In message , KenK
writes:
I was wondering if I could add RAM without messing with the MB. Google
tells me that evidently you can use an external HD or thumb drive as RAM.
Is this effective? Anyone tried it? Anything better and easy to add?

TIA


As R. has said, your computer will already be using the _internal_ HD as
RAM, _if_ you ever use more RAM than you have (task manager will tell
you); this will already slow things down a _lot_. Any _external_ HD will
be even slower because of the interface, unless you have external SATA,
in which case it won't be any _faster_ than the internal drive.

Thumb drives as external RAM are not a good idea - their life is short
(I've even read horror-stories of it being in hours). And the interface
slows them somewhat too.

Paul's excellent as always article explores the subject completely, but
all the solutions involve plugging things into the MB.

_If_ you are exceeding the memory you have fitted, and that's less than
about 3.5 GiB (for XP32), then fitting more - assuming your MB can
_take_ more than it's already got (you may or may not have to remove
some of what's there) is about the simplest upgrade there is: it's not
really "messing with" the MB. And many computer stores will even do it
for you, usually for a charge (smaller ones might not charge; don't
insult by asking for something back for any RAM they have to remove,
though - those are only worth pennies if that).

If you have 256 or 512M, definitely add more; if you have 1G and use the
web (especially with Firefox if more than a very few tabs), add more. If
you have 2G, check with Task Manager whether you're getting close to
using it all, and if you are, add more (probably involving replacing) if
your mobo can take it (many netbooks can't take over a 2G module, and
possibly some laptops from the XP era ditto - _possibly_ even some
desktop mobos, though I haven't seen one with a 2G limit, limits are
usually smaller or larger).

It's really trivial to do (the only real difficulty is making sure you
get compatible RAM, and your store - or, probably, those here - will
help you with that), and - _if_ you're using all of what you've got
anyway, as shown by Task Manager - will make a huge difference to the
usability of the machine.

(To check usage: right-click on empty part of taskbar and choose Task
Manager; select Performance tab; look at "PF Usage".)
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

Everything will be all right in the end. And if everything isn't all right,
then it isn't the end. - The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2011)