I had taken all four 512 MB DIMMs out and put in the new 1 GB DIMMs. Then, when the computer wouldn't boot, I put two of the 512s (the ones that were installed when I got it last May) back in the slots they had been in. The computer booted, but then the crashing began after startup. The blue screen of death included the words "Dumping Physical Memory."
What the repair place, a Freeport(LI)-based place called Computer Mechanics On-Call, did was reformat the hard drive and re-install Vista. As I said, they used one of their keyboards and mouses during the reformat/re-install. So, my keyboard and mouse were not recognized outside of boot mode.
It's been a frustrating weekend having to share the computer with my mom or sister if they ever need to use it. And they did need to use it at times tonight.

I got my computer back on Monday. It ended up crashing/resetting twice more within three hours of getting it back. But once I took the extra sound card out, everything's been fine (knock on wood).

Mike, apparently running multiple cards is supposed to be a feature in Vista...but I can't find anything useful on microsoft's website. You can try getting the updated drivers (if there are any) for both sound cards, and re-install them one at a time. If it worked before under XP, it should work, you'd think, IF the drivers are updated for Vista. Some sound cards may not be so lucky, guess it depends on the brand.
However, doing a google on two sound cards in vista, came across several people who are doing just that, using one for one program and the other for a different one....something about setting the exact device in the program options rather than accepting the default. Guess it also depends on why you want to use two cards.
Anyway- good luck!

Should be getting my components for my new system today via UPS- the case came yesterday.

Also on a side note, my old HP Deskjet, which has served me faithfully for 6 or so years, decided to dump the contents of an almost full black cartridge all over my desk, and of course down onto our vanilla colored berber carpet. Made one helluva mess. Got most of it cleaned up, which is a relief.
Anyway, that pretty much ruined the printer, it'd take more time and effort to disassemble and clean everything than it was worth.

So, went to Staples, they have a COLOR LaserJetCP1518ni on sale for about 300. Makes for absolutely excellent prints, even on plain paper. And, the best thing is, NO SMUDGES...one thing I always hated about printing anything with the inkjet, if your fingers are damp in any way, it smudges.
Time to make up some new business cards.

I'll let you know how Vista shapes up in a few days, I'm guessing it'll take that long to get the new computer set up.

I am still tinkering... mostly ftp accounts and similar minor things.

Tony.... just watch for the file ownership problem....you can read them but not save them to the same file name until you resolve it. Also... if your old drive is SATA or IDE, you can buy a little adapter which plugs into the drive - and has a USB cable attached. You can plug the USB cable into your new Vista system. The USB will power up your old drive and you can browse the contents.

Not all XP compliant h/w works with Vista and sometimes there is a driver or setting to fix it. Sometimes not.

Good to know a safe place to go when I need a translator.

always happy to translate for you, Billy ...

All in all, I'm pretty happy with Vista. I just saw the new Mac commercial, the one where PC sings the Vista Blues and the dog howls.

I think I'm doing well with Vista because the PC is new and I didn't try to upgrade or transition. Much of the pain comes from Hardware that just can't handle Vista.

My old PC hasn't crashed since I got it back. Even the drive that wouldn't spin up has been working (I cloned a new drive). So since the motherboard seems OK, I'm going to give to a family member and their PC will become the video game PC for the grandchildren. But no.... I'm not going to upgrade wither PC to Vista, I don't think it's worth the time. My relative will have a tough time adjusting to the search and folder functions in Vista, even with "classic" turned on.

Kat-
my office looks like a wreck, with all the empty boxes and instruction sheets etc laying everywhere, but I still haven't booted up my new computer- been too busy working on my son's car. Maybe today, I'm hoping....

Was told by the sys admin at my main customer that there's issues with Vista and the software we use. So, now I'm thinking about a dual boot system, but not sure I want to go that route totally.
Isn't it possible to do this: I need to use my existing box's XP CD, which would then be on two computers, I know MS has issues with that, but iut should let me do it for 30 days so long as I don't officially activate it, yes? I thinking, if it turns out after testing it that Vista will indeed work ok, then I can remove the XP. If not, then I guess I can switch the OS completely and put Vista on the old box.
Figured you may know, being the "lead geek" here.....

Glad to hear it's working for you.
Later
TonyY

A brief side note: The PC in the Mac commercials is comedic actor/writer John Hodgman from "The Daily Show." The Mac is actor Justin Long.

Tony... I think you're better off to install your software and try it on Vista rather than waste time on a dual boot. You already know your stuff works on XP - and you still have your old PC. Your s/w vendor should allow for install/de-install options while you try it.

I was told that my Adobe suite wouldn't work too well on Vista because some of it was CS2 vs CS3. It's working just fine. Yes, I don't get the full spectrum enhanced display under XP either.

My computer crashed again 20 minutes ago. When it had reset, the problem report suggested I download Service Pack 1. I'm doing that now. I'm very worried that this will lead to more crashes and I'll be right back where I was two Wednesdays ago with crash after crash after crash. And this time, I'll go right to Dell for help.