Just got a crash after doing the above so:

It is evidently NOT the video card getting hot and its NOT because of the NVideo drivers that were left behind. Do ya think I should uninstall whatever ATI driver I have and reinstall it or would that be pointless??

I'll do the seagate tools diagnostics on my HDD in a bit.

when your computer starts go into setup and find sdram and then find sdram timing and set it to 2 instead of others or just 1 lower it makes your computer faster also but my ram is now 112 on #2 instead of 128 which is when it is on 3 sacrafice some but it works! (ya iknow i need to get a better computer im in the proccess i get all the handydowns)

...messing with RAM timings sound like a rather haphazard way of solving the issue...

I mean, what is the actual reason for the crash?? How does RAM timings resolute matters?? In the end, most people with winXP get crashes at some point, just cos its rather unstable - the origins of yours may be different although with the same symptoms.

If we can't find a solution in Techspot then I'll try your method. Thanks for your input!!

PS: I believe my ram is DDR. Plus, there's more than one timing (x.x.x.x i think is the configuration of how ram is clocked)

Entre aqui por que lei que esta es una de las maneras mas faciles de ayudar y ser ayudados, mi pc se revutea a cada rato sin razon el error que me da es Mini041808-04.dmp en verdad nunca antes lo habia visto alguien conoce pq paa esto.

ermmm...i don't understand ...

well ya i agree but my father is a specialist at computers and he said it may even be non updated ram or corrupted ram and all ram timing is how big a gap of the electrons have to jump but ya i agree if your computer is expencive i dont know but mine is a handy down i just mutate all the parts tell i can save up to buy a inspiron 5120 lol

There is some truth in that. Some ram cards just don't work well in some computers (all voltages and specifications correct) But, not all Rams are the same.

I suspect purchasing brand new Ram cards as a test! May be a little over the top.
But at this point, you may wish to install Windows clean (without Antivirus put back on, or any other application) and then fully test. If it fails again, it'll be a matter of swapping parts (possibly even the CPU or MotherBoard !)

As you likely do not have a large amount of new parts lying around, you may need to take it to a tech shop at this point (if the fault continues)
They will just swap the parts until they find the fault, and charge you for the time (ideally an hour - although it'll take way longer, and then the price of the new hardware - assuming you go through with them)

Doing a clean re-install (repartition and format) will confirm if it is most certainly hardware related. Your next step would be replacing the (good!) ram.

I do actually have quite a few spare parts at home hahaha
I can change to a pair of alternate RAM sticks to test out...but can it still be ram even though memtest86 tested it ok??

I think I'll do the Harddrive diagnostics and if nothing then I'll change RAM (if you say its worth it). If all dead ends, I'll reinstall windows in the fashion you described.

Its gonna take AGES and I need a computer running whilst doing all this DIY fixing so I guess its a summer holiday job!!

Thanks

PS: If I have a pair of 256mb ram and and then stick another 256 (or 128) in, will it make a difference?? I hear if its not in pairs then it doesnt create a large benefit.

Yes Memtest can report faulty Ram as good.

If your Motherboard has dual Ram slots (usually 4 slots with two colors - ie 1&3 blue, 2&4 Orange (or any other color) Then it is advised to put your first Ram cards into 1&3, putting only 1 more stick of Ram into slot 2 will be ok, but your system will run better if they are paired.

I'm being a bit basic on the above, (ie you may receive other replies) but just try it. If the third Ram stops your computer from starting just remove it.

thanks, its because I have another PC that has ridiculously low RAM (256 in a pair) for windows and I was wondering whether I can just stick in another 256 for upping performance. Will try what you suggested.

Oh, and my desktop takes a long time to load (i.e. after clicking my name at the windows log-on, it pauses on "loading settings" for about 20-30 seconds. Any hints on how to minimise this loading time?? (it wasn't pausing this long when I first installed windows a year ago)

make sure its the same type of capablity ram example mine is pc100

Thanks sspeedy43 good point.
Your Ram should be the same specs, that is same speed; voltage and ideally size and even manufacture.

Microsoft have finally confirmed that these day Windows Xp requires 512Meg of Ram for standard operation, so you should be looking at that as the absolute minimum.

The pause may be due to your Antivirus loading (AVG Free?) and a number of other startups (that are usually not needed to start with Windows)
You could try Startup Control Panel to reduce these startups considerably.