How do I increase my memory storage on my computer?

Question

I am trying to increase my GB space on my C:/ and I'm confused about which to buy at Dell.com. Should I buy memory or a hard drive? I looked at the memory options on Dell and as far as I can tell, the most space available on a thing of memory is about 512 MB which doesn't seem like that much. I want to increase my storage by about 20-30 GB. Any suggestions?

Answer 1

You need to buy a bigger harddrive or just buy another hard drive and make it a slave drive. You can always get an external hard drive which is connected by just a USB, and that will let you use it as a different drive for storage. You can buy a lot of cheap hardware from either http://www.tigerdirect.com or http://www.newegg.com but make sure you check the warranty on them first.

RAM is a different kind of memory. Its the memory that helps you open more programs all at once without your computer crashing on you. It helps the speed of the scanning of your hard drive while your computer is loading up programs.

It really depends on how much hard drive memory you use. Do you download a lot of music? Play a lot of games? I think you should get about 60GB to have a pretty good storage space for games and music.

Answer 2

From your description, you are looking for a harddrive.

There are two main "memory" components in any computer.

There is the short term memory, or the working memory called RAM (Random Access Memory) that a computer uses when it's running a program or viewing information. This memory is a electronic "chip" or small board that is installed in a computer. This memory chip can have values from 128MB to 2GB or greater. This memory is "short term" because when the power is out, everything in that memory is erased.

Long term memory is often called "storage" because you can store much more information in this memory and it is retained when the power is off. This long term memory uses a harddrive instead of a chip to store the information. A harddrive is a device which has metal plates which are covered with a magentic coating which can be magnetized in spots to store information. These devices are usually referred in GB or even TB (TeraBytes).

MB, GB, and TB is a representation of the number of "bytes" or characters that can be stored, held in the memory. KB stands for KiloByte or 1024 bytes, and MB (MegaByte) is 1024 KiloBytes, and GB (GigaByte) is 1024 MBs, and so forth....

For people that aren't computer literate I usually describe RAM and Harddrives as similar to a human brain and a library. The human brain can only so much "working" information at a time... You load up this info by reading, studying and experiences. But after time and sleep, your working memory gets replaced by new information. However, the library has books, magazines and tons of other "fixed" material. A library can't process or think or calculate but it stores alot of information.

The memory in your brain is like the RAM of a computer, and the Harddrive is like the library. You go to the library read a book, process it in memory, maybe even update it, and store it back into the library. The library can get new books, and take books out of it's collection, just like installing and uninstalling applications (programs) and information.

Answer 3

If you are storing files you need a HD not more memory. Don't settle for 20 - 30 gb. You can get 100GB or greater hard drives at Staples, Office Depot or other computer places for less than $100.

Answer 4

Memory and storage are two different things. Memory is to help the computer run faster and more efficient. You can increase your computer's memory by upgrading by installing more memory chips. On the other hand, you can increase data storage by adding or replace with one or more new hard drives to your computer.

Note: Before you upgrade the memory, you must check what kind of memory is compatible with your computer. For example, SDRAM or DDR and what speed--DDR 2100, DDR 2700, DDR 3200, etc. Also, you need to know what is maximum memory capacity for your computer.

Answer 5

For actual storage probably a hard drive. And that 512 is actually RAM. For good deals on hard drives go to www.tomshardware.com

Answer 6

Go here for a free scan of your computer that determines how much memory you have installed, and how much more you can add, if any..............
http://www.crucial.com/

It's a reputable site, trust me. :)


As far as hard-drive space goes, just do as the others have suggested by investigating your (c:) drive for available space. It's not uncommon to find 250 gig hard-drives these days, for less than a hundred bucks. :)


Good sources for computer parts.........
http://www.newegg.com/

http://www.tigerdirect.com/

Also read Eclectic's "Memory Matters" here............
http://4nuthin.blogspot.com/

Answer 7

Go to your drive,right clic,properties,compress disk to save disk space.apply and OK you got it.doesnt save much,but its worth it.