Will having a bigger hard drive make my computer faster even if I am using less than half of my current 256 MB

Answer 1

Having a larger hard drive will probably make your computer run slower. Hard drives are mechanical devices that have a motor to make them spin and a movable arm with a read/write head. The larger the hard drive, the more space to store info, but more space means the arm has a larger area to search when it tries to find information.

Think of it this way. Somebody hides your wallet. Which would be faster? Looking for it in a single closet (small hard drive) or through the entire house (large hard drive)?

http://computer.howstuffworks.com/hard-disk.htm/printable >hard drive

And your question seems to be confusing hard drive with memory. I doubt that your hard drive has only 256MB of space (that small a hard drive wouldn't even run Windows 98, let alone XP.) So I'm guessing your hard drive probably has at least 20 gigabytes (if your computer was made in the last few years) and you have 256 megabytes of memory (RAM.) As all the others have all suggested, increase your RAM to the maximum your computer will support (or however much you can afford.)

By the way, virtual memory (as one person suggested) will not speed anything up. It's just a portion of the hard drive set aside to store additional data when your primary memory (RAM) isn't enough. And since it's on the hard drive (mechanical) it takes a lot longer to retrieve that data than if it was on RAM (electrical.) In other words, 512MB RAM will be a lot faster than 256MB RAM + 256MB virtual memory.

http://computer.howstuffworks.com/ram.htm/printable >RAM

Hope this clears up some of the confusion.

plrr

Answer 2

Increess the RAM.
Increess the RAM.
Increess the RAM.
Increess the RAM.
Increess the RAM.
Increess the RAM.
Increess the RAM.
Increess the RAM.
Increess the RAM.
Increess the RAM.
Increess the RAM.
Increess the RAM.
Increess the RAM.
Increess the RAM.
Increess the RAM.
Increess the RAM.
Increess the RAM.
Increess the RAM.
Increess the RAM.
Increess the RAM.
Increess the RAM.
Increess the RAM.
Increess the RAM.
Increess the RAM.
Increess the RAM.
Increess the RAM.
Increess the RAM.
Increess the RAM.
Increess the RAM.
Increess the RAM.
Increess the RAM.
Increess the RAM.
Increess the RAM.
Increess the RAM.
Increess the RAM.
Increess the RAM.
Increess the RAM.
Increess the RAM.
Increess the RAM.
Increess the RAM.
Increess the RAM.
Increess the RAM.
Increess the RAM.
Increess the RAM.
Increess the RAM.
Increess the RAM.
Increess the RAM.
Increess the RAM.
Increess the RAM.
Increess the RAM.
Increess the RAM.
Increess the RAM.
Increess the RAM.
Increess the RAM.
Increess the RAM.
Increess the RAM.
Increess the RAM.
Increess the RAM.
Increess the RAM.
Increess the RAM.
Increess the RAM.
Increess the RAM.
Increess the RAM.
Increess the RAM.
Increess the RAM.
Increess the RAM.
Increess the RAM.
Increess the RAM.
Increess the RAM.
Increess the RAM.
Increess the RAM.
Increess the RAM.
Increess the RAM.
Increess the RAM.
Increess the RAM.
Increess the RAM.
Increess the RAM.
Increess the RAM.
Increess the RAM.
Increess the RAM.
Increess the RAM.
Increess the RAM.
Increess the RAM.
Increess the RAM.
Increess the RAM.
Increess the RAM.
Increess the RAM.
Increess the RAM.
Increess the RAM.
Increess the RAM.
Increess the RAM.
Increess the RAM.
Increess the RAM.
Increess the RAM.
Increess the RAM.
Increess the RAM.
Increess the RAM.
Increess the RAM.
Increess the RAM.
Increess the RAM.

Answer 3

No. Faster processor and more memory! Go with AMD...but the hard drive upgrade will not hurt...

Answer 4

it will only make it faster if you fully use the ram and increase the virtual memory capacity in the hard disk

search for "virtual memory" for more details

Answer 5

Have you tried to get either the correct recovery disks or windows XP install disks on ebay? They do still sell XP at Newegg.

Answer 6

well
increasing ur hard drive did'nt make ur PC go fast hoon.
increasing ur ram & processor ll do the trick.
good luck !!!!