[wood_32]

Umm, my computer recently said my memory is too low....is there a way i can test my pc for how much RAM it has??

[Maurice]

There are a number of places to look.

Firstly, during the BIOS POST routine the BIOS checks how much memory fitted. Depending on the make of BIOs this quick test may or may not be displayed on the BIOS startup screen.

Second, interrupt the BIOS POST routine, by pressing the Del key or F2 or F10 depending on which BIOS you have. Once into the BIOS you should be able to see how much memory is installed.

In Windows go to Settings -> Control Panel -> System. The processor and memory details should be displayed here.

Anohter thing you can do is visit Memory upgrades, flash media, and usb storage at Crucial.com and run their system scan. It will install an ActiveX component and scan your system, identify the motherboard and tell you how much memory fitted, how many memory slots availabale and how many used and what possible combinations of memory you can get to have the maximum fitted.

Try those and get back to us.

[wood_32]

Ok. i found my RAM.. one more question.. what would be a sufficient amount of memory for an average PC? just wondering how my computer compares.

[Maurice]

This will depend on which version of Windows you have and what you use the PC for.

For windows XP the minimum practical is 512mb for basic use e.g. browsing Internet, e-mail, using MS Works or Office

If you want to manipulate graphics and/or edit video then at least 1Gbyte. Similarly for game play.

For Windows Vista you need to double those values. So, it really isn't viable to run Vista with less than 1Gbyte. To be honest, you really need 2Gbytes for Vista.


If you are running 98 or ME still you can often get away with as little as 256Mbytes but 512 is better.

[SICS]

With ram being so cheap today, we suggest 2GB at the min. If you have a newer computer that uses DDR2 you can get a GB of ram for around $30

[pashmina]

thanks maurice. I was actually wondering too how is it done. My memory needs some advise as well. It seems not working well with my pc. Thanks for the help.