Memory: Understanding Ram And Storage Space.
"My computer says it is out of memory, but I have 320 Gigabytes. How can
that be?" People often get confused about the difference between ram and
storage space, and ask questions like this one. Both are measured in
Megabytes and Gigabytes, and you may have even 
heard people calling both
"memory", so confusion is understandable. Ram stands for
Random Access Memory. It is what a computer uses to manipulate data
while it is running, and comes on printed circuit boards like the one
pictured to the left. I have seen some computers running Windows XP that
had only 256
or even worse, only 128 Megabytes of ram. That might have been enough
for Windows 98 but it is not enough for Windows XP, especially if some
of it is shared with video. Initially, a computer running Windows XP
needed 512 Megabytes to run well. Since the release of Service Pack 3, I have
recommended that computers running XP have 1 Gigabyte(1024 Megabytes). A machine
running Windows Vista or Windows 7 should have at least 2 Gigabytes. If your
computer is running too slowly, or complaining that it is "low
on resources" or "out of memory", you probably need more
ram, not more storage space. The good news is that it does not cost a
lot.
The "memory" on
your hard drive, more properly called storage space, is what the
people asking that question have 320GB or maybe more of. Your hard drive is a
part inside your computer that stores your copy of Windows, letters you have written, pictures downloaded from a digital
camera and other things for the long term. Here is a picture of one to
the right. Sometimes, people who collect a lot of MP3 music files and
digital photos, or especially video have a hard drive that is full. The solution to this problem is more storage
space. You get that by upgrading to a bigger hard drive. I can install
one for you, and move your data to it. This costs less than buying
a new computer, and may be all you need.
If someone told you that computers are so cheap these days that you should just throw yours away and buy a new one, Don't listen to them. The computer you have now may do fine with a few modest upgrades such as the ones described here. If you really do need a new computer I will let you know, but I will not push one on you. Service is my focus, not sales.
©2012 Matthew G. Brown
