RAM question

My computer seems to be moving really slow. I followed the steps in the slow boot section and it didn't help. My qusetion is if I upgrade from my 512MB RAM to 1GIG of RAM will that speed things up? Its slow launching programs and a little slow booting up. I have a 1 gig processor and I am not sure what type of RAM I have.

 

I forgot to mention I have scanned for virus, spyware, malware, etc and have found nothing.

 

Boosting RAM does not give you a readily noticeable boost in performance, even though many will tell you different, mainly because they have spent the money on RAM. Cleaning and streamlining your OS, will give you the biggest boost, you can even create specific "Profiles" to run in for different applications that give you the greatest boost for that application. By default ALL OS's are designed to run all applications at a reasonable speed.

So if it was me I would spend some more time cleaning and tweaking your "Old" comp, than putting good money into upgrading your RAM. You stated that your running at 1.00 Ghz which is relatively slow by todays standards, so I would save the RAM money and put it toward a new Computer. Hope that helps

 

"Boosting RAM does not give you a readily noticeable boost in performance"

Not true... If your RAM is undersized for the applications you run, you will definitely notice a performance boost. 512Mb is probably the least amount that you can run Windows XP and still be fine. However, the more applications that you run simultaneously; the more RAM that you use up; thus the slower your system will run. More RAM will not really speed up boot time though, if that is all that you're after. If you let us know all the programs you run during normal use, we can advise whether more RAM is necessary.

 

Catch 22. It depends on the apps you run. You should try to get less memory-intensive apps like individual security programs instead of a suite. Put them on demand, not as resident (stay in memory).

However, the easy way is to boost ram since not many of us are technical enough to streamline a pc to the max. I spend an average of 30 mins on a newly install windows: tighten up security & streamline the os.

I replaced my friend's 256mb ddr266 with 1gig ddr400. Her pc is flying. She shouldn't have to close all her apps. Her cpu is about 1.4ghz.

 

OP, imho with the set up that you have don't bother with the extra ram. Streamlining XP by way of shutting off all non required services and preventing programs loading at start up will be a wiser course of action at this stage.

Cheers

 

I agree with BC, Unless you are an avid gamer, or using FireFox with way too many extensions, and a wether thingy in your task bar and a hundred widgets....
upgrading your ram wont matter,
512 Ram is more than enough for the average surfer.
Make sure your startup mfile in programs is empty, and uninstall stuff you don't need.
realistically ctrl alt del should show between 26 and 34 apps running. try determining what you need and dont need.
After this then try upgrading your ram

 

Maybe there is another issue with my computer then. After it loads (even if I let it sit for a few min) and I launch IE it takes 10 sec or more to launch. I have scanned for viruses many times, used ad aware, windows defender, and ccleaner to clean my computer and it still seems to run slower then what I would expect. I have already tried uninstalling programs that never get used and I even tried to defrag my computer. The funny thing about is when I used the analyze button it told me I didn't need to defrag.

Any ideas on what else I can try to speed it up (booting up & launching apps) before I spend the money on upgrading it? I don't play games on my computer if that makes a difference.

One other question, could my virus scanner slow boot times? I use Mcafee. Sorry for the long post.

 

ok you never heard it from me, but I like this app, It is called Regseeker, download it and run it a few times, it will allow you to backup so no scariesfinds stuff that is there you never would imagine, I bet you find over a thousand errors with it! try it . it is safe..
heres the link..
http://www.snapfiles.com/get/regseeker.html
it seems smurfy enough, sorry if it is here at home

 

could my virus scanner slow boot times? I use Mcafee - Definitely. maybe you can set it up to NOT scan at startup. Just update.

Also, I wouldn't be surprised that updated apps will take longer to load. i.e. IE7.