I have just put together a system with old bits and pieces (for
charity) and WinME O/S. A couple of blue screen "missing kernell"
messages have occurred.

I believe the 256mb SDRAM stick is the cause.

If I replace the stick with good memory will everything be OK or will
the system setup remain damaged ie will the new memory self correct
the previous kernell problems?

Will I need to start all over again and do a new Operating System
install?

KM

Bitstring <ttvquv89j1ams4dllp433bl9qoe12cgj0o>, from the
wonderful person km <kevin44> said
>I have just put together a system with old bits and pieces (for
>charity) and WinME O/S. A couple of blue screen "missing kernell"
>messages have occurred.
>
>I believe the 256mb SDRAM stick is the cause.
>
>If I replace the stick with good memory will everything be OK or will
>the system setup remain damaged ie will the new memory self correct
>the previous kernell problems?
>
>Will I need to start all over again and do a new Operating System
>install?

That is certainly safest, however you might get away with it .. depends
if something managed to get corrupted during setup, or if the problem
only appears during use. With Win2k/XP you can use 'SFC' (System File
Checker) to find/fix corrupt system files, but not sure if ME has
anything similar.

IME (through overclocking) memory issues sometimes result in a hosed OS.

Its all down to the level of damage so expect the worse when you slap the
good stick in, but if it was me I would re-install just for good measure.
The last thing you would want is for come backs even if your 'client' is
getting this for free.


"km" <kevin44> wrote in message
news:gj0o
[..]

km wrote:
> I have just put together a system with old bits and pieces (for
> charity) and WinME O/S. A couple of blue screen "missing kernell"
> messages have occurred.
>
> I believe the 256mb SDRAM stick is the cause.
>
> If I replace the stick with good memory will everything be OK or will
> the system setup remain damaged ie will the new memory self correct
> the previous kernell problems?
>
> Will I need to start all over again and do a new Operating System
> install?
>
> KM

That depends on whether you installed the system using the bad memory.
Usually the answer is no, as that is a system file and it should be read
only.

How do you know the memory is bad and it isnt some other problem, like
the kernel is corrupted?

>IME (through overclocking) memory issues sometimes result in a hosed OS.
>
>Its all down to the level of damage so expect the worse when you slap the
>good stick in, but if it was me I would re-install just for good measure.
>The last thing you would want is for come backs even if your 'client' is
>getting this for free.
>

Thanks for that. I will probably do it all again just for peace of
mind.

I mainly asked because I don't know the implications of bad memory.
When the error messages come up are they simply saying something was
not found, because of the state of the memory, or has the presence of
the bad memory in some way damaged files and they will remain damaged?

KM

I used the same memory to install. Only a few days ago. There is very
little else on the system other than WinME. I used one of my
grandchildrens CD based games to "try out the system" and that is when
the kernel error appeared.

I am getting a little out of my depth to appreciate whether the kernel
is corrupted. I have taken a simplistic approach in assuming it was
the memory. I have just noted a piece of software mentioned in another
posting and will get that to actually test the stick.

One other thought crosses my mind....the DVD player I put in this PC
seems to perform erratically. Could that be sending responses that are
causing a conflict? An example was when attempting to load a CD it
froze and locked Explorer...to the extent that I had to reboot to free
it. I put another CD player on as a slave...perhaps by leaving the DVD
player on I have aggravated the situation.

KM
[..]

In article <ri3ruvk5kfeebn1bo44n2eiu7cfb8buljf>, "km" kevin44
@mcgeek.freeserve.co.uk says...
>> Thanks for that. I will probably do it all again just for peace of
> mind.
>
> I mainly asked because I don't know the implications of bad memory.
> When the error messages come up are they simply saying something was
> not found, because of the state of the memory, or has the presence of
> the bad memory in some way damaged files and they will remain damaged?
>
The bad memory may have caused a file to be incorrectly written to disk,
either during or since the installation.

km wrote:

> I used the same memory to install. Only a few days ago. There is very
> little else on the system other than WinME. I used one of my
> grandchildrens CD based games to "try out the system" and that is when
> the kernel error appeared.
>
> I am getting a little out of my depth to appreciate whether the kernel
> is corrupted. I have taken a simplistic approach in assuming it was
> the memory. I have just noted a piece of software mentioned in another
> posting and will get that to actually test the stick.
>
> One other thought crosses my mind....the DVD player I put in this PC
> seems to perform erratically. Could that be sending responses that are
> causing a conflict? An example was when attempting to load a CD it
> froze and locked Explorer...to the extent that I had to reboot to free
> it. I put another CD player on as a slave...perhaps by leaving the DVD
> player on I have aggravated the situation.
>
> KM

I dont believe memory can be affected in this way, it could actually be
the board.

Go into system properties and see if any devices are reporting as
conflicting

Does the kernel error only appear when you try the game?
What happens without the DVD drive is unplugged?
What is your power supply unit rating? perhaps the load is too high

>
>I dont believe memory can be affected in this way, it could actually be
>the board.
>
>Go into system properties and see if any devices are reporting as
>conflicting
>
>Does the kernel error only appear when you try the game?
>What happens without the DVD drive is unplugged?
>What is your power supply unit rating? perhaps the load is too high

All the above will be worth pursuing.

To be truthfull I have made an assumption about it being memory.

There has been minimal use of this PC so once I got one error message
I had it in my mind that it was a memory problem. The points about
removing DVD etc are now relevant of course, if I have been mistaken
about the memory being the culprit.

The history of this machine is a possible pointer. When I got it there
appeared to be a number of possible problems as there was no power
when switched on. The motherboard had an indicator light on so some
power was going in.

I swapped memory and HardDrive to other machines and proved they
worked. That left CPU Motherbard and PSU. I had no alternatives to
test the CPU and Motherboard (the donations I have are all low spec)
this is a 1gb /QDI 10M combination which is top of the range compared
to anything else coming my way. I put in another PSU which got it
running.

This is where I came in with a clean install of WinME.

KM

> One other thought crosses my mind....the DVD player I put in this PC
> seems to perform erratically. Could that be sending responses that are
> causing a conflict? An example was when attempting to load a CD it
> froze and locked Explorer...to the extent that I had to reboot to free
> it. I put another CD player on as a slave...perhaps by leaving the DVD
> player on I have aggravated the situation.
>
> KM

Just a thought - have you installed the chipset drivers?
I know from experience that a 2k install really won't be too happy unless
the correct chipset drivers are installed. Not too sure how ME would run
without them.

If you want to test the memory, use http://www.memtest86.com/
You'll need a floppy disc.

Regards,
Dave

>
>Just a thought - have you installed the chipset drivers?
>I know from experience that a 2k install really won't be too happy unless
>the correct chipset drivers are installed. Not too sure how ME would run
>without them.

Yes - Im familiar with the need for VIA 4-in1 or Hyperion as they are
now called. I always do some research on the manufacturers web sites
for that sort of thing. It can save many hours of frustration.
>
>If you want to test the memory, use [..]
>You'll need a floppy disc.
>

Thanks I have got hold of that


Problem now is that I'm under instructions to keep everything out of
sight....lots of stuff piled into a small bedroom, not to be got out
again until after the holiday.

This was my last system before Christmas holiday but as usual my brain
keeps churning it over, hence my posting ...must learn to relax.

KM

km wrote:
> I have just put together a system with old bits and pieces (for
> charity) and WinME O/S. A couple of blue screen "missing kernell"
> messages have occurred.
>
> I believe the 256mb SDRAM stick is the cause.
>
> If I replace the stick with good memory will everything be OK or will
> the system setup remain damaged ie will the new memory self correct
> the previous kernell problems?
>
> Will I need to start all over again and do a new Operating System
> install?
>
> KM

should be fine, depends if it bluescreened whilst building and corrupted
anything.
it'll almost certainly be fine however. just stick decent ram in it and use
it for a while.

The installation was OK. It was only when running a CD in the DVD for
the first time that the error occurred.

From previous experience of conflicting/bad memory sticks I gathered
that this was likely to be another memory problem (on those occasions
however the memory conflict happened during setup of the O/S, so it
was a little more clearcut about the cause). There had been nothing
else done to this system to cause conflicts.

In view of one of the other postings I am keeping an open mind about
the Motherboard and CPU but I have nothing I can use to check them.

KM
[..]

Have now had the chance to do a few more checks.

There are no conflicts reported.

The Memtest86 software reported no errors on either of the sticks nor
on them when slotted together.

However, as soon as the Operating System is loaded the missing Kernel
message crops up together with another message saying there is a
system error.

I am now of the opinion that the Motherboard is the root cause and
that perhaps the erratic behaviour of the DVD player is as a result of
it failing also.

Any freeware known which will enable it to be tested for faults?

KM
[..]

In article <iu3ruv0gg3qk326ps2agp8c809parhfaa2>, km <kevin44@mcg
eek.freeserve.co.uk> writes
> I used the same memory to install. Only a few days ago. There is very
>little else on the system other than WinME. I used one of my
>grandchildrens CD based games to "try out the system" and that is when
>the kernel error appeared.

Something I just remembered - I dealt with a virus a few weeks ago that
(amongst other things) brought up a message box claiming a "kernel
error" on booting. Check if regedit or msconfig run, because it blocks
those. Can't remember the name though :-)

>One other thought crosses my mind....the DVD player I put in this PC
>seems to perform erratically. Could that be sending responses that are
>causing a conflict? An example was when attempting to load a CD it
>froze and locked Explorer...to the extent that I had to reboot to free
>it.

This could be an entirely separate issue.