Help with Available Memory, page file size, available virtual memory etc ...

Hi,

So I would like to know please, would adding a gig of DDR2 RAM in each slot speed up this computer considerably? Or would it be a waste and I should save my $?

Or if I do add the RAM, should I also play with other settings to help speed the computer up? If so what are they?

Sometimes for no apparent reason the processor starts working overtime, i can tell cause of the noise it makes. I wondered if the current %'s had anything to do with it?

Its slow if there are many applications open at once. I cant run Creative Suite CS4 on it at present either. Think it may need a new video card but unsure of what to buy.

Any and all help is much appreciated in advance. Please advise if you need any more info.

It runds XP Pro and I use Firefox.

Thanks heaps!

This is what I have at the moment ...

Memory
Available Memory 16.97 %
Page File Size 1033.8Mb
Available Page File 166.6 %
Virtual Memory 2047.8Mb
Available Virtual Memory 98.01 %
Memory Slot 1 [DIMM1] 512Mb
Memory Slot 2 [DIMM3] 512Mb

And its a Dell with ...

Processor
Manufacturer Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 3.00GHz
Clock Speed 3GHz

Hardware
Type Description
DVD/CD-ROM Drives TSSTcorp DVD-ROM TS-H352C
MagicISO Virtual DVD-ROM0000
Disk Drives WDC WD400BD-75JMC0 37.25Gb
Display Adapters Intel(R) 82915G/GV/910GL Express Chipset Family 128Mb
Intel(R) 82915G/GV/910GL Express Chipset Family 128Mb
Floppy Disk Drives (Standard floppy disk drives) Floppy disk drive
IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers Intel(R) 82801FB/FBM Ultra ATA Storage Controllers - 266F
Primary IDE Channel
Intel(R) 82801FB Ultra ATA Storage Controllers - 2651
Primary IDE Channel
Keyboards USB Human Interface Device
Mice and Other Pointing Devices Microsoft USB Wheel Mouse Optical
Monitors Plug and Play Monitor - (Standard monitor types)
Plug and Play Monitor - (Standard monitor types)
Sound Devices SoundMAX Integrated Digital Audio
USB Controllers Intel(R) 82801FB/FBM USB Universal Host Controller - 2658
Intel(R) 82801FB/FBM USB Universal Host Controller - 2659
Intel(R) 82801FB/FBM USB Universal Host Controller - 265A
Intel(R) 82801FB/FBM USB Universal Host Controller - 265B
Intel(R) 82801FB/FBM USB2 Enhanced Host Controller - 265C

 

Welcome to Major Geeks.
One thing I didn't see is how much memory(physical) is already installed.
16.97% of how much?

Just saw it.
Adding RAM (memory) is not a bad idea. Could really benefit if doing some intensive work.

 

Going from your current 512 sticks to 2X1g stick is a very nice jump, everything gets better well worth while.

 

Add the RAM, if you are OK with it, and also try increasing your page file.

This guide is for servers but XP handles this in exactly the same way: http://www.serverwatch.com/tutorial...t-6-Increase-the-Size-of-Your-Paging-File.htm

I would note though that I recommend you set both values to the same, which should be about 1.5 times the installed RAM. Therefore if you do the jump to 2GB your paging file should be 3096 MB in size.

 

Thanks so much for taking time to reply, very helpful.

 

Hi again,

I added the RAM, now I have 3 gigs (bit of an overkill i think), anyway.

The problem I have still is my processor is working overtime.

I have attached a pdf with a screen shot showing the usage while copying over a large file from an external hard drive and the only other thing open is my outlook.

Would you know why its working overtime? It still seems kind of slow to me, the computer. Do you know any good tests to pin point whats is slow? It cant be not enough RAM, thats for sure.

Maybe I need to replace my mother board? To speed up the processor? ARRRgh ... bring back the good old days of abacuses.

Thanks in advance.

M

 

In Task manager (the program you posted a screenshot of before) there is a tab at the top marked "Processes" Please click into this and click on the column header marked "CPU" This will sort the results by what is using the most CPU. Please post back with the name of the program that is using most of it at one time, or post a screenshot showing the top of the list.

 

Something definitely running in the background.
Boot time AV scan scheduled? Defragging?Updater?