can anyone help?

S

shaunm81

New Member
Hi,


I have a couple issues I will ask one at a time the first one is my computer has 446 mb of ram in it. I am on a Dell demension c521 using windows vista well I had a screen to pop up saying I am low on memory. Does anyone know how I can correct this problem? all help would be greatly appreciated thanks in advance..............Shaun
 
What you are seeing there is a system with 512mb actual memory with some of the ram used up by Windows(especially Vista's new features added into the mix). Often once you start filling a drive up the message appears since some drive space is reserved for the creation of the paging file used for virtual memory. Windows uses that to suppliment a lack of physical memory installed.

With only 512mb installed you would still need the paging file there. Otherwise you could simply disable that until freeing up some drive space. Even running XP most will find having at least 1gb of memory installed a great help. For Vista the Ultimate and Home Premium editions like memory! 2gb is the usual recommendation.
 
Hi,


Thank you for taking the time to answer my question I really appreciate it. So your saying that I should upgrade to a bigger memory? I have found that dell has a 1 gb for $69.99 for it is that to expensive? I am really new to pc's I have been on the net for a few years but always had lots of trouble with computers slowing down and stuff because (I was a little shy on asking for help) my computer says it has 448 mb in it I told you 446 I meant 448 mb.


I went online last night and it said something about a couple things I could do about it. first I went to, start clicked it then went into my control panel next I clicked on system and maintaince, clicked it. Next I went down to where it says system then clicked it. then I went over on the left hand panel and clicked advanced system settings. next popped up system properties under there I then clicked performance it says "virtual effects,processors scheduling,memory usage and virtual memory" I then clicked settings. next pops up, performance options, on that screen it has some clickable stuff that says, visual effects, advanced, Date execution prevention. I clicked on "advanced". next it says adjust for best performance of: programs or background services I checked "programs" then beneath there it says, Virtual Memory and it says that a paging file is an area on the hard disk that windows uses as if it were RAM then it says total paging file sizes for all drives: 667, I put the 667 myself, was this wrong to do? it says recomended for all drives is 667 so I punched that in I put it in both "initial size mb" and "maximum size mb"


So should I have done this or what should I punch in there? thanks for the help and I hope I did not confuse you as I am not to good with all of this stuff once again thank you for your time...........Shaun
 
The information seen on the Dell's own product information page, http://www.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/dimen_c521 shows that this model board can run upto four 1gb dimms.

For the 32bit versions of Windows a good pair of 1gb size dimms will work quite well for Vista and the new memory grabbing features seen included with it. With a good matched pair of 1gb dimms you can easily disable or simply alter the paging file settings to see the effects on actual performance then.

With a pair of 1gb dimms installed you also see the dual channel mode enabled on the board. What this does is take the nackground services and apps to the second channel as any primary app or game is loaded onto the primary memory channel. For 2gb of memory installed you can either totally disable the creation of the paging file often done on a gaming system or increase it to 4 or 4.5gb for the max while seeing 3.25gb as the minimum settings. By doing these things you see a more stable system along with seeing a gain in overall performance.
 
Hi,


So I am going to need to pick up two of the 1 gb's of RAM right?instead of just the 1 gb? Did it hurt adding that 667 stuff to it like I did or would it matter? and would it help out anything at all for right now? and like I have limewire on my computer with songs on it would it help out my memory or does that have a thing to do with it? sorry I am not to good with all of this. I dont currently have the cash to buy the gb as of right this moment so will my pc be okay for right now? I will be picking it up soon.
 
If you are going with a pair of DDR2 667 1gb dimms those would be used to replace the current 512mb dimm now in use. This doesn't effect any files on the drive but will start to see things load and run mucuh faster and better. That will be seen when actually going to buy the new memory. You kist have to make sure it's the right type. Meanwhile your current memory will still run as slow as always until replaced.
 
Thanks alot for the help I will pick those two 1 gbs up soon. so is this the same thing as the two 1gbs just one chip?

DDR21 is a memory architecture that enables systems to improve performance and reduce power consumption. The amount of RAM you have determines how many programs can be executed at one time and how much data can be readily available to a program. It also determines how quickly your applications perform and how many applications you can easily toggle between at one time. Simply put, the more RAM you have, the more programs you can run smoothly and simultaneously.


* Up to 4GB2 Dual-Channel DDR23 SDRAM (533MHz)


or is this a whole better chip outfit? and would be the best possible to add?
does stuff like limewire suck you out on memory and would it be good to get rid of it to free space thank you again..............Shaun
 
I once tried Limewire and removed that fast since it simply didn't mesh with the multimedia applications here. It ties up your IE connection when downloading more then anything. The upto 4gb of 533mhz memory refers to the total capacity there. For 32bit versions of XP under 3gb is the usual recommendation seen made by Asus and other board manufacturers.

As a general rule only those running CAD, working on graphics/software design, and other memory intensive apps actually find a need at this time for having more then 2gb installed. Simply going from 1gb to 2gb on a previous build here immediately saw an improvement in program stabilty and far less crashes seen in games.
 
Hello,

I will pick up the two one gb's. Thank you so so much for helping me out I appreciate it................Shaun
 
You may want to shop around for the best prices on memory and a good brand usually seen on the recommended list at Dell. The leap from 512mb to 2gb will certainly be noticed by you there when gaming and multitasking with XP. For a better running copy of Vista and all of the new whatevers thrown in 2gb is almost a mandate. :P
 
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