Many users have run into a frustrating issue in which Windows Vista x64 will not boot with more than 4GB of RAM installed in the system. In some cases, startup does not occur at all. In other cases, a blue screen of death (BSOD) or complete system freeze occurs soon after startup. Unfortunately, this issue has no clear-cut fix, but a number of promising solutions have materialized.
Check BIOS settings The first, and generally most successful fix for this issue is to modify your BIOS settings. First, boot into BIOS. This is accomplished by pressing a specific key repeatedly as soon as your computer is turned on (or right after it is restarted). For many computers, the key is F8, but it may be F1, F2, F10, the Delete (del) key or the Escape (ESC) key. Consult your computer or motherboard’s manual or try different keys until you find the right one.
Next, navigate to your CPU settings and select “memory.” Look for a setting called “memory hole” and turn it on, then restart your computer.
If you cannot find that option, or it didn’t work to remedy the issue, boot into BIOS again and look for the “MTRR Mapping” setting. Set this to “Discrete” or “Enablde” and restart.
Remove RAM then perform a Windows Update Microsoft has released software updates that can resolve this issue. Unfortunately, you may not be able to apply these updates if you can’t properly boot your computer. The solution: remove one or more RAM modules until the total is under 4GB (we suggest leaving only 2GB installed), then run Windows Update by clicking the Start button, starting to type Update, then clicking Windows Update. Specifically, you want to make sure that Windows Update 929777 is installed.
Update your device drivers Try booting in safe mode by pressing the F8 key immediately as the computer is starting up. If the system boots and operates properly, a driver problem may be preventing the use of 4GB or more of RAM. Make sure all of your drivers are up to date. The fastest way to do this: click the Start button, start typing Update, then click Windows Update.
Next check the manufacturer websites for any of the installed hardware components you know of: graphics cards, motherboards, or just the manufacturer of your computer. Install any pertinent updates then restart your computer.
Check for bad RAM Check for bad RAM or RAM-related issues using Memtest as described in our previous article.
Worst case: Adjust maximum RAM In the worst-case scenario, you will need to reduce the amount of maximum RAM your system can address to something about 2GB but below 4GB. This can be accomplished launching MSCONFIG (click the Start button and type MSCONFIG then return), then navigating to Advanced Options > Maximum Memory. You might need to remove RAM, as aforementioned, to ensure a proper boot before performing this procedure.
Filed under Windows Vista by on Apr 1st, 2009. Comment. 
A number of users have reported a problem in which Windows Media Player 11 continues to play after it has been closed. Specifically, users continue to hear audio after the window containing the previously played media file is closed. The most common fix for this issue is as follows:
Check for errant processes Some problematic processes can keep Windows Media files playing after they are closed. Download and install Process Monitor and look for processes that are inadvertently reactivating Windows Media Player. Some users have found that Mobile Sync utility, media sharing utilities or Web browsers can cause this issue. Filter the results in Process Monitor for those that mention C:\Program Files\Windows Media Player\wmplayer.exe.
Other media playing software, such as Realtek, may be to blame. Try temporarily installing such software and checking for alleviation of the issue.
Try it and see for yourself, it worked for me,
Filed under Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP by on Apr 1st, 2009. Comment.
Windows Media Player may erroneously deliver the message “Your computer is running low on memory. Quit other programs, and then try again” when attempting to play DVDs, stored movies or other media. This message can be the result of an unregistered Windows Media Player .dll instead of an actual scarcity of memory.
To fix this issue, follow these steps:
- Launch a commpand prompt in administrator mode. Navigate to Programs > Accessories > then right-click “Command Prompt” and select “Run as Administrator”
- Copy and paste the following command: for %a in (%systemroot%\system32\wm*.dll) do regsvr32 /s %a into the command prompt.
- Press enter and wait for the command to process.
After performing these steps, re-attempt usage of Windows Media Player.
Filed under Windows Vista, windows media player by on Apr 2nd, 2009. 12 Comments.
Some users have reported an issue in which, after updating to Windows Vista or purchasing a new computer with Vista installed, sound does not work, and the system displays the message “No Audio Output Device is installed” when the user mouses over the sound icon.
This problem can generally be solved via the following process:
- Open the Control Panel then navigate to System > Select the Device Manager.
- Locate the Sound entry and expand it.
- Right-click the entry for High Definiton Audio Device and uninstall it (along with its associated software)
- Restart your computer.
Feedback? info@windowsfixup.com.
Filed under Windows Vista by on Apr 2nd, 2009. 1 Comment.
Some users have noticed an issue in which various Microsoft applications, including Internet Explorer, Windows Update and others, suddenly can no longer connect to the Internet. Internet Explorer may display “cannot display this web page” when the problem occurs. This issue is sometimes caused by problematic policy files spawned by third-party programs.
It can generally be fixed via the following process, which deletes specific policies:
1. Click the Start button, then type REGEDIT in the search field and press enter.
2. In REGEDIT, delete the following items (first back them up by right-clicking each and clicking “Export” then saving them to any desired location):
- [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft]
- [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies]
- [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Group Policy]
- [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft]
- [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Group Policy]
- [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies
Filed under Internet Explorer 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP by on Apr 2nd, 2009. Comment.
Chances are, you don’t have Conficker. Following a report on 60 Minutes and dire headlines across a broad swath of other media, fear set in, and some users started to blame any system issue on or after April 1 on the worm. According to IBM Internet Security Services, however, the total infection rate is somewhere around 4%, and probably much smaller in the United States.
Still, if you’re paranoid, or you’re experiencing symptoms typical of Conficker infection (disabling of automatic Microsoft updates and Windows Defender, abnormally high network congestion, etc.), you can easily and quickly determine whether or not you are infected with the virus by visiting the “Conficker Eye Chart” page created by the Conficker Working Group. As described on that page, the loading of all six images in the chart indicates that your system is likely not infected by Conficker. The test works because Conficker is known to block access to several antivirus websites, and the images contained in the chart load images from some of those sites.
If you are infected, or you want to take measures against infection, see our previous article “Protect Yourself Against Conficker in 3 Simple Steps” for removal instructions and protection mechanisms.
Feedback? info@windowsfixup.com.
Filed under Viruses/Malware, Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP by on Apr 3rd, 2009. Comment.
Several users have reported poor disk performance after updating to Windows 7. Specifically, the Windows Experience Index (WEI) disk score is much lower under Windows 7 than it was under Windows XP or Vista on the same system. There are a few procedures that can dramatically boost disk read and write speeds under the beta OS.
Fixes
Install Intel Storage (or other) drivers Download and install the Intel Storage Manager Drivers (you can use the files marked for Windows Vista).
The generic drivers included with the Windows 7 Beta may deliver dismal performance for your drive’s chipset. If the Intel drivers don’t work, seek updated drivers from your manufacturer’s website.
Change BIOS settings First, boot into BIOS. This is accomplished by pressing a specific key repeatedly as soon as your computer is turned on (or right after it is restarted). For many computers, the key is F8, but it may be F1, F2, F10, the Delete (del) key or the Escape (ESC) key. Consult your computer or motherboard’s manual or try different keys until you find the right one.
Next check your HDD or storage settings–it may be set to “legacy device.” Change it to “performance” or another setting and restart.
Disable write caching Open the control panel then navigate to Hardware & Sound > Device Manager. Find your main drive then right-click it and select properties. Under the policies tab, uncheck “enable write caching on this device”
Feedback? info@windowsfixup.com.
Filed under Windows 7 by on Apr 3rd, 2009. Comment.
Under Windows Vista, Windows Explorer may exhibit an issue in which it persistently displays the message “Windows Explorer Has Stopped Working” followed by the message “Windows Explorer Is Restarting.” The two messages loop over and over again, disallowing user access to files. This problem is difficult to troubleshoot, because there generally exists only a 5 to 10 second window in which to perform functions before the error message repeats and Windows Explorer becomes unusable again.
Fixes
Turn off thumbnails It appears that, in some cases, thumbnails cause this issue. To turn thumbnails off, follow these steps:
- Click the Start button then open the Control Panel
- Open “Folder Options” and click the “View” tab
- Check “Always show icons, never thumbnails” under “Files and Folders”
- Click Apply, then OK
Look for recently created or saved file that might be causing the problem Certain .dll files or other additions can cause this problem to occur. Follow these steps to remedy the issue:
- Use control+alt+delete to access the Task Manager
- Go to processes and end the explorer.exe task
- In Task Manager, click applications then “new task.” Use the browse function, and go to the the “date modified” section. Delete any recently created third-party .dll files, or any programs or other files that were established around the time the problem started occuring.
Filed under Windows Vista by on Apr 6th, 2009. 1 Comment.
As we have noted, the presence of two overlapping antivirus or antimalware/spyware/firewall tools can cause various conflicts. Users should install one (and only one) strong anti-virus package and make sure it’s up-to-date.
One problem that can result from the presence of conflicting protection tools is an inability to connect to the Internet. This issue is typified by a persistent or sporadic inability to load web pages, generally accompanied by a never-ending “Connecting…” message in any given Web browser.
To resolve this issue, completely remove or disable all antivirus/spyware software (Norton 360, ZoneAlarm, AVG, etc.). In fact, you may need to uninstall the packages–simply disabling may not work.
Next, re-install one and only one competent antivirus/spyware tool and check for Internet connectivity.
Filed under Internet Explorer 8, Viruses/Malware, Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP by on Apr 6th, 2009. 1 Comment.
Several users have reported an inability to install Adobe Flash Player, generally accompanied by the error message “Unable to authenticate install.”
Fix This problem can usually be quickly fixed via the following steps:
- Uninstall the Flash Player by navigating to this Adobe page then downloading and running the appropriate uninstallation program
- Next, right-click your Web browser’s icon or listing in the Start menu and select “Run as Administrator.” Navigate to the Flash download page, then download and install the Flash Player.
Feedback? info@windowsfixup.com.
Filed under Internet Explorer 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP by on Apr 6th, 2009. Comment.