Laptop Memory Problems

[Deleted member 37751]

I'm not that PC savvy, so bear with me.

I only use the laptop for my iTunes and browsing the web, yet every time I turn it on its always saying that I'm running VERY low on memory.

I've done a couple of those system clean up thingies that it recommends, tried uninstalling certain large memory programmes but it won't let me. Things like 'Express Gate' and '2007 Microsoft Office system'.

What can I uninstall? Or do I need more memory or a newer computer or what?

This is the label attached to the laptop, I don't know how much it means?

Any help would be appreciated...

 

[eGuru]

You could certainly do with more memory, 1Gb is too little.

 

[balge]

Hi
with only 1Gb of RAM, Vista will never be happy. You may be able to upgrade (add more RAM), depends on the motherboard. (you could try the system scan at crucial dot com)

Msconfig will allow you to keep stuff you don't need from starting, which leaves less running in the background.

How to use MSCONFIG in Windows Vista: NetSquirrel.com


If you hit 'control-shift-escape' together it should bring up the task manager, 'processes' tab will show you what is running (programs etc) so you can see what is using all your RAM, 'performance' gives you graphs of RAM and processor use.

Not being able to uninstall programs is more worrying though, can be down to malware, I recommend MalwareBytes, free and very good

cheers

 

[John]

It does sound like you are running out of hard disk space (aka memory but not to be confused with physical memory - that which is used when programs etc. are running).

If Windows recommends you to clean up, it's to free up hard disk space rather than memory.

If it was memory, it would advise you that it needs to increase your Virtual Memory.

My guess is you have a lot of iTunes media filling it up.

One way to see what your biggest disk fillers are is to go into START > MY COMPUTER, and at the top right you will see a search box - just type the following in there and hit enter:

*.*

It will then look for every file on your hard disk (it might not include hidden files but these wont be big anyway).

Once it is finished, you can order stuff by clicking on the SIZE column.

What is / are the largest files you have?

Then click on the TYPE heading and order everything into file type - then see which group of files occur the most.

My guess is your iTunes is filling up your disk, and you need to think about moving it to an external hard disk, or re-locating it to another computer with a bigger disk if desired.

Alternatively, you will need to buy a larger disk which will mean taking an image of yours, replacing the disk, and deploying the image back on.

Some laptops can have a second hard disk added which replaces (normally) the optical disk drive. Optical drives are not used so much now anyway, so you would then be able to move your iTunes onto that.

However, need to clarify what is filling up your disk first!

 

[Deleted member 37751]

Thanks for the replies.

I've got roughly 220 albums on my iTunes.

I'll put the laptop on in the morning and do what you've recommended and report back.

Thanks.

 

[John]

Also, Vista isn't great, but it's rare a laptop will be out of physicaly memory the minute it starts whereas out of hard disk space will be a constant problem.

I have more than 120 albums, although not every album has all the songs (we delete the stuff we will never want to listen to) and our collection is 30GB.

My Windows installation, which is fairly typical, is 35GB (I have Office).

Chances are, you are possibly knocking on the door of 120GB...

 

[MercFanUk]

If you ever get the chance, I'd recommend upgrading to Win 7 too.

I'm working off an old PC with just 2gb of memory in it, back when it was on Vista is was painfully slow, yet on Windows 7 it handles regular day to day use absolutely fine (Including a massive iTunes library). Win 7 seems to have much better memory management.

 

[balge]

If you ever get the chance, I'd recommend upgrading to Win 7 too.

I'm working off an old PC with just 2gb of memory in it, back when it was on Vista is was painfully slow, yet on Windows 7 it handles regular day to day use absolutely fine (Including a massive iTunes library). Win 7 seems to have much better memory management.

Absolutely agree with that, had an old XP lappy I wanted to upgrade, Vista wouldn't even load, but 7 works fairly well even with only 1Gb RAM...does seem to need more defragging though. So expensive though.

This might help the OP -

Speed up Your Windows Vista Computer with ReadyBoost - How-To Geek

don't think it mentions it, but the USB stick needs to be at least 4Gb.

If the problem is RAM, the error will be -

"Your computer is running low on memory. Quit other programs, and then try again."

Only ever seen warnings about hard drive space when actually installing or downloading stuff?

If you right click on the icon for your hard-drive in 'My Computer' it will tell you how much drive space you have left

cheers!

 

[Satch]

Get a memory upgrade to start with

Mrs S has a Samsung running Vista 32 bit and that was struggling at times with 2GB memory.

Around £38 IIRC to stick in 4GB (2x2GB, although it will only recognises 3.5GB) and it produced a very significant improvement.

Beyond that shift some stuff onto an external drive. get a big one, which you can also use as a back up drive for the day when your HDD eventually gives up.

 

[This is Pete]

Go to crucial.com and run the system scanner thing. It'll take a look at your laptop and tell you how much your system is capable of using. Usually, when you buy a laptop, it's ram slots are not fully populated.

The chances are that you'll be able to install up to 2Gb, which will help the performance of the laptop quite a bit.

 

[Rory]

How on earth did computers run even a few years ago? I was asked to look at a Sony Vaio the other day that obviously had a failed HDD.

The HDD fitted was 20GB, but I looked at the memory and knew it would be small but was amazed to find 256MB on the motherboard and only one slot that would take another 256MB - so max 512MB. Running XP and usual Office apps would it have ever worked, or did we just accept terrible performance?

 

[markjay]

As said, add more memory, upgrade to larger hard disk drive and/or remove unneeded stuff to recover disk space, and/or upgrade to Win 7 (but check with Asus if this is supported, i.e. if all the drivers for Win 7 are available). And also download the free version of Ccleaner from Redirecting..., it clears-up quite a lot of rubbish and temp files (without uninstalling any software applications).

 

[markjay]

How on earth did computers run even a few years ago? I was asked to look at a Sony Vaio the other day that obviously had a failed HDD.

The HDD fitted was 20GB, but I looked at the memory and knew it would be small but was amazed to find 256MB on the motherboard and only one slot that would take another 256MB - so max 512MB. Running XP and usual Office apps would it have ever worked, or did we just accept terrible performance?

Everything was much much smaller - Win 95, Office 97, Internet Explorer 3, antivirus programs... some say that what we have now is essentially bloatware - lots of unnecessary features added simply to justify the cost of upgrading for the next version of the software.

 

[Rory]

Everything was much much smaller - Win 95, Office 97, Internet Explorer 3, antivirus programs... some say that what we have now is essentially bloatware - lots of unnecessary features added simply to justify the cost of upgrading for the next version of the software.

Well yes, but the machine in question has an XP Pro COA label on its bottom. It wasn't *that* old - I guess 2005 ish..

 

[markjay]

Well yes, but the machine in question has an XP Pro COA label on its bottom. It wasn't *that* old - I guess 2005 ish..

In fact, I think more like 2008/2009.... Vista was only released in Jan 2007. just a very basic low-cost low-spec laptop. Nothing wrong with that as long as you don't ask it to do too much.

 

[grober]

I'm afraid that in computer terms 6 years represents several generations of hardware and software developments . There comes a point when the motherboard architecture /processor/ and chipset have moved on so far that adding extra memory/faster processor/bigger disc may help but a new computer will gain so much from advances in all its components that its best to simply " move on" especially when buying a new computer normally gives access to the latest operating system as part of the price. There are usually lots of USB " caddy" convertors that you can convert your old hard drive to a USB peripheral to access your old data easily.

 

[markjay]

I'm afraid that in computer terms 6 years represents several generations of hardware and software developments .

Indeed, and for this reason I personally prefer to buy sensibly-priced laptops and have them replaced once or twice a year, than buy a £2k top-of-the-range model and keep it for 2-3 years.

 

[grober]

I reckon you can divide laptops in to 3 categories
cheap and cheerful ---midrange price-----state of the art which roughly translates to
obsolete------current but about to exit stage left------ and give it a couple of years eh?

You get most "bang for your buck" in category 2

If you decide to "go new" then buy a few computer mags What Laptop etc http://whatlaptop.techradar.com/ ---just to see what's out there ---- once you have an idea read some reviews online and then go shopping.

 

[John]

I'm not convinced there is any other issue than hard disk at the moment, but should this be the issue alone, I wouldn't automatically upgrade that (and then stick memory and Windows 7 in your basket).

You will be installing them into a (potentially) 5 year old laptop.

It pays to have a look at replacement laptop prices and weigh up your options.

 

[Deleted member 37751]

So before I start faffing with the computer, is the general consensus for me to just buy a new laptop, or at least something a bit newer?