Hi again, Please see my first frantic post for a description of the problem. For some reason the computer booted all the way through after I finished writing the first note. I clicked on "about this computer" and it states the built-in memory is 16mb of which the os takes 15.7mb (with the extension off at boot). The virtual memory if off. I therefore couldn't open the control panel to turn on virtual memory. And the computer forced a restart. So why doesn't this CPU recognize and additional memory besides the onboard 16mb unless there was a physical problem. Any ideas guys and gals? Desperate, Paul __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Protect your identity with Yahoo! Mail AddressGuard http://antispam.yahoo.com/whatsnewfree