How to make your computer run faster part 1, it's all about the memory!

Today I am starting a new series on how to make your computer run faster.  These tips will work with any computer, old or new.  Most fixes I will be describing will be 100% free to you which is more than most computer "optimization" services can offer.

Recently, I was visiting a friend who was having a horrible time with his laptop.  It was feeling sluggish and would take for ever to boot.  Working with many friends with similar issues, I'm learning that this is a common problem.

The first thing I did (once I waited 5 minutes on the computer to boot) was open up Windows Task Manager.  You can do this several ways.  On Windows XP, you would hit CTL + ALT + Delete and select task manager from a menu.  On Windows 7 it's even more accessible by right-clicking the taskbar at the bottom of your screen and selecting the Task Manager there.  You can also click on START (or the Windows Key) and type in "task manager" to bring it up.  Once you get it open, go to the performance tab, it should look like this:

Notice the memory meter and the Total Memory sections.  If your memory meter is nearly or totally full and/or your available memory is near 0, "Houston, we have a problem."

You see your computer runs on two kinds of memory.  The super-fast RAM (Random Access Memory) and the not so fast but spacious Hard Drive.  For every process or program that your computer runs, it sets a portion of your super-fast RAM aside to temporarily hold that program's information.  Working this way, your computer runs the way it was designed.

But if your RAM is full, you'll notice your computer screeching to a halt and your hard drive light will be blinking like crazy.  This is because Windows uses something called a Page File to write program information that won't fit in your RAM to your hard disk drive.  The following illustration explains why having low ram slows your computer down.

A computer with little RAM will undoubtedly screech to a halt when you run out of RAM space.  Now if you have come to the sad conclusion that there are just too many programs running on your computer for it to handle, have hope!  Most of what your computer is running right now is utter garbage and it can be cleaned from your system (or at least from starting with Windows).

So what is the short term solution for your painfully slow computer?  Close some programs!  I know you think you might need iTunes, Firefox, Adobe Photoshop, Picasa, Internet Explorer, Adobe Reader, MS Word, and Tetris open at the same time but are you really working on all of those at the same time?  You can close some of these programs the traditional way (the red x of freedom) or use Task manager and close the programs for the "Applications" or Processes tab.

If you go the Task Manager route, you have the added bonus of taking a peek at each process' RAM usage. Check it out:

If you recognize any of these memory hungry programs and you're trying to free up enough RAM for your computer to breathe, you can kill these processes by right clicking them.  The number displayed is in Kilobytes (1,024 bytes).  Remember there are 1,000 KB in a MB (Megabyte).  So a program running 600,000KB (I'm looking at your Firefox) is taking up 600MB of your RAM.

Next time, I'll show you how to lighten the load so your computer won't load slower than a turtle with lead boots by uninstalling the junk you don't need.