Upgrading Memory to 64 MB improves speed and reliability

Many CRIS Windows 95 computers currently have 32mb of RAM. These computers are used to access CRIS, main frame systems, coding systems, word processors, etc.. With so many applications potentially in concurrent use, the possibilities of memory conflict (through conflicting Windows DLL's) are numerous. These DLL conflicts can cause General Protection Faults, or other memory conflicts.

A General Protection Fault error indicates there is a memory conflict somewhere between CRIS, other applications, and the Windows operating programs. It is tempting to say that the problem stems from a particular application, while in truth, it might be the video driver, printer drivers, the current Windows DLL's, etc., etc.. It is very difficult to track exactly where these type of errors come from. Our experience has been that video drivers are the number one source of these problems, with outdated Windows DLL's being the second most common.

We will continue to monitor this issue, and will continue, on the CRIS side to track down any potential CRIS computer code that could cause this, however, there is a fairly simple, inexpensive, and effective solution - more RAM.

After Windows 95 is loaded, there isn't too much RAM left for applications if the computer has only 32mb. Thus Windows swaps out (i.e., copies a portion of RAM to the hard disk) portions to the hard disk cache when you load CRIS. When you load ProgramX, it then swaps out most of CRIS, then when you remaximize CRIS, it'll swap out most of ProgramX to make room for CRIS. Swapping out to the hard disk is very slow in comparison to RAM operations. Thus having only 32mb of RAM significantly slows down Windows 95, 98, and NT computers when you load and use applications. When you use more than one application simultaneously, the effect is quite pronounced. In addition, Windows is much less reliable when it is operating on low RAM. When Windows has less resources, any little memory corruptions can turn into errors. When it swaps less, the little memory conflicts tend to be something that Windows can handle.

Thus a computer with 64mb of RAM is much faster when you're using multiple applications, and also much more reliable. Currently an upgrade from 32mb to 64mb is much less than $100, sometimes as low as $50. If you review adds for computers today you'll observe that almost any computer being sold at Walmart, CompUSA, Staples, Office Max, etc. now comes with 64mb - mainly because of speed, reliability and the current low cost of RAM. We recommend that you request an upgrade to 64mb from your IS department.