(With Your Computer of Course)
By Ray Scott
One of the problems that I hear quite often at the computer club is getting the message “Not Enough Memory”. The problem is usually caused by not having enough random access memory (RAM). RAM is memory the computer uses when it starts up and displays all the icons on the monitor. At start up the computer will start a list of programs that run in the background. These background programs help speed up the start of other programs that you may or may not use. All of this and programs you are currently running use RAM.
Here are some things you can do to conserve RAM and avoid the “Not Enough Memory” message.
1: Close any other programs that you may be running but not using.
2: At the bottom left of the monitor is the START button. To the right of that is the TASKBAR and SYSTEM TRAY. Next to the START button, on the TASKBAR is the QUICK LAUNCH TOOLBAR. If there are any icons there right click a blank area on the TASKBAR. Move the mouse to TOOLBARS and uncheck QUICK LAUNCH by left clicking on it.
3: On the far right of the TASKBAR is the SYSTEM TRAY. This toolbar contains icons to start many of the programs that are on your computer. You can safely turn these off for each session. Right click on the icon and click on “EXIT” in the dialog box. They should appear again whenever you restart your computer
4: When you start the computer it may also start up a lot of small programs that help speed up the start of other programs.. You can safely turn these off by holding down ’CONTROL/ALT’ and pressing ’DELETE’. In the dialog box highlight unused programs one at a time, and click “END TASK”. Do not delete “SYSTRAY” or “EXPLORER”. If a problem occurs just note the program that caused the problem when you turned it off and restart the computer
If this does not solve your problem you may need to upgrade the RAM in your computer
The method described here is written using Windows XP. If you are using another operating system such as Windows 98, ME etc the instructions may vary a little..
Ray