2007-05-03 05:16:51 · 10 answers · asked by Derrick C 1 in Computers & Internet ➔ Hardware ➔ Other - Hardware
RAM is where all programs are stored while you are using them. Everything YOU do on a computer is stored in RAM, until you save or delete it. It is needed to open any process (Windows included) and without it your computer will not get past the BIOS stage. On most systems the computer will be dead without RAM, and when you turn on the power you will get either a series of beeps, or absolutely nothing.
2007-05-03 05:46:34 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Assuming you mean if your computer doesn't have *enough* RAM, it depends upon several factors...
Modern computers and operating systems will typically use your hard drive as temporary storage - swapping information from your RAM onto the hard drive as necessary, to make room for other information. This works in cases where you occasionally need to have data swapped out, but when you have many programs that really need more RAM than your computer has available, it really impacts your performance. The computer performs more slowly, and your hard drive is accessed almost constantly.
Generally, you should still be able to open files - it's just going to take much longer than it would if you had more RAM in the computer. You may find some programs that refuse to launch if you don't have enough RAM however - check the minimum requirements for any programs that you need to use.
Otherwise - RAM is relatively cheap, and easy to find, so it's not a big deal typically just to add more RAM to your system. It's usually something you can install yourself as well.
2007-05-03 12:27:35 · answer #2 · answered by Sprout 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
If your computer has RAM, but not a lot you may have problems opening very large files, but that is dependent on the program opening the file. I think Notepad reads the entire document into memory (RAM), but Word only reads a part of it. So with a given amount of RAM with Word you could open a 100,000 page document, but could not open a text version of that same document with Notepad.
Note. Notepad may use the swap file too, but a big enough document can still fill that up.
2007-05-03 12:32:55 · answer #3 · answered by joatman71 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You wouldn't be able to open anything. Every time your computer is restarted its reverted to a blank slate. When the operating system loads it tells the computer how to use the hardware, loads essential software, etc... All these instructions are stored in the RAM. So without it, it would just sit there and do nothing because it cant learn what to do.
Kind of like writing with paper and pencil, but without the paper. See what I mean?
2007-05-03 12:29:10 · answer #4 · answered by Brock Lee 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Without RAM, your computer will be unable to process any information at all. I have never heard of a computer functioning with no ram. That would be insane.
2007-05-03 12:26:14 · answer #5 · answered by Lomoco 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No RAM then your computer will not boot up. The only thing you can get into is BIOS.
2007-05-03 12:26:48 · answer #6 · answered by Kenn N 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If your computer does not have RAM it will not function at all.
2007-05-03 12:22:39 · answer #7 · answered by Simon T 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
ram stands for random access memory... think of it as the short term memory... with out it, your computer will not be able to run.
2007-05-03 12:24:36 · answer #8 · answered by dudenell 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
if you dont have RAM you cant open your computer
2007-05-03 12:22:59 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
You won't be able to boot. everything is loaded into ram. even your operating system.
2007-05-03 12:39:25 · answer #10 · answered by derek c 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋