R.A.M (1 Viewer)

[bjandlin]

Good evening,
I'm looking for a little advice please re. increasing RAM.
My quite old Toshiba has given very good service over the years but is a bit slow by current standards. I'm loath to spend money on replacement of what otherwise suits my needs.
I was wondering of the benefit of raising the Ram from 2 gb to 4gb.
Using Readyboost on a memory stick seems to speed it up, so would this be a worthwhile move ?
Thanks.
Barrie

 

[DBK]

It really depends on what applications you are using. For normal browsing I suspect you won't notice any difference.

Assuming you have Windows you can use the monitor program (Press Ctrl, Alt and Delete together) to see how much memory is being used and this should give you an idea what is happening. But it certainly won't slow things down adding memory and I suspect it won't be very expensive. I suggest use something like this to find the right bits Broken Link Removed
Dont' go above 4GB as your system can't use it, assuming you have 32 bit Windows.

The best way to speed your system up would probably be to completely re-install the operating system, which will clear out the crud they accumulate but only do this of course if you know what you are doing and have all the product keys for the programs including Windows itself.

 

[bjandlin]

Thanks so much for that DBK.
The lap top originally ran Vista that was updated to 7, I have the discs.
I was planning to put 10 on. No 2 son in OZ has done his & reports a good improvement.
Thanks again.
Barrie

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[DonA4000]

You could go onto: http://uk.crucial.com/gbr/en

Let them scan your system it will tell you what upgrades your laptop can have. I have used them before they guarantee their ram, or you can just take note and find the ram cheaper on eBay!

 

[Bill_OR]

Personally I don't think that 2Gb is enough to run any version of Windows since XP. I suspect that the increase from 2Gb to 4Gb will make quite a difference to the performance.
The crucial site that @DonA4000 suggests is excellent and their products are good.
However I wouldn't spend more than about £25 on upgrading the memory given that your laptop is 'quite old'. Perhaps better to put that cash towards a new machine.

 

[Chipster]

IMO. It's time for a new one. Things move on far too quickly in computers. You'll get a lot more for your money in comparison to when you bought the Tosh.

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[JJ]

RAM is like cold beers in the fridge and solar panels on your motorhome's roof...


You can never have too many.


JJ

 

[peterc10]

I agree that 2Mb of RAM is much too low for Windows 7. My wife's desktop does not have many programmes on it and had 4GB and it worked OK. Then suddenly it slowed down to a glacial pace. Turns out one of the 2GB banks of RAM had failed. Replaced it with a new 4GB module (making 6Gb in all) and it is now working at a reasonable speed.

I think you need to increase it to at least 4Gb, if not more. In fact as much as it can take would be best.

 

[DBK]

I think you need to increase it to at least 4Gb, if not more. In fact as much as it can take would be best.

32 Bit Windows cannot use more than about 4GB of Ram. It is because with 32 bits this is the limit on the number of unique memory addressees it can handle. To use more than 4GB you have to go to 64 bit Windows. If you want a brain melting read have a look at this: https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-gb/li...778(v=vs.85).aspx?f=255&MSPPError=-2147217396

But I agree with the advice going to 4 GB of RAM would be sensible.

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[Gellyneck]

A couple of things you'll need to consider first before purchase of additional RAM.

Is there a spare slot for the additional? Some laptops come with two slots however each is fitted with a 1Gb stick. Means you need to remove some \ all of the original. You can easily check this, along with a host of other hardware and software info, with (both free for personal use versions) http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html or Broken Link Removed

Also, the total memory may be limited by the system BIOS \ hardware. You should check on Toshiba website for you particular model.

 

[MattR]

Thanks so much for that DBK.
The lap top originally ran Vista that was updated to 7, I have the discs.
I was planning to put 10 on. No 2 son in OZ has done his & reports a good improvement.
Thanks again.
Barrie

I may be wrong but several friends regretted moving to Windows 10 - it is quite different to previous versions of Windows and didn't appear to have any benefits. Also, is your printer new enough to to windows 10 drivers?

 

[Jaws]

Good evening,
I'm looking for a little advice please re. increasing RAM.
My quite old Toshiba has given very good service over the years but is a bit slow by current standards. I'm loath to spend money on replacement of what otherwise suits my needs.
I was wondering of the benefit of raising the Ram from 2 gb to 4gb.
Using Readyboost on a memory stick seems to speed it up, so would this be a worthwhile move ?
Thanks.
Barrie

As you., like me, have an oldish Tosh, be VERY careful about drivers.
Windows 10 does not support my video chip set, sound chip set or even on board modem and wifi connection

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[Soozywoozy]

if capacity is a problem you could release some by pulling files (eg documents/photos/media etc) onto an external hard drive - this may be handy to do so anyway, if you end up buying a new laptop and ensures nothing is lost. ITB hard drives are fairly reasonable in price now.

 

[Lenny HB]

Recently increased the memory from 2 gig to 4 gig in one of my desktops running Vista, difference was amazing well worth doing especially as I got the ram from a friends PC I scrapped.

 

[bjandlin]

Thanks everyone for your replies, all very interesting.
The question now is, I've looked on fleebay for 4gb ram & as you would expect there's loads to choose from @ around £10/ £15.
The spec in my Tosh is DDR2. 6400 @400mhz.
The listings for 4gb all seem to be 800mhz, is that what I should go for ?
Thanks again.
Barrie.

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[DBK]

Thanks everyone for your replies, all very interesting.
The question now is, I've looked on fleebay for 4gb ram & as you would expect there's loads to choose from @ around £10/ £15.
The spec in my Tosh is DDR2. 6400 @400mhz.
The listings for 4gb all seem to be 800mhz, is that what I should go for ?
Thanks again.
Barrie.

I think that's fine, DDR means double data rate, 2 * 400 = 800

 

[greygit]

Thanks everyone for your replies, all very interesting.
The question now is, I've looked on fleebay for 4gb ram & as you would expect there's loads to choose from @ around £10/ £15.
The spec in my Tosh is DDR2. 6400 @400mhz.
The listings for 4gb all seem to be 800mhz, is that what I should go for ?
Thanks again.
Barrie.

If you go to one of the main memory suppliers you can download a scanner that will scan your laptop and tell you the type and size of the memory you need to fit.

It's a good time to buy memory at the moment as its much cheaper than usual.

 

[bjandlin]

Thanks, you're about early !
Mind you it's past 9. over here.
Would I be right in thinking that installation would go along the lines of, shut down, remove battery, replace memory, refit battery & reboot. Or would I have to configure something.
Thanks.
Barrie.

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[bjandlin]

As an aside, is there a physical difference between 32 & 64 bit machines or is it in the software version ?
B

 

[Scout]

this poped into my mail box today, dont know if its any good, but the price seems right
its at morgan computers 0800 008 7451 or www.morgancomputers.co.uk

 

[DBK]

Thanks, you're about early !
Mind you it's past 9. over here.
Would I be right in thinking that installation would go along the lines of, shut down, remove battery, replace memory, refit battery & reboot. Or would I have to configure something.
Thanks.
Barrie.

It should just find the memory and use it. After installation you can go into Device Manager and see what it says - it should show the new RAM.

Just make sure you earth yourself before touching the memory or the laptop and of course don't touch the memory terminals at all. Static will kill it. But I echo the comment above about checking with some sort of on-line tool to get the right sort of memory. For example there is registered and unregistered - you probably want unregistered but worth checking. Both are the same size with the same number of terminals but registered won't work if it needs the other. Been there, done that!

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[Lenny HB]

this poped into my mail box today, dont know if its any good, but the price seems right
its at morgan computers 0800 008 7451 or www.morgancomputers.co.uk

Morgan mainly sell refurbished units when you look into it you will probably find not as good a deal as it looks.