clearing RAM on a pc.

[Mike Warren.]

Ok..heres the puzzle.

you have a PC...it only has 2 programs loaded .it has a numeric keypad..no
keyboard tho, no hard disk or floppy or any other sort of data storage
device.
this is of course a hypothetical pc for the purposes of the puzzle.
the 2 programs are in the ROM. they are called up and autorun by entering
1 or 2 into the keypad.(the fact that its 1 or 2 is irrelevant to the
puzzle)

one of the programs is designed to initialise all RAM contents..the other
is designed to write 1 or 0s into specified RAM locations. (doesnt matter
for what purpose.)

here is the puzzle. ( a little working knowledge of how computers work is
required for the answer)

1) Why is one of these programs superfluous?.

2) The function of the superfluous program is essential...but will never
work..why?..and what method can you use to have the same results as the
'superfluous' program?.

Mike Warren.