has my computer died?

virgin_moneysaver

macman wrote: »

Dogs and floor siting (especially on a carpet) are the classic combination for dust build up. Move it off the ground if you can, or put it on a piece of hard material so the fan doesn't suck all the fluff and hair off the carpet. And make sure all the vents are uncovered and have adequate airflow to them. I've known people put base units inside little desk units with barely an inch of clearance around them-it will cause overheating and shorten the life.

its on a coumputer desk so plenty of airflow & the flooring is tiled so thats why dusts sits on surface instead of sinking into carpet

virgin_moneysaver

macman wrote: »

OK, then just use the Crucial Memory Advisor tool on the right of it, on the same page. Put in Dell, then Dimension, then 8400, and it will give you the options for your PC. If you already have 512MB, you have 256MB on each RAM chip. Upgrade to a new matched pair (since we think at least one is failing), I suggest 2x512MB or even 2 x 1GB, as the price is not that much higher. (If you are buying anyway, no point in replacing with 256MB x 2).
When you fit them, you must use the same RAM slots as the chips occupy now, i.e. slot 1 and slot 2. Any subsequent upgrades would go in 3 and 4 as another matched pair. Your system can accept up to 4GB. (1GB in each slot).
But 1 or 2GB will give you a big speed boost.

will try that option - so instead of buying a pair & using slots 3 & 4, just get a decent RAM & put in 1&2

virgin_moneysaver

Hiya Macman - I completed the other option & it says max memory 4096mb & recommends 2 pairs of 1gb - does this sound about right?

DCFC79

Yes that sounds ok, 1GB would be ok for xp

macman

virgin_moneysaver wrote: »

Hiya Macman - I completed the other option & it says max memory 4096mb & recommends 2 pairs of 1gb - does this sound about right?

Certainly go for 2 X 1GB (total 2GB) if you can afford it. But no less than 1GB in total.
Above 2GB on XP it's diminishing returns.

macman

virgin_moneysaver wrote: »

will try that option - so instead of buying a pair & using slots 3 & 4, just get a decent RAM & put in 1&2

.

Unless you can isolate the faulty one, I would replace the pair with a higher capacity set. Then you know you have good RAM and more of it.

virgin_moneysaver

I'd just like to thank everyone who has taken the time to reply & help me with my problem - a special thanx to macman & jasx - will now get extra RAM to replace the current RAM & hopefully onwards & upwards

macman

Sorry to be a party pooper, but what about the burning smell?-you may still have a problem with the PSU, as well as a RAM failure.
RAM failing wouldn't generally cause a burning smell.

virgin_moneysaver

macman wrote: »

Sorry to be a party pooper, but what about the burning smell?-you may still have a problem with the PSU, as well as a RAM failure.
RAM failing wouldn't generally cause a burning smell.

just ordered the RAM on that website - in true MSE form found that they gave 7% cashback on Topcashback - so went thru them

no burning smell so I'm assuming it was the dust - bit like the smell when you put your fire on in the lounge for the 1st time in the autumn

no fan noise either today - but will monitor situation - could it have been the fan just working overtime to clear the dust?

macman

OP, did you establish which fan it was that was running noisily-the PSU fan, the graphics card fan, or the CPU fan?