I assume that you have a relatively recent desktop or laptop computer that has at least 128MB or 512MB of RAM memory so that it runs Windows 98/98 SE or Windows XP (respectively) comfortably. If you have a computer running Windows Vista, it should have a minimum of 2GB of RAM memory. The 32-bit versions of Windows 7 can run comfortably on 1GB of RAM memory. Note that the 32-bit versions of Windows Vista and Windows 7 cannot use more than about 3.2GB of RAM memory. The 64-bit versions can use up to 128GB.

Simply capturing VHS video and burning it on to DVD discs won't be a prohibitively expensive business, but you will require some hardware and software. Of course, you'll need to have a DVD writer and the software that can burn files to DVD discs, and the software that allows you to edit video.

The easiest but not the cheapest way to convert analog video content to a DVD format is to make use of a combined VHs and DVD recorder, which costs about £150. Using one of those, you can play the video and record it to a recordable DVD disc in real time.

If you don't have such a machine and don't want to spend £150, luckily, video-capture devices are cheap. If you still have a standalone VCR machine, the cheapest way to capture VHS video and transfer it to a PC that I could find (April 2009), is to buy a Kworld USB2800D DVD Maker, a USB 2.0 device that costs only £20 from http://www.scan.co.uk/. The device has a USB connection that you plug into your PC and a phono connection that plugs in the VCR machine. It comes with Cyberlink PowerProducer that enables you to to create DVDs and PowerDirector, which allows you to edit videos.

DVD Maker records video to DVDs, but does not allow you to save the results to your PC's hard disk drive. If you want to save your videos in MPEG2 format on your PC, you need to use a DVD-ripping program, such as the free DVD Ripper from:

http://www.freewarezoom.com/archives/free-dvd-ripper

Alternatively, you can use a TV adapter card that supports MPEG2, which you may already have. The Leadtek WinFast PxDVR3200 H PCI Express TV card (currently under the Multimedia heading on Leadtek's site) is just what you need. Costing around £63.00 (April 2009), it comes with DVD authoring software, and, more importantly, also a video-editing package. - "DirectBurn: Provide you a simple and direct way to transform home videos and movies from camcorders, VHS tapes, and personal DVDs into polished CDs and DVDs. As you watch TV, you can record and burn it into VCD/SVCD/DVD synchronously. Save your time and valuable hard-drive space." The Leadtek WinFast PxDTV2300 H is another PCI Express model. If your PC only has an elderly motherboard with only a free PCI slot, you could probably find a PCI TV card that provides the same capabilities, such as the Leadtek Winfast TV2000 XP Expert, which at the time of writing (April 2009) was still available from a seller on amazon.com for $30. eBay is another good source for second-hand PC components. Note that CardBus (PCMCIA) and ExpressCard cards are available for use with a laptop PC.

External devices are also available that can capture and convert analog video to digital video (DV), such as the Leadtek WinFast VC100 U Video Editor (USB 2.0) device.

You can make use of the Google search box at the top of this page (with its Web radio button enabled) to conduct a search for information on these or similar products and sellers by using suitable search term.

You can use a computer with a 450MHz processor for video editing if you want to waste a lot of time (very slow by today's multiple-core standards which typically fall between 2GHz and 3GHz with the processor housing two or three or four identical processing cores). A computer used for video editing should be as fast as possible, and have as much free hard-disk space as possible. Visit the Desktop PCs and Laptops sections of this website for buying advice and current reviews.

A new dual-layer DVD writer can write to CD-R and CD-RW discs, and single-layer and dual-layer DVD discs. The dual-layer DVD discs can store up to fours hours of video or film.

The new Blu-ray standard, created by Sony, also has write-once (BD-R) and rewritable (BD-RE) discs. Single and dual layer (DL) discs are available that have capacities of 25GB and 50GB respectively. Most Blu-ray drives/players can also play CD and DVD discs. Note, however, that not all of the current Blu-ray writers can write to the 50GB discs. If you want to write to the 50GB discs, check the drive's specifications before you make a purchase.

50GB is enough storage for 9 hours of HD (high definition) movies, 23 hours of standard definition content, or 72 CDs on a single disc. Moreover, Blu-ray Disc gives you playback of MPEG2, the native compression technique for HDTV broadcasts, or even more capacity with advanced codes such as AVC.

The maximum disc-capacity of Blu-ray discs will soon be 10 times the current 50GB:

Pioneer Increases [Blu-ray] Disc Size to 500GB -

"August 5, 2008.- "About a month ago, Pioneer announced that they had developed a 400GB Blu-ray Disc. Not satisfied that they had exhausted all avenues, they continued developed and found a way to add four additional layers, bringing the total disc capacity to 500GB. As with the 400GB version, the disc is compatible with current Blu-ray drives found in computers, players, and recorders." - http://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=1616

Computer diagnostics: How to solve or fix common desktop and laptop PC problems

To diagnose and troubleshoot specific and general problems with Microsoft's software (Windows 95, 98, Me, XP, Vista, Internet Explorer, and Outlook Express) using the MS Knowledge Base, visit the Diagnostics page on this site.

Click a relevant link below to visit the information it describes on this website:

1. - Recovering and repairing Windows XP when a computer crashes or fails to boot

2. - Recovering and repairing Windows Vista when a computer crashes or fails to boot

3. - Windows Vista problems: How to fix problems with Windows Vista

4. - Recover, restore and repair Windows 7 (Win7) when a computer crashes or fails to boot

5. - Windows 7 problems: How to diagnose and fix problems with Windows 7

6. - Windows XP: How to troubleshoot and fix shutdown, restart (reboot), and startup problems

7. - Typical DLL (Dynamic Link Library) device driver problems

8. - Software problems: How to fix problems with Windows, programs, and utilities

Also visit the Software pages on this site for more information on specific software-related information and problems.

9. - Motherboard and power supply problems: How to fix common problems with faulty motherboards (mainboards) and power supplies (PSUs)

10. - RAM memory problems: How to fix problems with the Random Access Memory

11. - Hard disk drive problems: How to fix computer hard disk drive (HDD) problems

12. - CD/DVD drive problems: How to fix problems with CD and DVD drives and discs

13. - Processor problems: How fix common processor (CPU) problems

14. - Video/graphics card problems: How fix common computer video and graphics problems

15. - USB and FireWire problems: - How to fix common USB and FireWire problems

16. - Network problems: How to fix common wired and wireless networking and internet problems

17. - Laptop/notebook problems: How to address or fix the most common laptop/notebook problems

How to fix problems with device drivers in Windows XP and Windows Vista and Windows 7

Although the information on the following page is specific to Windows XP, much of the advice is relevant to the earlier versions of Windows. Click here! to read Troubleshoot Device Driver Problems. Click here! to go to Tips for fixing common driver problems in Windows Vista. Those tips should also be applicable to Windows 7.

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Visit the Build a PC page for information on how to build a desktop PC and solve self-build problems, and visit the other pages, such as the Video/Graphics, Sound, Motherboards, and Monitors pages for more problem-solving information, all of which can be accessed via the menu items and jump menu on the orange navigation bar, or via the site search engine at the top of each of the main pages.

The Tips & Tricks pages of this site contain additional useful tips, tricks, and problem-solving advice.

The safest way to upgrade RAM memory: Use the UK and US Crucial Memory Advisors

Paul Mullen, who was the highly-respected computer guru of the Helpfile at ComputerShopper.co.uk - "I have recently been buying my memory only from Crucial Technology. I would rather pay the extra cost than waste time trying to track down the obscure program faults that bad memory can cause."

The best way to choose RAM memory for a brand-name desktop or laptop computer, or memory for a particular make/model of PC motherboard is to make use of the Crucial Memory Advisors (provided under the brief guideline on the minimum memory requirements for Windws XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7). If the Crucial memory you receive does not work, you are guaranteed a refund and standard shipping is free.

The memory requirements of the versions of Windows Vista and Windows 7

Most of the versions of Windows Vista require more RAM memory to run optimally on a computer that doesn't use memory-hungry applications than Windows XP. A video-editing application is an example of memory-intensive software. Only Windows Vista Home Basic has a recommended minimum amount of memory of 512MB, which is the same amount recommended for Windows XP. Windows Vista Home Premium, the most popular version, and Windows Vista Ultimate require a recommended minimum of 1GB (1024MB) of memory, which is twice the amount of minimum memory recommended to run Windows XP. Note that if you are using a 64-bit version of Windows, up to 4.0GB, it requires twice the amount of memory as a 32-bit version, which can only use a maximum of about 3.5GB. For more information on computer memory, read the RAM pages of this site, which includes information on the lower memory requirements of Windows 7.

UK - Crucial Memory Advisor - UK

USA - Crucial Memory Advisor - USA

How to Use the Crucial Memory Advisor

For example, if your computer has an Asus motherboard, open the menu, scroll down to ASUS, and click GO. If, say, you have a Dell computer, scroll down to DELL, and do likewise. You will be taken to the relevant information on Crucial's website.

If you don't know the make and model of the motherboard installed in your computer, here is a good free utility - Belarc Advisor - that creates an analysis of the hardware and software on a personal computer. Look under FREE DOWNLOAD - http://www.belarc.com/. Another utility that also provides detailed information on the memory itself is CPU-Z.

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