Computer Experts - HELP!!!!

[downside]

Hi Erin

Virtual memory is an area of your hard drive that is used when Windows has used up all your physical memory (RAM).  If your computer suddenly goes slow and the hard drive LED on the front of your computer starts flashing a lot it means it is either writing or retrieving information from your hard drive.  This would suggest you are running out of disk space.  If you click on My Computer and then right click on Drive C and scroll down to Properties it will tell you how much Used Space and how much Free Spce you have.  If you have less than 20% free space then certain programs such as defrag may not work properly as they need a certain amount of free space in order to function.  You can find out about Virtual Memory by going to:

Start->Settings->click on the System icon
then
click on the Advanced tab
then in the Performance area click on the Settings button
then
click on the Advanced tab

Near the bottom there is a Virtual Memory section that tells you how big your Virtual Memory is.

Unless you are an expert you should probably let Windows decide how much Virtual Memory you should have.

If you discover that you have too little Free Space then you may have to do some housekeeping and remove some of the clutter on your PC.  Try running Disk Cleanup:

Start->Programs->Accessories->System tools->Disk Cleanup

There are advanced options on Disk Cleanup that can remove old System Restore points.

You can find out details about your PC without the manuals by doing a Google search on the Internet.  You need to know what motherboard you have in order to ascertain how much RAM you can install on it.  If you go to:

Start->Help and Support
then
type in Virtual Memory and press search
an item 'Get information about your computer' should appear.
Click on that.
Then click on the link 'View general system information about this computer'.

It should display information about your computer including an area on the top left called 'Specifications'.  This is the make and model of your motherboard.

Make a note of those details and then try search on the internet for them and hopefully they will mention how much RAM they can handle.

downside

[erin21]

Downside
Thanks for all that. I have 70%free space on my hard drive. I had a new mother board fitted last year so I shall see if I still have the box etc and shall search as you said.

Erin

[erin21]

  Near the bottom there is a Virtual Memory section that tells you how big your Virtual Memory is.

Its 221
ERin

[downside]

Hi Erin

Windows makes a calculation based on how much RAM you have, which in your case is 192MB.  If you add more RAM then Windows will probably increase the size of your Virtual Memory as well.

I think your main problem though is that you have far too many processes running, which is why you are running low on VM.  If you have enough free space then you can increase the size of your VM.  This will have an effect on system performance though as the system slows down significantly when it writes data from RAM to disk or reads data from disk to store it in RAM.

The only way to realistically improve performance is to remove all those unnecessary processes that are hogging your RAM which I mentioned in previous threads.

downside

[tomkin]

Hi Erin,
              Only just had chance to have a quick look at this topic
so I have not read all the comments I'm afraid.
         On the off chance. Double left click on "My Computer" icon on
ypur desktop.  A box should appear.
          Look for hard disk drives. You should see an icon titled patition-1(C:)
  put the mouse cursor on the icon without clicking.
 a box will appear stating Free space  _ GB
                                         Total size   _   GB
Tell me what the numbers are that are quoted.

Tomkin

[Michael72.]

The best investment you can make is more RAM, as they say, "Best Bang for your Bucks".....it's a fair bet more RAM will cure your problems....XP will struggle with anything less than 256mbs at the very minimum.....

If you want to find information about your PC, go here and D/L the last Freeware version of 'Lavalys' and 'Aida32' both excellent for diagnostics too....

      http://www.321download.com/LastFreeware/page2.html#EVEREST

You could also Google for these two very good programmes that will sort out your Start up problems...all easy to use....

'Startup Inspector'.

'Safe XP'.

Both are Free 'must haves'..... ..


Michael72.

[erin21]

Hi Erin,
              Only just had chance to have a quick look at this topic
so I have not read all the comments I'm afraid.
         On the off chance. Double left click on "My Computer" icon on
ypur desktop.  A box should appear.
          Look for hard disk drives. You should see an icon titled patition-1(C:)
  put the mouse cursor on the icon without clicking.
 a box will appear stating Free space  _ GB
                                         Total size   _   GB

Hello Tomkin

Here is what I found

Free Space 26.6gb

Total size 38.2gb

Erin
Tell me what the numbers are that are quoted.

Tomkin

[Michael72.]

You have loads of free space on your Hard drive..your only using approx. 12 GBs of your 38 GB hard drive....so it would be safe to say that isn't your problem....just get more RAM....... and have a clean up of all your background stuff......


Michael72.

[tomkin]

Hi Erin,
              Have just had a quick look through the messages. I think
your major problem is the number of upgrades etc that you have
performed on your original base unit. Thats why it pays to buy a base unit from
a reliable maker like dell. They ensure that all the units are fully compatable with
each other and will run together under a wide range of circumstances.Balancing all
the items in a computer is best done by experts. (Things often run O.K. for a while
but weak links will show sooner or later if you keep adding bits and pieces)
           It's in the manufacturers  interest to do so. They don't want complaints and have to keep
repairing units. The profit margins on computers today is very small and they cannot
afford to do so, so they tend to ensure reliability.
            I still use my old Dell which runs on windows 98 for all the basic sort of functions that you mention and it performs great. I also use it with photoshop Elements 2.0 although my new computer is now my main workhorse.
 Keep us in touch,
 Tomkin