Old computers and multi-tasking

I too have a 9 year old computer, a desktop, and it has become low in memory over the years which has slowed its performance a lot. So I mostly store only content I need onto my computer, and then use a "external hard-drive" to transfer other data I don't need but will wish to use for a future time - have you tried doing this yet or before? Also, if your laptop hasn't crashed or is virus free, I suggest transferring as much data out of it and into a external hard-drive and then see if it runs much better. If not, then I too think it's time to get a new and upgraded laptop whenever you can.

 

The error messages indicate that your laptop's issues are RAM related. There's two ways you can fix this:

#1. Run only the number of programs you are using at a specific time. If you are browsing the net for example, save for your browser, close all other applications. If you want to listen to music as you browse use a light weight media player.

In addition to that, open you task manager and end processes which might be slowing down your laptop.

#2. You can also increase your virtual memory:
Right click on My Computer > Click on Properties > Advanced > Settings.
You'll land on performance Options.
Click Advanced > Virtual Memory > Change it and you might see a marked improvement in your laptop's performance.

 

I think you should also look for background processes and terminate them. My pc performed so much faster after doing that. Go to Task Manager and click the "Processes" tab. Then select the running applications that you want to terminate. If that doesn't work, then buy a RAM first so that you can save money.

 

Terminate background processes. Clean your junk files and applications you don't use. Run CCleaner for other leftover items and possibly hanging applications. Make sure there isn't any application that hogs memory. Safest bet would be to buy more ram !

 

I'm not sure if a laptop that old has additional memory space on its hardware. If it has then you're in luck since you can simply insert an 8GB memory in there and you'll experience a tremendous improvement on the speed of your laptop. However, if you're laptop doesn't have the additional space on its hardware, then you need to buy a new one. Laptops nowadays aren't that expensive especially when all you need them for is simple web browsing and document writing. However, you need to spend more if you want one who can run the latest games.

 

Wow, you are definitely an oldie, if you are still using an 8 year old laptop. I already feel old with my 3 year old lappy. Now coming to your problems, I don't think changing the memory or clearing junk files would e of much help. So if you can afford a new PC, go for it. It will save you a lot of time and frustration.

 

I'm using a 6 years old PC and I can't argue that it feels outdated. The pain you have to go through with more demanding software, like photoshop or after effects. I'm still amazed that this old dual core can still boot up! Other than that, a new pc would be the best bet instead of reconditioning the old one.

 

It's hard to upgrade old computers nowadays especially one that's 8 years old, if you have some technical know-how you can throw in some memory yourself, but you have to have some knowledge of what kind of memory your computer uses, then he comes to a point where your computer might not be upgradable because it's redundant and can only take so much memory anyway. You can always try to use this cleanup to free up some memory or end programs working in the background. If you're just searching the Internet and doing basic chores with your computer and it's working for you I don't see the need to upgrade, but if you're storing data and installing a lot of software on your computer consider buying a new computer.

 

I think if your laptop is almost a decade old then it might be a better idea to just replace it. These days the lowest end laptops are bound to be very fast, still, so I personally don't see much value in having to tinker with an old one in hopes that it would come close to what a cheap laptop could bring. You could just buy a netbook for under $200 and if you want a bigger screen then plug that into the monitor.

 

You computer probably needs to have some of that junk cleaned our. One program that you can use is CCleaner which have proven to help millions of people. You should also look into possibly trying to upgrade your computer because it may not be able to handle what you are currently trying to accomplish with it.

 

I'm positive you already know the obvious answer. There's no use in utilizing an 8 year-old machine. That's too old, although a machine from the past four or five years might be okay with a memory addition. It's time for a new machine that has plenty of memory, at least 6GB, although 8GB and above will help you somewhat future-proof your machine, especially for basic tasks like browsing the Web and doing a little programming.

 

Old computers tend to struggle with heavy multi-tasking, so if you plan on upgrading your current PC with new hardware, or buying a new PC, there are specific things that will aid towards getting a good performance if multi-tasking is important for you. Firstly, it's RAM memory. I recommend having 8GB of RAM nowadays to satisfy most multi-tasking needs, it's pretty cheap, a 4GB memory stick should cost little more than 50$, and even 16GB will let you sustain your memory needs for a long time if you want to pay a bit extra.

It's also very important to have a good CPU, a processor. Old CPUs are less efficient and have less processing cores, thus they will not cope with the need to process multiple sources of information at the same time very efficiently. Any more recent CPU, like the i7 generation processors of Intel will be more than suited for general multi-tasking, especially if they are Quad-Core CPUs.

 

I think after 8 years of usage, you might have gotten all you could out of it so it might be a good idea to start thinking of getting a new one. I too struggled with an old PC which was low on memory and since I multitask a lot, it was really a pain in the butt, so I had to get a new one. Depending on just how much you use your computer, and what your needs are, you can often find good deals.

Although I wouldn't shed out the cash for an i7 unless you really think you need that much processing power, because otherwise it might just be a waste. The i5 series is usually just fine for multitaskers, for example, I use Chrome with several tabs and windows open at once, and often have other programs like Word and Skype open too, and it works fine. I also occasionally do some video editing, and it handles the rendering pretty well.