I want to go buy more memory for my laptop. At the moment, I have 256 MB of RAM and it’s upgradeable to 512. My laptop is about 3 years old and still in good condition. I can’t remember the model number, but it’s something like PGW or PGA - if I go to Best Buy without the model number, can they still give me the proper RAM? (I can go home and get it before I go if I need to, I’d just rather not).
Also, is it hard to install? I found what I thought are the empty memory card slots on the side - it looks like the memory just slides right in (there are two plastic things in there now - pull them out and they look like little ladders). Is that where I’d install the memory? If that’s the case, it should be pretty easy, right?
My whole reason for doing this is that I bought the Sims 2 and I can’t get it to work - it starts up fine, but then I get the Blue Screen of Death, and it crashes - it says something about ‘dumping physical memory’, which made me think I need more memory to play the game. So I’m hoping this will solve the problem.
What your describing sounds more like PCMCIA slots. I’m unfamiliar with the model, but most laptops have little trap doors on the bottom where the memory goes.
Every laptop I’ve seen has the model number on a sticker on the bottom. The manual will tell you how to add memory. If you don’t have the manual, search the Sony website for the model number.
The Blue Screen of Death doesn’t necessarily mean you need additional memory.
A memory card --in your case, Memory Stick – isn’t the same as RAM. Typically, you have to unscrew and open an access panel to install additional RAM. It’s not hard to install at all.
Try to get as much information as you can from the Blue Screen and post back to this thread. What OS are you using?
I’m on XP - I can’t really get anything from the screen except “Dumping of Physical Memory” - I’ve tried many times, and it goes so quickly that’s all I can see.
I’m probably mixing my terms, but I want to install more RAM. The program seems to run quickly until I either try to move in a family or create a family. Then it crashes. And it’s driving me nuts. I probably need to install more RAM anyway, since the computer seems to be overloaded anyway.
Any other suggestions to possibly run the program? I’ve tried closing everything in the task bar, closing various processes, everything it suggests in the manual. It’s driving me nuts because I really want to play this.
What kind of graphics card are you using? You can determine what you’re using by going to the Control panel and accessing the System properties applet. From there, click the Hardware tab and the Device Manager button. Expand the Desplay adapters entry.
I don’t know if using an unsupported graphics card could/would cause your system to crash. Maybe a person with more gaming experience will come along and reply.
Also, according to that link, 256MB of RAM is the minimum. I think maxing out at 512MB is a good idea.
Finally, you say your laptop is three years old. What speed is your processor and kind do you have?
More RAM is generally a good thing, but it has only about a 50% chance, at best, of being directly related to your BSOD issues. The side slots you are talking about are for peripheral PCCARDS or flash memory cards, they are not where system RAM memory goes.
Most notebooks have a small hatch plate on the bottom secured with 2-4 screws that covers the memory upgrade sockets. This plate comes off and the memory slots are exposed. Memory chips are usually held in place with 2 small spring clips that grip the memory module on the sides. When these are released the memory module can be removed.
Given the variable nature of help at retail electronic stores you really should ID what you need before you go in. Putting the wrong module in can have dire consequences for the registry integrity of the OS when you boot up, and once that’s munged it’s reformat time. I speak from bitter expereince.
Get the specifci model # of your notebook and then go to www.egghead.com or www.kingston.com for the appropriate cross referenced memory.
Thanks, astro (and Urban Chic - sorry, I just realized I never said thanks). I figure I’ll start with the memory and then upgrade as needed to fix other problems. The BSOD is appearing with a couple of other programs (namely, Photoshop), so I’m really hoping the RAM upgrade will be the cause.
I was hoping I wouldn’t have to run home, but I’ll do that, then head back out to get the RAM with the model number. I’m not really afraid to install the memory myself - I’ve done it in a desktop before - but I’ve never opened up my laptop before, so I was hesitant. I think I know which panel it is, though (I’ll check on the Vaio website first or my manual, obviously), and maybe with luck, I’ll be playing S2 by tonight!
Just as a heads up, in most cases XP runs just peachy with 256 megs of RAM. Adding to 512 might make switching between apps a bit faster but it’s unlikely to solve your slowdown problem or fix the Sims BSOD issue. I thnk running spyware cleaners like adaware or spybot might yield more benefit in solving your slowdown issues than another stick of RAM.
Another issue is if your RAM memory is already in two 128 meg modules (vs one 256 meg module) you’re going to have to pull one of the modules before you can install an additional 256 meg or a 512 module.
astro, do you have any idea how I might otherwise solve the Sims issue? It’s driving me nuts. I asked my husband if I could just put more RAM on his computer, since it’s slow (and shouldn’t be, it’s a Pentium 4), but he won’t let me. I’m thinking about doing it anyway when he’s not home. Kidding. Sort of.
I’m just at my wit’s end. I’m ready to scream with the whole Sims issue. I love what I’ve seen so far, but I’d prefer to play for more than 2 minutes before getting the BSOD. My husband’s computer is too slow, mine crashes. You’d think with two computers in the house, it’d play on one.
I’m not astro, but you’ll need to get the error message from the BSOD by not having the computer reboot automatically when it occurs. To do this, hit Control Panel -> System -> Advanced tab -> Startup and Recovery button -> uncheck “Automatically reboot” under “System Failure.”
The next time you get the BSOD, write down the STOP error and report back. I don’t remember exactly how the information is formatted, but the relevant info will be something like
STOP: <some numbers> <SOME_BAD_SOUNDING_ERROR_MESSAGE and then maybe SOMETHING.EXE/SYS/DLL/COM/whatever>
No, I didn’t just fix my laptop or add memory. Turns out it was my video card - the game just isn’t going to play on this computer.
Normally, I’d be very upset with this, but my hubby just gave me his Dell account and let me buy a new laptop:). Since this one has crashed several times in the past two days and I’m having issues with it anyway (it’s almost 4 years old, so it’s time), I wasn’t going to say no! I have a brand-new, beautiful laptop on the way to me:).
I’ll hopefully be playing the Sims in a couple of weeks. I’ll probably pass this laptop down to my niece.
