Increase RAM and read crappie forum faster

[shipahoy41]

These tips will help you speed up your computer so you can read the crappie dot com forum faster. I got these tips from my computer technician at Best Buy. He is on the GEEK SQUAD and shared these steps you can do to increase the speed of a slow computer. It is all based upon RAM which is Random Access Memory.
1) Dump all unnecessary files or photos to a back-up disc. This immediately saves space on the hard drive.
2) You can always go to some place like circuite city or Best Buy and purchase additional RAM. This is a computer chip that just slides into the mother board. I personally just had them add 512 additionam RAM to the motherboard on my tower. The tower has about 850 RAM to support website functions. Yes, it is fast now.

These are things you can do for FREE to increase virtual RAM and the steps on how to do it.

INCREASE VIRTUAL RAM - You only have to do this one time
1) Click on your Control Panel
2) Double click on System Properties
3) Click on Advanced
4) Double click on Performance
5) Click on Settings and click on Adjust for best performance
6) Click on Advanced and click on Change Virtual memoryEnter initial size 800MBMaximum size 900 MB
7) Click Set
8) Click OK

DEFRAG YOUR SYSTEM
This is done once every two or three years. What it does is to move those files you use the most to the front of your hard drive so they are accessed quicker by the RAM. FIles you do not use as often are stored in the rear of the hard drive..thus increasing access speed. You will need to have the computer on and running for about three hours when you do this. Suggestion: 8:36 pm until midnight when no one is using it.
1) Click on start menu
2) Click on all programs
3) Click on Accessories
4) Click on system tools
5) Click on disk defragment
6) Click defragment and let the program work for about 3-4 hours.


Here is a nice tip for if you have ever lost any data due to power failures or whatever and you need to restore a system to an earlier date when things were operating just fine.

SYSTEM RESTORE
1) Click start menu
2) Click Programs
3) Click Accessories
4) Click System tools
5) Click Restore and choose a date before the power failure when all your programs were acting correctly.

Hope this helps you out sometime. I'd print it out and keep it in a troubleshooting folder.

[CrappieHound]

I didn't know about the virtual ram...may give it a whirl.

The Hound

[Crappie Reaper]

I changed the settings as stated, then switched right back to "let Windows Choose". Seems it really made a mess of the viewing picture. It took RAM away from the quality of the picture and made it look as if I was running a really bad graphics card. Might work for some systems, but for me, it was like the blurry picture one gets from a local TV station while viewing on an HD set with them sending an analog signal, but worse. I wouldn't suggest messing with anything your unfamiliar with, or you might be needing to make a call to the "Geek" squad to repair what ya went in and messed up.

[Cane Pole]

I changed the settings as stated, then switched right back to "let Windows Choose". Seems it really made a mess of the viewing picture. It took RAM away from the quality of the picture and made it look as if I was running a really bad graphics card. Might work for some systems, but for me, it was like the blurry picture one gets from a local TV station while viewing on an HD set with them sending an analog signal, but worse. I wouldn't suggest messing with anything your unfamiliar with, or you might be needing to make a call to the "Geek" squad to repair what ya went in and messed up.

It captured part of your virtual ram memory. You got integrated video (that which is built into the mother board) .?

[superdave1984]

Good tips there. Also if you choose "Windows Classic" as your theme, you free up about 50MB of RAM. Also, check to see what programs are starting when windows starts. All you really need is your anti-virus. Click start, run and in the box type msconfig. Click the startup tab and see what junk wants to start when windows does. You can safely uncheck everything except your A/V. Close, reboot and you will notice it starts MUCH faster. I suggest to my users that they defrag once a month. Deleting and moving files causes fragmentation so if you do this much, defrag more often. Also if you use Norton/Symantec or McAfee you are wasting a lot of resources. Nuke them and go with Avast or AVG. Both have free versions and work better than Norton. I use Avast because it is a smaller application than AVG. Download Ccleaner CCleaner - Home and run it now and then too. It cleans up temp files and crap you don't need. They also have a very good defrag program that is also free.

[boatstall]

Buy a Mac.

[Cane Pole]

Good tips there. Also if you choose "Windows Classic" as your theme, you free up about 50MB of RAM. Also, check to see what programs are starting when windows starts. All you really need is your anti-virus. Click start, run and in the box type msconfig. Click the startup tab and see what junk wants to start when windows does. You can safely uncheck everything except your A/V. Close, reboot and you will notice it starts MUCH faster. I suggest to my users that they defrag once a month. Deleting and moving files causes fragmentation so if you do this much, defrag more often. Also if you use Norton/Symantec or McAfee you are wasting a lot of resources. Nuke them and go with Avast or AVG. Both have free versions and work better than Norton. I use Avast because it is a smaller application than AVG. Download Ccleaner CCleaner - Home and run it now and then too. It cleans up temp files and crap you don't need. They also have a very good defrag program that is also free.

I ain't got no clients, but I sure agree. I also run ccleaner after any online purchase....

[Crappie Reaper]

It captured part of your virtual ram memory. You got integrated video (that which is built into the mother board) .?

Yes Tom, I've been meaning to PU a decent PCI express card but have not been in any hurry to do so. So many other things to do. I have shopped several, but haven't taken the leap. I would rather put that cash towards a real Humminbird later on. I have an Acer. First storebought system I've had in years. But scored this on Ebay for a song and it was new. I couldn't order the parts for building this unit for under $800 or more. I have three other units I've built from shopping online parts.
Now if I was going to do any first person gaming, I would have to have the latest and greatest graphics card and be tweaking this goose to get the best FPS I could garner.

I choose to use the classic view over the Vista stuff. Only because I didn't feel like retraining myself to mess with it.

[Cane Pole]

Buy a Mac.

Too much mustard. Heartburn boxes.

[Cane Pole]

Yes Tom, I've been meaning to PU a decent PCI express card but have not been in any hurry to do so. So many other things to do. I have shopped several, but haven't taken the leap. I would rather put that cash towards a real Humminbird later on. I have an Acer. First storebought system I've had in years. But scored this on Ebay for a song and it was new. I couldn't order the parts for building this unit for under $800 or more. I have three other units I've built from shopping online parts.
Now if I was going to do any first person gaming, I would have to have the latest and greatest graphics card and be tweaking this goose to get the best FPS I could garner.

I choose to use the classic view over the Vista stuff. Only because I didn't feel like retraining myself to mess with it.

The onboard stuff is a ram robber. XP chooses to resize virtual ram based on usage and want exceed that allowcated for the size hard drive.