My PC is a Pentium 4, 2.8 GHz, 448 MB RAM. It originally had a 80 GB HDD but some months ago I added a 250 GB HDD. Now it is very slow, although the HDs don't have too many files in them - the 250 Gb (master drive) is only 25% used and the 80 GB (slave drive) is 40%. Am I asking too much of the computer? Should I increase / update its RAM? Thanx
2007-10-14 06:07:37 · 8 answers · asked by nefretari2000 3 in Computers & Internet ➔ Hardware ➔ Desktops
You did not say how fast the new drive was.
Some drives spin faster than others.
Adding memory often helps. Windows allocates extra memory for file caching, which can improve performance.
If these are IDE drives, did you put the master drive on the far end of the cable?
2007-10-14 06:25:00 · answer #1 · answered by Computer Guy 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
What operating system are you using? If it is XP or lower, then you can manage (but only barely) with 448 MB. For Vista you need *atleast* 1 GB, with recommendation of 2 GB.
Do the following.
-check for viruses and spyware
-Check for unneccesary startup entries and background services/process. These things consume a lot of RAM. You can go to msconfig (type it in the 'run' command) and disable the unimportant programs from startup. Please be careful when you do this. Google for more instructions on disabling startup entries.
-Do a disk cleanup and then defrag the drives. Since your RAM is on the low side, windows will be accessing the paging file quite often. If the paging file is fragmented, it can slow down things. you will need to defrag it with a third party utility (free trial versions are available for popular defraggers) since the windows defragger does not defrag the paging file and Master File Table.
So, virus/spyware scans, startup entries, and defrag. Hopefully this will improve things.
2007-10-15 13:27:07 · answer #2 · answered by Waki Z 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If the PC is slowing down, usually your first thought should be to defragment the hard drives. This can be done by right-clcking on the drive in My Computer, going to Properties, then Tools, and selecting the defragment option.
If the PC is still slow after the drives have been defragged, then memory would be next logical thing to look at. Whether or not what you have is enough really depends on what you are doing with the PC. If all you do is internet and word processing, it's fine. If you are doing gaming or advanced graphics work and such, then you definitely want more memory.
2007-10-14 13:13:45 · answer #3 · answered by Modest 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
hd space if there is plenty, doesn't really contribute much to your pc's performance. however, newer programs require much much more resources especially on ram and cpu. p4 systems can still run most of the programs at an acceptable speed but it will require a lot of support from your ram and sadly, less than 1 gig of ram nowadays is a little bit too short to run programs smoothly..
2007-10-14 13:12:04 · answer #4 · answered by zeven77 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Increase the RAM to at least a gig. The more the merrier but it'll definitely give your computer a big boost.
2007-10-14 13:11:23 · answer #5 · answered by John 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
As the Cookie Monster would put it: RAM...GOOD!!!
Yes, you should increase your RAM - preferably add another 512MB if you're running XP or Vista Home basic, more if you have a lot running in the background.
2007-10-14 13:12:56 · answer #6 · answered by Spartacus! 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I guess you are better off updating the RAM. Better safe than sorry.
2007-10-14 13:14:42 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I would recomend you get more ram for it this will speed it up greatly.
2007-10-18 09:54:13 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋