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Chas
353 Posts |
 Posted - 11/06/2009 : 07:30:28 AM
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My laptop is slowing down and it is probably because I need more memory. Is it just a just a matter of popping in a new hard drive with more Gigs? How is this done?
Thanks |
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craigppls
2115 Posts |
Posted - 11/06/2009 : 07:37:06 AM
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Running slow isn't a hard drive problem. You mostly likely need more active memory.
Clearing your hard drive and checking for viruses will help. |
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VVance
6599 Posts |
Posted - 11/06/2009 : 07:49:40 AM
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Craig is mainly right. Usually a hard drive won't cause slow downs. The exceptions being if your hard drive is almost filled or is in need of being defragged.
Go to start. Click computer. right click drive c, and click properties. This will tell you how much of your drive is filled.
It's possible if your drive is almost filled, your computer will be having delays in trying to look up information.
Try "disk cleanup" and also run your defrag program. Both could help your hard drive run more responsive.
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rudeness
5405 Posts |
Posted - 11/06/2009 : 08:10:11 AM
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| Your hard drive and your memory are two seperate issues. A new hard drive will not give you more memory and more memory will not give you more storage space. Clean up your hard drive, run a good virus scan and if you are running Vista go out and buy the new Windows 7. |
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VVance
6599 Posts |
Posted - 11/06/2009 : 08:18:21 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by rudeness
Your hard drive and your memory are two seperate issues. A new hard drive will not give you more memory and more memory will not give you more storage space. Clean up your hard drive, run a good virus scan and if you are running Vista go out and buy the new Windows 7.
Are you running Windows 7?
What do you think? |
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rudeness
5405 Posts |
Posted - 11/06/2009 : 08:23:04 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by VVance
quote:
Originally posted by rudeness
Your hard drive and your memory are two seperate issues. A new hard drive will not give you more memory and more memory will not give you more storage space. Clean up your hard drive, run a good virus scan and if you are running Vista go out and buy the new Windows 7.
Are you running Windows 7?
What do you think?
Not yet, but I have a buddy that works for Microsoft that claims it is the best OS they have ever put out. Of course it wouldn't take much to beat Vista. I think probably this weekend I'll have him order a few copies for me... I can't go too wrong @ $50 each. |
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Scrooge McDuck
15108 Posts |
Posted - 11/06/2009 : 08:29:12 AM
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slow systems i find are mostly due to all the odd ball programs that are running in your machine. whenever i get a new machine, i drop in the windows disk and start all over, making sure to wipe out any of the BS they load in with the computer manufacturers partnerships and affiliations. all i really want is firefox, open office, java, flash, calyx, itunes and maybe like 2 or 3 other programs, tops.
all that earthlink, aol, real player BS has got to go. |
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rudeness
5405 Posts |
Posted - 11/06/2009 : 08:35:13 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by Scrooge McDuck
slow systems i find are mostly due to all the odd ball programs that are running in your machine. whenever i get a new machine, i drop in the windows disk and start all over, making sure to wipe out any of the BS they load in with the computer manufacturers partnerships and affiliations. all i really want is firefox, open office, java, flash, calyx, itunes and maybe like 2 or 3 other programs, tops.
all that earthlink, aol, real player BS has got to go.
One of the many problems with Vista is that when you close a program window it keeps running. You can have nothing open, pull up your task manager and see half a dozen IE applications, a few Outlooks and some Java running. It kills your memory by using 20%-30% more resources than it should. |
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nw@8brook
538 Posts |
Posted - 11/06/2009 : 08:55:20 AM
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| if you are running vista, make sure you have at least 2 gb ram. Have a friend who works in IT help you to get rid of all the junk running in the background, it will speed up your computer tremendously. |
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Quicksilver
5940 Posts |
Posted - 11/06/2009 : 09:04:03 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by Scrooge McDuck
slow systems i find are mostly due to all the odd ball programs that are running in your machine. whenever i get a new machine, i drop in the windows disk and start all over, making sure to wipe out any of the BS they load in with the computer manufacturers partnerships and affiliations. all i really want is firefox, open office, java, flash, calyx, itunes and maybe like 2 or 3 other programs, tops.
all that earthlink, aol, real player BS has got to go.
Yup.
Few things, I use Lavasoft Ad-Aware and Malwarebytes for spyware etc scanning/removal. And Kaspersky for Anti virus (best, and runs silently in background, doesn't kill memory like the others, Norton is an absolute resource hog)
Type msconfig in RUN, and look at startup programs running, usually a bunch of **** thats not needed. You can list them here or look them up online and see what can be turned off and what should be left running. Samething in the add/remove programs, you can delete programs not needed.
Run disk clean up, and defrag your drive as well.
And yes Windows 7 is awesome, Vista is horrible and a resource hog as well. Windows 7 is exactly the upgrade Vista should have been from XP, instead they went backwords from XP to Vista lol. Also do you use Firefox for a browser? Firefox has bad memory leaks and can chew up resources, plus the new versions suck compared to before. I'm going to go back to 2.0 firmware. Google Chrome is so much faster and uses a 1/4 of the memory FF does. |
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CoolMtgGuy
9067 Posts |
Posted - 11/06/2009 : 09:22:00 AM
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What OS are you running?
How much RAM does the machine have now?
How much available disk stroage space does the machine have right now?
The OS eats up the biig chunk of RAM and it gets worse over time as updates are implementd. All current OSs need huge amounts of RAM [4 GIG or more] to run well.
Number of programs running simultaneously [many start up without you realizing it] also determine amount of RAM you should have.
I've heard many here say that Vista is problematic but I have had zero problems with it for over two years now. The next generation of OSs is primarily done to improve Microsoft's revenue. I won't switch to Windows 7 until the next update of it is released.
quote:
Originally posted by Chas
My laptop is slowing down and it is probably because I need more memory. Is it just a just a matter of popping in a new hard drive with more Gigs? How is this done?
Thanks
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Jonas
1217 Posts |
Posted - 11/06/2009 : 11:21:21 AM
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| You can also type msconfig in your Start Menu/Run command box and edit your startup programs (depending on your OS). Sometimes that can be an issue, especially if it takes your laptop an hour to get ready when you turn it on. |
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assassin17
7838 Posts |
Posted - 11/06/2009 : 11:28:05 AM
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| If you're talking about adding RAM, it's extremely easy. Make sure you have an empty slot for the chip and pop it in securely without forcing it. The empty slot would be right next to another RAM chip. Make sure the speed and type of RAM chip matches the same speed and type (type, not MB size) you already have in the machine. You can also replace the existing chip(s) if too small for your liking. |
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khoiey
2968 Posts |
Posted - 11/06/2009 : 12:37:28 PM
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| Go to crucial.com. Download the software and it will tell you what type of memory you would need. I recommend 2 gb but I think the fastest is 3-4gb. They also have video instruction for you if you want to DIY. |
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Oracles
450 Posts |
Posted - 11/07/2009 : 12:16:34 AM
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| If all else fails back up only what you really need and reformat the hard drive with a fresh install. |
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