Memory Problems

[Gonzogoose]

I have Windows XP with a 28gig hard drive (the old one burned out) and only abou 7 or 8 gigs free space. I do a lot of work with Photoshop and Illustrator. Well now neither of those programs (or some other programs) will open saying I don't have enough memory. Would I be better off purchasing more memory or just getting a new hard drive since I use so much space? And if a new one is the answer, what would be better, 80gig or 160gig? Thanks!

Brant W. Fowler

http://www.brantfowler.com/blog.blog.html

 

[paparazi]

Gonzogoose
I think you may be getting a little confused between available hard drive space (the place where programes, utilities and files are permanently stored) and Ram
(random access memory)the place the PC temporarily uses as it operates.

It sounds to me like the programes are saying they need more ram (memory)
Perhaps you could supply more information on what exactly your PC says when it reports this fault and also a full spec of the PC in question, operating system and hardware.

Martin

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Participate and help others.

 

[Gonzogoose]

As I stated in the above post, it's Windows XP and a 28gig hard drive. That's the op system and hardware. It came with an 80gig hd, but it had problems, so I ditched it and used one onhand.

I'm well aware of the difference between RAM and Disk Space, so I'm sorry if I was unclear. My Virtual Memory is at the gills, so I am purchasing either 128 or 256 extra Ram. Which should I go with? (the computer came loaded with 256, and that's all used now).

And is there a way to free up some of the memory I have now? It worked fine for the longest time, and I have deleted quite a bit off the system.

But, since I use Illustrator, Photoshop and web design programs daily I'm wondering if I also need a new hard drive? I have about 7 or 8 gigs free space, though I am about to move about 10gigs to disks freeing up that much more. Will that be sufficient or should I purchase another hard drive?

And if so, should I go with an 80gig or a 160gig? Thanks!

Brant W. Fowler

http://www.brantfowler.com/blog.blog.html

 

[wolluf]

I'd definitely upgrade both drive and RAM (assuming processor fast enough, otherwise new machine, upgrade cpu too?)

If you're using graphics intensive apps, the more RAM the better - if you can afford it an extra 1GB wouldn't go amiss.

The size of the hard drive just depends on how much data you need to store on an ongoing basis. You've only got c. 20GB in use currently. But price differential from 80 to 160 (or 250) GB isn't too steep nowadays (if you go for one > 128GB, make sure you're bios can cope with it - may need a bios upgrade).

 

[BadFrog]

Agree with wolluf with one other thing to add. Virtual memory is actually hard drive space allocated and reserved to act as memory. That being said, if your hard drive is getting full then upgrading your RAM won't help increase you virtual memory. Still with me? Windows allocates a certain amount of hard drive space for virtual memory based on how much physical memory (RAM) is loaded in the system. 160GB hdd followed by as much memory your system can handle should do you wonders.

"Once you can accept the universe as matter expanding into nothing that is something, wearing stripes with plaid comes easy"
Albert Einstein

 

[Gonzogoose]

Thanks for the suggestions guys. Problem is I'm on a very low budget. I can't really afford to buy a new hard drive right now and am trying to make it work without going that extra step at least for another month if I can. If that means moving all my files to disk to free up space then I will,

Really 256mb ram is all I can afford right now unfortunately. So I'm hoping it'll get me through a month or so until I can do something more.

Brant W. Fowler

http://www.brantfowler.com/blog.blog.html

 

[BadFrog]

If your going to try and get along then yes moving as much data off the hard drive as possible will help. Once you get the data off, running a defrag on the drive would be a good idea.

"Once you can accept the universe as matter expanding into nothing that is something, wearing stripes with plaid comes easy"
Albert Einstein