Should I add RAM, free up more HD space, or something else?

[aylok2007]

Greetings from a hopeless nontechie!

My PC, a Dell I got a few years ago, slowed down considerably. It's 36
G Hard Drive only had 4 percent of free space. I freed up a
considerable amount and it now has almost 25 percent of free space
(about 8 Gs). This, however, did not really speed up the computer.
Should I increase the RAM from 256 MB to 512 MB? Or is there something
else I should check first?

I know the simplest thing would be for me to get a new computer, but I
have to wait about six months before getting a new one.

Thanks!

 

[philo]

Greetings from a hopeless nontechie!

My PC, a Dell I got a few years ago, slowed down considerably. It's 36
G Hard Drive only had 4 percent of free space. I freed up a
considerable amount and it now has almost 25 percent of free space
(about 8 Gs). This, however, did not really speed up the computer.
Should I increase the RAM from 256 MB to 512 MB? Or is there something
else I should check first?

I know the simplest thing would be for me to get a new computer, but I
have to wait about six months before getting a new one.

Thanks!

Go into the control panel ...system...advanced...
then set for best performance.
XP will run a lot better. If you go to themes, you can reset it to XP theme.

Also defrag the drive.

If it still does not run to your satisfaction...
then bump up the RAM ro 512megs

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Greetings from a hopeless nontechie!

My PC, a Dell I got a few years ago, slowed down considerably. It's 36
G Hard Drive only had 4 percent of free space. I freed up a
considerable amount and it now has almost 25 percent of free space
(about 8 Gs). This, however, did not really speed up the computer.
Should I increase the RAM from 256 MB to 512 MB? Or is there something
else I should check first?

Depending on what applications you run, yes, adding RAM may well help
you.

You get good performance if the amount of RAM you have keeps you from
using the page file, and that depends on what apps you run. Most
people running a typical range of business applications find that
somewhere around 256-384MB works well, others need 512MB. Almost
anyone will see poor performance with less than 256MB. Some people,
particularly those doing things like editing large photographic
images, can see a performance boost by adding even more than
512MB--sometimes much more.

If you are currently using the page file significantly, more memory
will decrease or eliminate that usage, and improve your performance.
If you are not using the page file significantly, more memory will do
nothing for you. Go to
http://billsway.com/notes_public/winxp_tweaks/ and download
WinXP-2K_Pagefile.zip and monitor your pagefile usage. That should
give you a good idea of whether more memory can help, and if so, how
much more.

 

[JS]

More than likely you have a large number of background applications and
services that load and run when you first boot and then logon.
To find out what applications being loaded try using msconfig
(Start/run/msconfig).

You may be able to eliminate some unnecessary services
Services Startup Type Descriptions:
Disabled - This service will never start.
Manual - May be started when needed by an application or another service.
Automatic - Started when Windows boots.

For more info on what services are needed or can be stopped see:
Optimize XP Services:
http://www.beemerworld.com/tips/servicesxp.htm
Services Guide for Windows XP
http://www.theeldergeek.com/services_guide.htm#Services

If you want to dig deeper:
Try Autoruns from the MS Windows SysInternals site:
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sysinternals/ProcessesAndThreads/Autoruns.mspx

AutoRuns will show/list all apps/etc. that load/run when you first boot
(Boot Execute tab),
when you logon (Logon tab) and other programs that load (grouped by labeled
tabs) for easy viewing.
It also provides the ability to selectively allows you to stop (use with
care) any program that you don't want to load. You can undo any changes you
have made.

Note: To get additional details on an item in the list you may need to
highlight the item (right click) and use the 'Search Online' option to get
the details, especially useful for the more obscure items in the list.

JS

 

[Lil' Dave]

Greetings from a hopeless nontechie!

My PC, a Dell I got a few years ago, slowed down considerably. It's 36
G Hard Drive only had 4 percent of free space. I freed up a
considerable amount and it now has almost 25 percent of free space
(about 8 Gs). This, however, did not really speed up the computer.
Should I increase the RAM from 256 MB to 512 MB? Or is there something
else I should check first?

I know the simplest thing would be for me to get a new computer, but I
have to wait about six months before getting a new one.

Thanks!

Even though RAM is cheap nowadays, in your situation, I would wait 6 months
for the new PC.

If I were keeping the PC, I would pull out all old RAM, and install a single
1 GB, or two identical 512MB RAM modules.
Dave

 

[aylok2007]

Thank you everyone for all the comments, suggestions and links!

 

[JS]

Your welcome.

JS

 

[Plato]

Should I increase the RAM from 256 MB to 512 MB? Or is there something
else I should check first?

Yes.