About RAM....?

Question

Ok I don't know how stupid this question is, but how do i get more RAM for my PC?
I have a Dell Dimension DE051 Intel Celeron CPU 2.53 GHz and 256 MB of RAM.
It just seems to run so slow sometimes. I have no virsuses, I uninstalled anything that I do not use, and It just can not seem to keep up with me.
If it is not RAM what could it be?
I have a 40G harddrive and I am only using about 10.5G.
Thanks.

Answer 1

You could go out and buy a RAM chip or maybe buy a better processor for your computer. But you have to check if your motherboard is compatible with them before buying it.

Answer 2

I recommend you buy any RAM from Dell to ensure you get the correct RAM for your computer. I learned the hard way about buying RAM from other sources. There are many other factors that go into the RAM you purchase besides the basic information. If the RAM doesn't match properly it will not work or will run very slow.

You can use a free program that will keep your RAM free of clutter and speed thing up. I used this program before I upgraded from 256 to 1G of RAM and it worked very well for me.

http://www.download.com/FreeRAM-XP-Pro/3000-2086_4-10516960.html?tag=lst-0-3

Answer 3

It is not a stupid question infact!

just look at the RAMs Specification. before buying a new RAM
look at its data rate it is in mega hz so when buying an new ram go for another 256mb RAM with the same datarate.

also as a precution delete all temporary internet files or better empty the contents of the "temp","temporary internet files","History(optional)" also clean the registry of all invalid data

just download and install the registry cleaner

link is below:

Answer 4

Like most when we buy a pc we don't take into consideration all of the applications and programs we will add on later on to slow the system down.

When that happens you need to add more ram. To find out what type of ram your system uses. You will have to go to dell support website and enter your system serial number or system ID number (from the back of the tower/case) and find find out what type of ram you need to buy to enter into the slots on your motherboard (which is located inside the case)

Nothing complicated here, you just by the correct ram, open the case, and insert the ram into the open slot on your motherboard, them boot up your system.

visit dell support and enter your computer info/or look up your system and work from there.

Answer 5

Celerons are garbage.. They're the lowest, cheapest Intel processor you can get. Even though they're listed at higher speeds, they're not all that great...

If you're looking into getting more RAM, you can actually goto the DELL support website and look up parts by the computer model number.

Answer 6

Well since it's a Dell you need to be sure of the RAM you buy. There have been lots of headaches in the past with just putting any kind of RAM into a Dell PC.

You can use this site.
http://www.4allmemory.com Just enter the Dell PC type you have and they will tell you the kind of RAM you need.

BE AWARE: You need to reference your Motherboard manual to determine how much RAM each slot in your MoBo will hold. You can't just arbitrarilly stick RAM into the slots, especially on older PC's. So be careful of how much RAM each stick has. If you don't have your MoBo manual either in print or on CD, check with Dell support and ask them for (1) How many RAM slots are on your Motherboard and (2) How much RAM will each slot hold.

Since you only have 256M installed you may find you are limited to 256M in each slot. If you are not a "gamer" then I'd recommend that you go for at least 768M RAM. That would be to add a total of 512M to your existing 256M. You may be able to do that with one stick of 512M or two sticks of 256M.

I have found that for most computing needs that 768M is just fine. If you are into video (games/movie editing, etc.) then you'll want more RAM.

Places I buy RAM from are:

http://www.crucial.com
http://www.4allmemory.com
http://www.newegg.com
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Here are some tips on increasing the speed of your PC.

A major cause of slow PC's is fragmentation of the hard drive.
You need to defragment the HD at least once a week if not more depending on how much you use your computer, and what you do with it.

A great program for defragging automatically is Diskeeper 10. It costs $30 but is well worth it. Go to www.download.com and search for Diskeeper. Read the Publishers Description and the tech and user reviews. It can be scheduled to run automatically as the program deems necessary, and if you are using your PC and the program launches itself, it will take a backseat to whatever you are doing and give you the priority for CPU usage. I think you'll agree it's a good program to have. It precludes your needing to remember to defrag at regular intervals.

Also, another major cause of a slow PC is programs that are running in the background. Here's another great program, and it's free. Go to www.sysinternals.com and download the program named "autoruns". This utility will tell you exactly what is running on your PC and provides a nice and easy way to shut down the ones you don't want to boot at start up. Once you have it installed use the tabs at the top of the window to access the various categories. If you use the "everything" tab it will overwhelm you because the list is massive. All you have to do is uncheck the box next to the program name and the program will not start at your next boot up. Hurry as this site has been bought up by Microsoft and these free programs may not be around much longer.

Another good thing to have is a little program called FreeRAM Pro. It is free and is available from www.download.com This program puts a little RAM meter on the System Tray and shows how much RAM you have remaining that you are not using at any given time. With only 256M of RAM I think you are going to be surprised at how little RAM you have to run other programs. Also, once it is installed you can right click on the little meter, then click on RESTORE and it will open the RAM display window. You can tweak the settings so it will display your CPU usage also.

I do agree with the others regarding your RAM. 256 is just not enough. I set up an old pc with only Windows XP and the FreeRAM meter installed. The meter uses 5K and Windows XP was using 165K. Based upon that (170K) it only leaves you 86K to run anything and everything else. What happens when you run out of RAM is that the OS recognizes the low or no RAM situation and starts using a section of your hard drive as memory. This is called virtual memory, or a swap file. The PC is constantly writing and reading from your HD. Comparitively, it is a very slow process. Check your motherboard manual and determine how much RAM each slot can hold. It will also tell you what type of RAM you need. You can also go to www.crucial.com and run their analysis utility to determine what kind and how much RAM is installed in your PC. Depend on your MoBo manual to determine the RAM limits of each slot though. If you are going to keep your PC for a substantial amount of time I recommend you see if you can easily go to 768M. This will give you plenty of RAM for anything you are running and you will usually see (on the RAM meter) that you have between 300 to 400M of RAM not being used.

Hope this helps

Answer 7

You can add one more 256 Mb RAM and increase the speed. I can give you a link that deals with hard drive problems.
Some hard drive problems can be easily fixed yourself by using easily available tools. I found the info at http://fixit.in useful

Answer 8

Well you could add more RAM by installing a RAM memory chip. I don't know about Dell though.

My PC is a DIY PC, so I know how to install things in myself.

Answer 9

256MB RAM is a MINIMUM for XP to run.
It runs much better with more RAM.
I would spend the $90 or so to add 1GB.
http://www.crucial.com
http://www.kingston.com
http://www.tigerdirect.com