My next Luddite question:

Thank you, possum.
You're very kind & patient.
As is Cyclo.
And the tsar.
Good souls, all.
Thanks.

Yah. So, the reason I've asked about the RAM is that nowadays online, more and more advertisers are putting video into their ads, and programs like Flash and other video software programs are starting to assume that you'll have more memory available. If you don't, things can sort of get gummed up as your old computer chugs along.

I wonder if you could update to the latest versions of some of your plugins? Or, what might be easier would be to try Google's Chrome browser and see if that works better for you.

Cheers
Cycloptichorn

I only update as updates are presented via Firefox, Cyclo.
This hasn't been a problem till fairly recently.
So I'm wondering if my problem is the FF plugin plus Wimdows XP. Combined.


Yes, I'm very aware of those advertisement additions to (previously) straightforward news videos. (A damn nuisance!)
Apart from being unwanted, maybe the problems do have something to do with the amount of memory available?
Hard to know for certain.

no. at least I'm pretty sure thats not the case.


It would be habdy to know how much ram you do have.

To find your RAM
go to START --> Control Panels and choose System

I can't find anything about RAM under System, dp.
I double checked.

Click on the START button in the bottom right-hand corner of your desktop.
Select CONTROL PANEL from the menu that opens. Click on SYSTEM. This opens the SYSTEM PROPERTIES window.
Click on the GENERAL tab, if it isn't open. This window will indicate the amount of RAM you have.



METHOD #2:
Click on the START button in the bottom right-hand corner of your desktop.
Click on ALL PROGRAMS and then click ACCESSORIES.

Select SYSTEM TOOLS. This will open the System Information window. Scroll down toward the bottom of the window. The amount of RAM is indicated at the bottom of the listed information.

Under 'system' you should see a screen that looks something like this:



That part in the middle called 'computer' is the data we want.

Cycloptichorn

OK.

I see:
Pentium 4 CPU 2.26 GHz
2.27GHz 1.25 GB of RAM

(who knows what this means? )


Dadpad, I couldn't find that information under "accessories" & "system tools".
It might be because I have an older Windows program to you?

I would have thought that processor would handle pretty much everything.
Mine is 1.6 GH
your ram is probably a bit low by todays standards. 2, 3 or 4 GB would be good.

You can buy a 2 gb stick of ram for about ??? $20.00. very easy to install turn power off at wall First take the side of your computer () pull out the old one and plug in the new one. you might even have two slots so you dont need to pull the old one out. or replace the 1.25 gb stick with a 2 gb and slip a nother 2gb in the vacant slot.

Maybe its just easier to download chrome aand see how that goes.

do a bit of cleaning up and defragment your hard drive while you are thinking about things. defrag takes forever so do that overnight.

Looks nothing like:

T7600@ 233 GHz
1.35 GHz, 768 MB of RAM

I confess I'm totally at sea here.

(It's OK.
If it makes no sense to you, either, just leave it here.
I will understand. )

Haha, that actually tells me a lot about how fast your computer is. Technical jargon but it's useful.

I'll write more in the morning, Dadpad already said what I was gonna say anyways.

Cycloptichorn

Thanks, dp.

But keep in mind that this RAM stuff is all a bit of a mystery to me, Luddite that I am still, obviously. (More research needed!)

A bit of cleaning up might be a good idea. Will do.

But yesterday I checked about whether to defrag or not & was advised that it was not necessary at this stage.

Thanks all, anyway.

Just a couple of final question, if I may ...

I'm still not too clear about whether high CPU usage can harm a computer or not ... like shorten its lifespan, or something like that .... or if it impacts only on energy usage.

Also why Chrome might be a better alternative to FF in my situation.

I'd be very interested to know more.

Thanks loads to dp & Cyclo for the advice & information you've provided.

Stick of RAM


Before You Upgrade Your RAM

One Stick or Two?
If your computer uses dual-channel memory, you may need to install two modules (or sticks, as they're sometimes called) of RAM instead of just one. So if you want to upgrade to a gigabyte of RAM, you might need to install two 512 megabyte RAM modules. Make sure both modules have the same specifications or the dual-channel feature won't work.

The first step to upgrading your RAM involves gathering a little information. First, you need to know how much RAM your computer has already.
read more here
http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/how-to-tech/how-to-upgrade-ram1.htm

Inserting the RAM stick into the slot.


http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/how-to-tech/how-to-upgrade-ram2.htm

Upgrading the RAM in Your PC

Upgrading your PC's RAM isn't very difficult for most computers.

You've done your homework. You know how much RAM you have, how much your computer can handle and the kind of RAM chip you need to buy for your machine.

RAM is kinda like a secretary or PA (wife?). It remembers all the recent stuff you've done, fetches things you might need from the filing cabinet (Hard drive and web) and hangs on to them in case you need them. Then when it guages you are not going to need them It dumps them in the trash. Of course those bits of data are still on the internet or recorded on your hard drive so your PA can go get them again if needed.


yes in the long run.

Imagine you are hole digger. If you work a nice steady pace you can go all day, but if the boss comes out every hour or and cracks the whip and you have to go like billyoh while he's there pretty soon can't work at your nice steady capacity when he's not looking You have to slow down and sometimes stop for a cuppa.
Your CPU heats up when it runs at or near capacity and the fan works overtime trying to dissapate the heat and the motherboard cant cope.

The crashes and slowness you appear to be having are I assume related to the amount of stress being placed on your CPU by larger and larger applications (which are effectivly data that needs to be sorted and sent).
It might take some time to happen (like a year) but eventually you will get the blue screen of death

So there are 3 alternatives.
1. continue as you are and when it kicks the bucket buy a new one.

2. Ease the load on the CPU by putting in more RAM

3. Reduce the size, complexity and number of applications being used at one time.

I just reread what you'd posted (under less pressure & time constraints ), dp.
That explains it very well.
Thank you!

Oh by the way ....
Any other A2K Luddites are most welcome to post their questions on this thread, too.
Please feel free.

I tried a little experiment today.

I watched the same video footage using FireFox & Internet Explorer.
(I have IE on my computer because some old files, from my previous computer, can only be accessed with IE. But I rarely use it.)

With FF I received the Norton message again: 94% CPU usage. And the source of the problem was (again) identified as the Firefox.ex file

With the very same video footage, from the same source, no such response to IE.

So it's looking like I need to find a an alternative browser to FireFox, sadly. Yes?

I don't want to revert back to IE.

So now I am trying to figure out which new browser would be best for my purposes.

I checked out Wikipedia & according to this entry, after IE & FireFox, the next most used browsers were:
Chrome (11.75%)
Safari (9.26%)
& Opera (4.25%)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_web_browsers

So I am asking you A2Kers, who use alternatives to FireFox & IE (especially those of you who might still be using Windows XP) which of those alternatives you've found most satisfactory & "user friendly".

My needs are pretty straight forward. I am not downloading films or heaps of music files. Mostly I am accessing A2K, various news sites from different countries, not much more than that, really.

Any advice, about the pros & cons of different browsers, would be most appreciated.

Thanks in advance,
Olga

Hello MsOlga,

I'm late in getting in on this thread but FF probably just needs a little "cleaning" depending on the version this can be fairly easy. Try

http://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/How%20to%20clear%20the%20cache

if you haven't already. (I'm sorry I didn't read all 5 pages.

Regarding browsers:
FF is great, but it can get a little CPU intensive. I've switched from FF to Chrome. Chrome takes up more space on the hard drive but I rarely run into issues. It's fast with very little learning curve. The only real downside is compatibility. There are sites and apps that don't support it yet.

IE and FF are the two biggest programs and will give you the broadest range of compatibility. With the latest build of IE (8) and the Beta version 9, I am actually liking IE as my "go to" browser.

Safari is an OK browser but it doesn't really bring anything special. Also, to me, it's a bit clunky for lack of a better description. Personally, I can't really see a reason for me to switch.

Opera is kind of nice and minimalistic, but also suffers from compatibility and layout takes a bit getting used to. It's more for the geeks who like a change, imo. There is nothing wrong with that, mind you.

In short, my advice would be to try to fix FF (even if you delete reinstall - after backing up your favorites!!!!) since that's what you're used to and it's a solid browser. Failing that, IE. Your system is more than enough for what you're doing and I would tend to lean away from putting too much money in upgrades.

Back in the day, we used to equate computers to libraries when we'd train new franchisees. In short it went like this:

Your hard drive is that actual shelves of books.
Your CPU is the librarian.
Your RAM is the desk you use to view the books.
Your Video card is the speed you can read.

How it works is, you request data (books) for whatever your doing (Internet, Word documents, games etc...)
The librarian (CPU) runs to the book shelf and gets you the book or books you want and places them on your desk (RAM)
The video then displays whichever book you want to view now.

The faster your librarian, the faster you get the information to desk.
The Bigger your desk, the more books you can have open at a time without making a mess or knocking something on the floor.
The better your Video Card, the faster you can read the books without getting a head ache.
The bigger the hard drive the more books you can have and/or add to your library.

Yes, this is an over simplification but it does give you the general concepts on the relationships on the hardware side. Sometimes that analogy is helpful and sometimes it isn't. Hopefully it helps you. If you've actually read this post in it's entirety you deserve at least a little relief from computer problems and maybe even the winning lotto ticket! (in other words, i'm sorry it's so long )

Good luck in fixing it. I hope you'll let us know which way you go and how it works!

Thanks so much for your thoughtful & helpful post, MrSandman. Much appreciated.

I will have a go at the FF clean-up first, then consider my next move. Which is looking rather like Chrome, at this point.

Anyone have any uncomplimentary things to say about Chrome? If so, it'd be good to know, before I take drastic action.

This is the first time here I've crossed your path, Mr Sandman. A pleasure to meet you!