Could it be due to the RAM?

Yes, you do certainly need a RAM upgrade! But it may not be worth doing. The days when desktop computers came with 128 MB are long long ago, like 10 years ago, and the type of RAM that your computer needs may not be available any more. If your computer is really old, it is likely that the CPU is very slow and the hard drive is very small by todays standards.

Or is it a laptop? Even more reason to get a new one. Laptop RAM is more expensive.

The computer is P4 and fairly modern. LG model. When I bought it, I didn't understand the technical mumbo jumbo and bit whatever seemed good. Lots of people told me I was fooled by the company since no one sells 128 MB any more.

Anyway, I have asked my computer guy once before about upgrading, and he said it can be done.

Thanks, Contrex. I just wanted to know if a RAM upgrade would improve my situation.

I understand now. I asked if it was a laptop because there was a practice not so long ago to sell them with a very low amount of RAM to keep the price down. This was OK if the user only wanted to do routine tasks one at a time. Also XP needs more RAM to work effectively. (It'll "work" with 64 MB but you won't be able to get much done!) But if you start doing more than one thing, such as surf the net while working on a spreadsheet, then 128 MB is a very low figure. Upgrading to 512 or 1024 MB will be a worthwhile thing to do in your situation.

I have 512 spider gal it seems to be very adequate for XP and all the stuff I do.

Yeah, and since I'm a multi-tasker, I find myself running six to eight windows at a time. I was told my computer can't be upgraded beyond 512. That's an upper limit, so I'll have to be content with that for now.

Spidergal- Are you sure that your computer will only take 512 RAM? That seems awfully low. My computer came with 512, and I upgraded it to 1.5G. Made a big difference. Theoretically, my computer could go to 2, but you need to buy the memory in pairs. Saying that, if I wanted to go to 2, I would have to remove 2 of the present chips that I have, and replace them with larger chips. I am not about to do that.

Here is a very good tool that I have used in the past:

http://www.crucial.com/

It will scan your computer, and tell you what you can use, and tell you the part number of the memory that you need. You don't necessarily have to buy from Crucial, although it IS a good company.

Addendum: Hmmm.................You learn something new every day. My computer will take 4G, not 2G as I thought. Problem is, I would have to throw out all the memory, and put in 1G chips in each of four slots. Nevermind!


If you are able to add to the memory at a reasonable cost, and plan on keeping your computer for awhile, it would pay for you do do it. I have read in a number of places that simply adding memory is the most inexpensive way to increase the power of your computer.

OK, I scanned my computer on the crucial site and got these results. I'll check with the computer guy again. Since I'll be getting a laptop in a few months, I don't really want more than 512.

Maximum Memory Capacity: 2048 MB
Currently Installed Memory: 128 MB
Available Memory Slots: 1
Number of Banks: 2
Dual Channel Support: N.A.
CPU Manufacturer: GenuineIntel
CPU Family: Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 2.40GHz Model 4, Stepping 1
CPU Speed: 2411 MHz

Some older laptops (and 3-4 years could mean "older"!) had physical memory limits of 512 MB. Going back further, it was 256 or less. The motherboard just won't work with more RAM. Either the extra RAM won't be recognised, or the computer may not even boot.

I meant I don't want more than 512 on my present comp.

Could you decipher the crucial site info for me, Contrex?

Hehe!

Crucial is pretty good in finding memory on my system: