First, has anyone used Paragon Drive Backup, and can tell me if you had good or bad experiences with it?
Secondly, I’m looking at this software because my current system doesn’t appear to make backup image(s) that fully reflect my hard drive – that is, it seems to add new files to the backup, but if I delete or move files in my HD, it doesn’t do anything, so I apparently have a backup with a lot of old junk in it taking up space that I’d rather use productively. (I’m currently using SyncBack freeware, which appears to also be incapable of doing “hot” backups – if the file’s in use by some process, it doesn’t get copied.) So I want to be sure that Paragon’s differential backups means that the backup image will be an accurate snapshot of what the HD currently looks like, without the extra junk that I threw out ages ago.
Also, if I want to add some memory sticks, how do I know which kind to get? I’ve looked at Newegg’s memory picker tool, but once that’s done is there anything else I need to look for in the specs? The tool returns sticks that are different from each other in terms of latency, timing, voltage – does it matter? I have a ASUS M2N-E motherboard, currently with 2 1-gig sticks, and two empty slots that I’d like to fill.
Lastly, I need a new DVD/CD drive. My current one has a hard time reading DVDs and usually takes several tries to get there. Any recommendations? I don’t want to get stuck with another blind drive. (My current is a Samsung.) I’m probably ordering all the hardware from Newegg, since aside from having better prices on optical drives, I would have absolutely no clue how to pick a memory stick without the memory picker tool.
DVD burners from Lite On are usually pretty good and very cheap. Check out their selection on newegg.
Your motherboard supports DDR2 800 Mhz RAM (or PC2 6400) As long as that is what the RAM says, nothing else matters. Though if you are buying two modules for dual channel mode buy a kit, or at least make sure that voltage and timing do indeed match (better to buy a kit). If you are adding to what you already have installed, then matching voltages and timings would be a good idea, as differences here might introduce instability. It’s not necessary however, and as long as voltages are the same and you are not overclocking your probably safe.
I’m not familiar with the backup software you mention. I would instead recommend True Image home 2009.
Is there any way to tell if I need SATA or IDE short of opening up the case? I have limited space to work with, so if I can manage with only opening the thing once, I’d prefer that.
All I know about the current sticks is the line-item on the invoice:
Well, their scanner didn’t work for my system and couldn’t tell me anything specific about the sticks I already have installed. So am I just left with guessing/hoping that I pick new sticks that happen to play well with the old ones?
I’ve got an Acer laptop with a gig of memory but space for 4gb.
My OS is only 32bit tho’. Could I get another 2gb stick and stay within my 3.5gb maximum, or would I have to pair the 1gb I’ve got now with another 1gb?
From Newegg’s specs (the Asus site is down at the moment), it looks like you have 6 SATA ports. From your descriptions, it seems likely that you have the space, so I’d go SATA. If you’re attached to PATA (and who doesn’t miss futzing with those ungainly ribbon cables?) you can put one in. But the choice seems to be yours.
Well, yes, I already knew that. It doesn’t address the above-mentioned overclocking/voltage/timing/stability issues, and Crucial’s scan tool couldn’t tell me what the voltage/timing/whatever are for my current sticks. I mean, I could just pick the newegg-recommended 2x2gig kit, but I can’t return it if it doesn’t work with the sticks I currently have. I can’t afford to just flush $45 down the drain.
That’s the plan, yes. The sticks in your URL don’t come up as a match for my motherboard in newegg’s assessment tool, though.
Happily it does seem that my motherboard can handle up to 8 gig, so on that front running with 6 gig shouldn’t be a problem (and I have the 64-bit XP OS).
So I guess the question is, how do I assess what the specs are on my current memory sticks, so I can figure out which other sticks I can get which will still play nicely together? And if I can’t find that out… well, then what?
Oh, I was able to open up the case (I thought the opening panel was on the side next to the monitor/keyboard/all of my desk junk, but it was actually on the open side of the desk), the the DVD drive has a bit fat ribbon cable. Which is IDE, yes? I’m not particularly attached to one or the other, so if SATA is better I’m happy enough to do that (hoping I can figure out where to plug it in…)
Cool… can someone translate this gobbledegook for me?
SiSoftware Sandra
System
Manufacturer : System manufacturer
Model : System Product Name
Version : System Version
Serial Number : System Serial Number
ID : 8A1223C0-11DA7A9C-1A00C7A1-3E8E1592
System Chassis
Manufacturer : Chassis Manufacture
Type : Desktop
Can be locked : No
Version : Chassis Version
Serial Number : EVAL
Asset Tag : 123456789000
Boot-up State : Safe
Power State : Safe
Thermal State : Safe
Security State : External Interface Locked-out
Mainboard
Platform Compliance : AMD LIVE!
Manufacturer : ASUSTeK Computer INC.
Multi-Processor (MP) Support : No
MPS Version : 1.40
Model : M2N-E
Version : 1.XX
Serial Number : 123456789000
BIOS : 12/04/2006-MCP55-M2N-E-00
System Memory Controller
Location : Mainboard
Error Correction Capability : None
Number of Memory Slots : 4
Maximum Installable Memory : 4GB
Bank0/1 - DIMM_B1 : None None None None DIMM 1GB/64 @ 800MHz
Bank2/3 - DIMM_B2 : Empty
Bank4/5 - DIMM_A1 : None None None None DIMM 1GB/64 @ 800MHz
Bank6/7 - DIMM_A2 : Empty
Chipset
Model : AMD Athlon 64 / Opteron HyperTransport Technology Configuration
URL : http://www.amd.com
Revision : A1
Bus : HyperTransport
Version : 1.02
Front Side Bus Speed : 2x 1GHz (2GHz)
Maximum FSB Speed : 2x 1GHz (2GHz)
In/Out Width : 16-bit / 16-bit
I/O Queue Depth : 3 request(s)
Maximum Bus Bandwidth : 7.85GB/s
Chipset 1 Hub Interface
Type : HyperTransport
Version : 1.02
In/Out Width : 16-bit / 16-bit
Multiplier : 5x
Speed : 2x 1GHz (2GHz)
Logical/Chipset Memory Banks
Bank 0 : 1GB DIMM DDR2 5-5-5-18 3-24-6-3 2T
Bank 1 : 1GB DIMM DDR2 5-5-5-18 3-24-6-3 2T
Supported Memory Types : ECC DIMM Registered DDR2 ChipKill
Channels : 2
Bank Interleave : 2-way
Memory Bus Speed : 2x 373MHz (746MHz)
Maximum Memory Speed : 2x 400MHz (800MHz)
Multiplier : 1/7x
Width : 64-bit
Integrated in Processor : Yes
Cores per Memory Controller : 2 Unit(s)
Refresh Rate : 7.80µs
Power Save Mode : Yes
Fixed Hole Present : No
Maximum Memory Bus Bandwidth : 11.66GB/s
APIC 1
Version : 1.01
Maximum Interrupts : 24
IRQ Handler Engaged : Yes
Enhanced Support : Yes
Environment Monitor 1
Model : ITE IT8716F LPC
Mainboard Specific Support : No
Environment Monitor 2
Model : AMD K8 CPU [P0, C2, SC1, SN0]
Version : 67.02
Mainboard Specific Support : No
Temperature Sensor(s)
Board Temperature : 48.00°C td
CPU Temperature : 47.00°C td
Auxiliary Temperature : 25.00°C
Cooling Device(s)
Auto Fan Speed Control : No
System Fan : 5153rpm
CPU Fan : 1066rpm
Voltage Sensor(s)
CPU DC Line : 1.17V
Aux DC Line : 3.23V
+5V DC Line : 4.73V
+12V DC Line : 11.17V
Standby DC Line : 4.68V
Battery DC Line : 2.96V
System Bus(es) on Hub 1
Version : 2.30
System Bus 0 : PCI
System Bus 1 : PCI
System Bus 2 : PCIe 1.00 x8 2.5Gbps
System Bus 3 : PCIe 1.00 x4 2.5Gbps
System Bus 4 : PCIe 1.00 x4 2.5Gbps
System Bus 5 : PCIe 1.00 x4 2.5Gbps
System Bus 6 : PCIe 1.00 x8 2.5Gbps
System Bus 7 : PCIe 1.00 x16 2.5Gbps
LPC Hub Controller 1
Model : ASUS MCP55 LPC Bridge
URL : http://www.asus.com.tw
OEM Device Name : nVidia MCP55 LPC Bridge
URL : http://www.nvidia.com
Revision : K3
ACPI Power Management Support : Yes
ACPI Power Management Enabled : No
Disk Controller
Model : ASUS MCP55 IDE
URL : http://www.asus.com.tw
OEM Device Name : nVidia MCP55 IDE
URL : http://www.nvidia.com
Interface : ATA
Revision : K2
Channels : 4
Disk Controller
Model : ASUS MCP55 SATA Controller
URL : http://www.asus.com.tw
OEM Device Name : nVidia MCP55 SATA Controller
URL : http://www.nvidia.com
Interface : SATA
Revision : K3
RAID Support : Yes
RAID Enabled : No
Disk Controller
Model : ASUS MCP55 SATA Controller
URL : http://www.asus.com.tw
OEM Device Name : nVidia MCP55 SATA Controller
URL : http://www.nvidia.com
Interface : SATA
Revision : K3
RAID Support : Yes
RAID Enabled : No
Disk Controller
Model : ASUS MCP55 SATA Controller
URL : http://www.asus.com.tw
OEM Device Name : nVidia MCP55 SATA Controller
URL : http://www.nvidia.com
Interface : SATA
Revision : K3
RAID Support : Yes
RAID Enabled : No
Audio Device
Model : ASUS MCP55 High Definition Audio
URL : http://www.asus.com.tw
OEM Device Name : nVidia MCP55 High Definition Audio
URL : http://www.nvidia.com
Revision : K3
Type : HD (High-Definition) Audio
Version : 1.00
Number of In / Out / Bi-Directional Streams : 4 / 4 / 0
Number of Serial Data Streams : 1
Audio Codec
Model : Analog Devices AD1988B Sound Chip
Revision : A1
Version : 1.00
Audio Channels : 12
Audio Device
Model : Creative Labs SB0790 X-Fi XA
OEM Device Name : Creative Labs Audigy LS Series
Revision : A1
Type : AC '97
USB Controller 1
Model : ASUS MCP55 USB Controller
URL : http://www.asus.com.tw
OEM Device Name : nVidia MCP55 USB Controller
URL : http://www.nvidia.com
Revision : K2
Version : 1.00
Interface : OHCI
Channels : 10
Supported Speed(s) : Low (1.5Mbps) Full (12Mbps)
Legacy Emulation Enabled : No
USB Controller 2
Model : ASUS MCP55 USB Controller
URL : http://www.asus.com.tw
OEM Device Name : nVidia MCP55 USB Controller
URL : http://www.nvidia.com
Revision : K3
Version : 2.00
Specification : 1.00
Interface : EHCI
Channels : 10
Companion Controllers : 1
Supported Speed(s) : Low (1.5Mbps) Full (12Mbps) High (480Mbps)
Addressing Support : 32-bit
Legacy Emulation Enabled : No
Expansion Slot(s)
PCI1 (1h) : PCI 32-bit +5V PME Half-Length Available
PCI2 (2h) : PCI 32-bit +5V PME Half-Length Used
PCI3 (3h) : PCI 32-bit +5V PME Half-Length Used
PCIEX16_1 (4h) : PCIe x16 +5V PME Half-Length Used
PCIEX4_1 (5h) : PCIe x4 +5V PME Half-Length Available
PCIEX1_1 (6h) : PCIe x1 +5V PME Half-Length Available
PCIEX1_2 (7h) : PCIe x1 +5V PME Half-Length Available
Port Connector(s)
PRI_IDE : ATA
FLOPPY : 8251 FIFO / Floppy Disk
COM1 : Serial Port 16450 / 9 Pin Dual Inline / DB-9 pin male
LPT1 : Parallel Port ECP/EPP / DB-25 pin female / DB-25 pin female
PS/2 Keyboard : Keyboard / PS/2 / PS/2
PS/2 Mouse : Mouse / PS/2 / PS/2
USB1 : USB
USB2 : USB
USB3 : USB
USB4 : USB
USB5 : USB
USB6 : USB
USB7 : USB
USB8 : USB
USB9 : USB
USB10 : USB
LINE_IN - LINE_IN : Audio
LINE_OUT - LINE_OUT : Audio / Mini-jack
MIC_IN - MIC_IN : Audio / Mini-jack
Back Surround L/R - Back Surround L/R : Audio / Mini-jack
Side Surround L/R - Side Surround L/R : Audio / Mini-jack
Center/LFE - Center/LFE : Audio / Mini-jack
CD_IN - CD_IN : Audio / CD-ROM Sound Input
SPDIF_OUT - SPDIF_OUT : Audio
FP_AUDIO - FP_AUDIO : Audio
LAN_1 : Network / RJ-45
SATA1 : ATA
SATA2 : ATA
SATA3 : ATA
SATA4 : ATA
SATA5 : ATA
SATA6 : ATA
CHASSIS : None
CPU_FAN1 : None
SB_FAN1 : None
PWR_FAN1 : None
CHA_FAN1 : None
CHA_FAN2 : None
CHA_FAN3 : None
CHA_FAN4 : None
Performance Tips
Notice 224 : SMBIOS/DMI information may be inaccurate.
Tip 2511 : Some memory slots are free so the memory can be easily upgraded.
Warning 100 : Large memory sizes should be made of Registered/Buffered memory.
Tip 2546 : Large memory modules should be ECC/Parity.
Tip 2536 : System has no SMBus/i2c/BMB bus support.
Tip 2 : Double-click tip or press Enter while a tip is selected for more information about the tip.
n mjj
If you stick with 32 bit, you’ll only see 4 GB anyway so you’ll be removing the 2x 1 GB. If you move to 64 bit, you should get 4x 2 GB for a total of 8 GB.
