Here's where I show my computer dunce-ity

[next_to_normal]

I've just about had it with my computer. It's been running painfully slowly pretty much since I got it (which is almost two years ago), and doing all kinds of freezing/crashing things that make me want to just toss it out the window and buy a new one.

What pushed me over the edge was this weekend, when my parents were visiting, and I waited half an hour for the computer to wake up from sleep mode, and finally just manually restarted the damn thing (yay for Word's AutoRecovery). This should not be happening. The entire point of sleep mode is so that you can open the laptop and IT WORKS RIGHT AWAY so you don't have to wait for it to boot up every time. It's always, always slow waking up from sleep mode, but not usually that bad. On a normal day, though, even if the screen comes to life, it'll be a good ten to fifteen minutes before Firefox is usable without freezing, and Trillian always takes at least five minutes to open.

My dad was all, "Well, have you run defrag whatevers lately?" and started fiddling around with it. I don't actually know how I did this, since I barely know what that means, but apparently I have my computer set up to automatically do the defragmentation thing weekly, and it's still running like an eighty-year-old man with a gunshot wound to the leg.

I've decided the problem is Vista and RAM. I've been told that you need at least 2 GB of RAM for Vista to run properly, and my computer only has 1 GB. So... here are my questions for anyone more computer literate than I am. How much RAM should I get? Is the one additional GB going to be enough, or should I go for more? I don't do a whole lot with my computer - generally, Firefox, Trillian, and Word are pretty much it. I do store a lot on there - I have a crapload of music and some videos saved, but that's the hard drive (which is 120 GB) and shouldn't affect RAM, right? Two separate things?

Secondly, where should I get RAM? I can buy it off the Dell website (which is where I got the computer), but maybe it's cheaper to get it somewhere else (I found other websites that sell it, but I don't know if they're reliable). Is this idiot-proof, or am I better off going to a Best Buy or whatever where maybe they could install it for me?

Comments

[gabrielleabelle.livejournal.com]

First see how much RAM you can upgrade to. There's a max amount of slots on your computer. I'd recommend upgrading to the max, if possible. My comp runs Vista w/ 3 GB of RAM, and I don't have much of any problems with it.

Buying through Dell is gonna be more expensive. I'd recommend shopping around. The main thing you need to keep in mind is that you're looking specifically for laptop RAM. It's different from standard desktop RAM. Also, you need to find out what type (DDR, DDR2, etc) it takes. Odds are, for the age it is, you need DDR2, but double-check on that.

Also, RAM is additive. See how many slots you have (if you have a laptop, you likely have two). And see what RAM sticks you already have. If you have two 512 MB RAM sticks, you'll need to buy 2 1 GB sticks to upgrade to 2 GB (which makes things more expensive, but that's done on purpose).

[urania-calliope.livejournal.com]

I am a Mac user but I imagine, just as on Mac, you will save a TON of money if you install the RAM yourself. I installed extra RAM on my new Mac and saved something in the neighborhood of $100. There are a lot of helpful (sometimes with pictures!) walk-throughs online to aid with this. Honestly, if I could do it (I am pretty basic in my knowledge of computers) you can. :)

[alwaysjbj.livejournal.com]

As far as I'm aware playing with the insides of a laptop is not for the faint of heart...better to take it to a relaible computer repair shop and get them to do it for you.

Installing new bits in a PC is easy, but laptops are a whole different thing. And even with more RAM a laptop will always run slower (considerably so) than the equivilent specs in a PC.

And it might not be the RAM, it could be that you have an older (slower) processor... again, ask at the computer shop (or shops, if you have the time...it doesn't hurt to get at least a couple of different quotes), they can advise you.

It might be simpler in the long run to backup the files you want to keep and get your hands on a copy of XP

[brunettepet.livejournal.com]

I upgraded the memory in my iMac. I just bought the memory at Frye's rather than the Apple store. It was a little nerve wracking because I'd never removed the casing on the computer before (first generation iMac), but the instructions were easy to follow even for this complete technophobe.

not so random commenter

[rowanda380.livejournal.com]

I recently got a new computer because my old one was doing very similar things...like taking forever to wake up from sleep mode...I tried everything to fix it and nothing helped.

[caromiofic.livejournal.com]

RAM is there to buffer talk between the CPU and hard drive, so topping out your motherboard when you have Vista is a good idea. Also, you can defrag every day, it doesn't hurt anything. Do it every time you save something in a program. You'll also want to clear the temporary files through Disc Cleanup (not sure if it has the same name in Vista). They bog a system down big time. I clear those every time I go online. If installing the RAM doesn't really help, I'd suggest talking to a tech about possible problems that might be hiding in there.