven't determined what it does - or what sort it is.

The GFX card is a geforce fx2500 (128mb ddr+tv)

[Dai]

That's just not possible. If it didn't 'see' the RAM memory it wouldn't even boot. Somehow it may not be reporting the installed RAM correctly but it's got to be using it.

[squirrel1970]

When it starts up, it only sees 128mb of ram - even when I changed the ram (to something wholley inappropriate that I thought could work) it still booted up with 128mb Ram... even with the ram slots empty, it still loaded up with 128mb Ram - the same amount of ram on the geforce card... so it's definitely using resources from the gfx card.

I can't find where to look for the system specs in Ubuntu to find out for sure whats going on, but I'm really suspecting that something is afoot in the memory department...
Was contemplating hooking the pc up to the internet and finding/installing the MoBo drivers - see if that helps... (or not)

I already saved this computer once from being launched from a window - it might not be so lucky next time... only *I* will be doing the launching!!

And who the heck put tetris in the games on Ubuntu? thats the most addictive game on the planet!! (where my afternoon went when I wasn't swearing)

---------- Post added at 19:29 ---------- Previous post was at 18:57 ----------

Sorted!! Went into bios and q-flashed it... it now sees all the Ram

I feel soooo much better now!

[Dai]

Originally Posted by squirrel1970

When it starts up, it only sees 128mb of ram - even when I changed the ram (to something wholley inappropriate that I thought could work) it still booted up with 128mb Ram... even with the ram slots empty, it still loaded up with 128mb Ram - the same amount of ram on the geforce card... so it's definitely using resources from the gfx card.

Colour me gobsmacked !!

In 20 years of diddling with computers I've never known a system boot without RAM. Mind you, it's not something I've ever tried on a regular basis.

[squirrel1970]

Originally Posted by DaiNasty

Colour me gobsmacked !!

In 20 years of diddling with computers I've never known a system boot without RAM. Mind you, it's not something I've ever tried on a regular basis.

It happened because I forgot I'd taken the ram out in frustration and put the back on and just assumed I'd put ram in it... it wasn't until I booted it down and reopened the back that I saw two empty slots - meaning that until I noticed that, it definitely was using the memory off the gfx card....

Either that, or I have mystical powers over technology

[squirrel1970]

next on my agenda:
A windows 95 machine that still works, just need for it to do *something* (old dos games are a possibility )
A PC with no power supply and no hdd that just needs those two things and a monitor (it's got a P4 chip in it, so it's worth doing something to get it working again )
A dead PC which needs stripping down to see which bits work and then either replace or get rid - not sure... it's 10 years old and up until this time last year, still worked.

May also dig out old Commodore 64 at some point too - just for old times sake (I bought it a floppy disk drive some years ago and it's been sweet!)

Either way, whichever of the computers I can get up and running (with a decent amount of ram - except for the win95 machine as it's waaaay past it :-p) will have ubuntu slung on it - now I know what the heck I'm doing (at long last!)

[squirrel1970]

The onboard audio chip (needs a soundcard but I can't afford one at the moment) doesn't work so I've compensated and plugged in an old usb skype-style handset (the sort you get from Maplin) and it's doing its thing and I now have audio
I also have a usb soundblaster soundcard and I'm going to test that out later...

I'll be honest, I'm really seriously impressed with Ubuntu and what it's done to a seeminly dead computer

I've also got a microsoft lifecam which I'll plug into it at some point (got a cold, don't want to scare myself thanks!) and see what happens.

I'm learning important rule 1: you *can* breathe new life into an old computer

[Dai]

'Breathing life' - Yes you certainly can. There are a lot of functions that don't require the latest and greatest hardware. I had a NAS box for a time built from an old Pentium II machine. That worked perfectly well. (running Linux FreeNAS BTW)

[squirrel1970]

I have to admit, one week on since getting everything 'operational' - I'm still impressed!
I also managed to get my daughter acquainted with it - and within an HOUR, she knew what to do (with my guidance) and I was ok to leave her to it after that
I'm still using a usb handset device for audio.
As for the gfx, I have had a few issues with the nvidia site in regards to downloading the appropriate drivers and thats on two machines! (so I'm guessing it just isn't me, or is it?)
Either way, the sheer speed and efficiency of the pc means it's going to be coming in very handy and useful for a lot of stuff.
It now just needs a bigger 2nd hdd and the RAM doubling to make it even sweeter
(The P4 comp that still needs work, well, I'm hoping to get that done before Christmas - there's no rush at the moment )