Recent Comments
Comment by Clay on Hard Drive Partitions: Old-School or Useful Tool? (May 22, 2026 05:48 AM)
The man’s not wrong folks, even my teacher back in 2004 said the same thing. ...
Comment by Wolf on Hard Drive Partitions: Old-School or Useful Tool? (May 21, 2026 11:40 PM)
This is an interesting article, and I agree with much of what is mentioned. I have installed 2 different types of Linux on a 2nd hard drive, which I i...
Comment by Leo on Hard Drive Partitions: Old-School or Useful Tool? (May 21, 2026 10:26 PM)
I agree with most of Bob's points. I understand his one-partition strategy, but what if an aggressive Windows update (or a mistaken user choice) wipes...
Comment by Ernest N. Wilcox Jr. (Ernie) on Hard Drive Partitions: Old-School or Useful Tool? (May 21, 2026 07:58 PM)
I've been dealing with all the partition size limits as well as all the other limitations of the Microsoft operating systems going back to the days of...
Comment by Mike PRemo on Hard Drive Partitions: Old-School or Useful Tool? (May 21, 2026 07:02 PM)
I'm total old school on this. Since leaving the employment which required me to maintain a database. I have not kept up with Windows. I can manage my ...
Comment by Cork on Hard Drive Partitions: Old-School or Useful Tool? (May 21, 2026 06:52 PM)
Agree that partitions for Windows (or MacOS) are of limited to no value. I have found them of great use in Linux, particularly on my test machine....
Comment by Charley on Hard Drive Partitions: Old-School or Useful Tool? (May 21, 2026 06:03 PM)
I find that having the OS on C: and my users on D: helps me when I have a corrupted OS, from a bad update or something else requiring me to reinstall ...
Comment by hifi5000 on Hard Drive Partitions: Old-School or Useful Tool? (May 21, 2026 05:38 PM)
I use a separate hard drive as a backup for some of my personal files and documents. I use a Linux OS and pretty much leave it as is when I install it...
Comment by Keith on Hard Drive Partitions: Old-School or Useful Tool? (May 21, 2026 05:30 PM)
Thanks for being so realistic with your lack of interest in changing things around on Windows, because they once made sense (sort of') but much time f...
Comment by howard on How Many of These Power Search Tricks Do You Know? (May 15, 2026 11:23 PM)
just a reminder, for all the AI lovers, bob asked AI a question, that he knew the answer to, got an incorrect reply, so asked AI if it lied, AI said y...
Memory Articles
[SILVER BULLET?] Will More Memory Speed Up Your Computer?
Does your computer often seem slow or sluggish? The problem may be too little RAM memory. But “add more RAM” is not the solution to every case of poor performance, and buying more RAM memory than you need or can use is just a waste of money. Read on to learn the ins and outs of adding RAM memory and how much memory is the “sweet spot” for Windows and Apple computers. I've also got a funny story about ROM memory, read on!
...Will a Memory Optimizer Speed Up Your Computer?
An AskBob reader says “My computer is getting bogged down lately, especially when I have more than one program open. And the other day I got a 'low memory' warning. I've been looking into memory optimizers for Windows, but there are widely varying views as to how effective they really are. What is your opinion?” Read on for my take on memory boosters and memory optimizers, and why a shortage of available RAM memory might be a GOOD thing...
...Adding Memory: A Silver Bullet for Your Computer?
Does your computer seem slow or sluggish? The problem may be too little RAM memory. But “add more RAM” is not the solution to every case of poor performance, and buying more RAM memory than you need or can use is just a waste of money. Read on to learn the ins and outs of adding RAM memory and how much memory is the “sweet spot” for Windows and Apple computers...
...Do Memory Optimizers Speed Up Your PC?
An AskBob reader says “My computer is getting bogged down lately, especially when I have more than one program open. And the other day I got a 'low memory' warning. I've been looking into memory optimizers for Windows, but there are widely varying views as to how effective they really are. What is your opinion?” Read on for my take on memory boosters and optimizers, and why a shortage of available RAM memory might be a GOOD thing...
...Will a Memory Optimizer Speed Up Your PC?
An AskBob reader says “My system seems to be getting bogged down lately, especially when I have more than one program open. And the other day I got a 'low virtual memory' warning. I've been looking into memory optimizers for Windows, but there are widely varying views as to how effective they really are. What is your opinion?” Read on for my take on memory boosters and optimizers, and why a shortage of available RAM memory might be a GOOD thing...
...[SILVER BULLET] Add Memory to Speed Up Your Computer?
Is your laptop or desktop computer slow or sluggish? The problem may be too little RAM memory. But “add more RAM” is not the solution to every case of poor performance, and buying more RAM than you need or can use is just a waste of money. Read on to learn the ins and outs of RAM memory and how much memory is the “sweet spot” for Windows and Apple computers...
...Low Memory, Sluggish Computer (and brain)?
Yesterday I forgot where I left my phone and car keys. Perhaps if my brain had more free memory available, I would have remembered that I set them down on a messy tool bench, while searching for 1-inch screws to fix the front porch door, and umm, what was that other thing I had to do? Like your brain, a computer works better when there's plenty of memory available to process information and multi-task. So let’s see how we can address a low-memory situation before it becomes a real problem…
...Will Adding Memory Speed Up Your Computer?
If your laptop or desktop computer is slow or sluggish, the problem may be too little RAM (Random Access Memory). But “add more RAM” is not the solution to every case of poor performance, and buying more RAM than you need or can use is just a waste of money. Read on to learn the ins and outs of RAM memory and how much RAM memory is the “sweet spot” is for most computers...
...Is Low Memory Bogging Down Your Computer?
Yesterday I forgot where I left my car keys. Perhaps if my brain had more free memory available, I would have remembered that I set them down on the tool bench in the basement. Like your brain, a computer works better when there's plenty of memory available to execute tasks and process information. So let’s see how we can address a low-memory situation before it becomes a real problem...
...Does Your Computer Need More Memory?
If your laptop or desktop computer seems sluggish, the problem may be too little RAM (Random Access Memory). But “add more RAM” is not the solution to every case of poor performance, and buying more RAM than you need or can use is just a waste of money. Read on to learn the ins and outs of RAM memory and how much RAM is the “sweet spot” is for most computers...
...Will More Memory Speed Up Your Computer?
If your desktop or laptop seems sluggish, the problem may be too little RAM (Random Access Memory). But “add more RAM” is not the solution to every case of poor performance, and buying more RAM than you need or can use is just a waste of money. Read on to learn the ins and outs of RAM and how much RAM is the “sweet spot” is for most computers...
...[SOLVED] The Out of Memory Error
A reader asks: 'My computer is giving Out of Memory and Low Memory errors and I can't continue without restarting. Do I need to delete some files, get a new hard drive or is it something else?' Here's the solution to this common problem...
...Do You Need More Memory?
If your desktop PC seems sluggish, the problem may be too little RAM (Random Access Memory). But “add more RAM” is not the solution to every case of poor performance, and buying more RAM than you need or can use is just a waste of money. Read on to learn the ins and outs of RAM and how much RAM is the “sweet spot” is for most computers...
...HOWTO: Upgrade Memory to Boost Performance
Ask any geek how to speed up your computer and you will probably get the question, 'How much RAM do you have?' Adding more RAM memory is supposedly the panacea for sluggish performance, slow screen refreshes, thrashing hard drives, and most other symptoms of a struggling, overloaded computer. Here's what you need to know...
...Upgrade Your Memory for Better Performance
I'm often asked about how to add or upgrade a computer's RAM memory. If your computer doesn't have adequate RAM, it may be really slow when you open more than one program. If you want to upgrade your memory but you're not sure what kind to buy or where to get it, here's some practical help...
...Solving the Out of Memory Error
A reader asks: 'My computer is giving an Out of Memory error and I can't continue. Do I need to delete some files, get a new hard drive or is it something else?' Here's the solution to this common problem...
...How to Upgrade Your Memory
Adding more memory to your computer is usually the most cost-effective way to get a significant performance boost. But choosing the right RAM for your computer, and finding the right amount at the lowest price, is often a mysterious challenge. A memory configurator can help you get it right. Here's how...
...How to Fix 'Low Virtual Memory' Errors
Recently I installed a game on a friend's computer and when we tried playing it, we got a message saying 'Your system is low on virtual memory.' Does that mean I need to buy more memory, or could it be a software error? Can you please help us fix this problem?
...Do I Need a Memory Optimizer?
My system seems to be getting bogged down lately, especially when I have more than one program open. And the other day I got a 'low virtual memory' warning. I've been looking into memory optimizers for Windows, but there are widely varying views as to how effective they really are. What is your opinion?
...What Kind Of Memory Do I Need?
My computer only has 1GB of RAM, and is really slow when I open more than one program. I want to upgrade my RAM to 4GB, but I'm not sure what kind to buy or where to get it. Can you help?
...How Much Memory Do I Need?
Whether you are buying a new computer or upgrading an existing one, memory or RAM is an important consideration. Buy too little memory and your entire system will be slowed down, overworked, and some programs may not run at all. Buy too much memory and you're wasting money. To determine how much memory you need, let's look at the hardware and software you have (or plan to buy) and how you intend to use it...
...Memory Upgrade
Adding more memory to your computer is usually the most cost-effective way to get a significant performance boost. But choosing the right RAM for your computer, and finding the right amount at the lowest price, is often a mysterious challenge. A memory configurator can help you get it right. Here's how...
...Virtual Memory
What's the difference between virtual memory and real memory? And how can I add more virtual memory to my computer?
...Vista ReadyBoost
What exactly does ReadyBoost do? Is it the same as adding RAM, or is it more like a disk cache? I've read varying reports as to whether or not it really boosts performance on Vista or Windows 7. What do you know about ReadyBoost?
...Adding Memory
If your computer seems to stagger under the burden of your commands, responding slowly, freezing or timing you out; if working at your system feels like bicycling uphill, consider adding extra memory. Adding memory to your computer isn't so hard -- here's a step-by-step guide to figuring out if you need more RAM, learning what kind to buy and installing it yourself...
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