Computer Addvice, RAM

[EJP]

Ok a summer or two ago I upgraded the RAM on computer. Well for a long while now the RAM upgrade seems to not be working so well. Where once I could play some of my computer games without any lag, lately I've had to cut back on the settings and it's still crappy.

In short, I think something is eatting up my RAM and I was wondering if there was any way to find out what is useing up my RAM. Also, any addvice how to fix this would be helpful.

I know I don't need to defrag my computer, or need to delete some files because I have pletty of hard drive space left.

[Beanybag]

Defrag and CC cleaner.

[EJP]

CC cleaner? Whats that?

[Beanybag]

Deletes unnecessary files. It's free.

Use defrag and CC cleaner, first.

[The Strategist]

You need to go to the Start Menu (Start > Run), type "prefetch" and enter, then delete all files in that folder.

Go back to (Start > Run) and type "recent" then delete everything in there.

Third time, type "temp" and delete everything in that folder.

Again, type "%temp%" and delete everything in the folder.

When you're done, go to Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools and pick Disk Cleanup, then check whatever you want to be deleted when prompted. (You will also be given the option to compress old files to save space.)

Go to My Computer, right click on the C: drive icon, click properties, Tools, Disk Check (or Error Check, if you can't find that.) You may be told that it cannot be done, and asks whether you want to schedule a disk check. Say yes and restart. It will check your disk before starting Windows.

The final step is to go back to Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Disk Defragment and let it run to organize your remaining files and programs for faster performance. It might take a while to rearrange the files. When it's done, reboot and test out your system's speed as you see fit.

Note: If you have multiple drives, you might need to clean up, check and defragment each one individually.

[Ninmast]

Don't listen to Strategist's advice, EJP, he's off in left field. I"m sure he means well, but he's still going about it in completely the wrong way.

First off, in response to your question, EJP, the size of your drive and the amount of free space on it has nothing to do with how often you need to defragment it. However, as with most things Microsoft, Window's Disk Defragmenter is useless. You really need a third-party one. I use Power Defragmenter.

You should also be using anti-spyware and anti-adware. I recommend Ad-Aware. You would be amazed how much slowdown you can get just from this stuff building up, much of which the popular antivirus programs like Mcafee and Norton will completely miss. In fact, if you use either of those, I recommend uninstalling it immediately and replacing it with AVG Anti-Virus Free.

Once you've done both of those, install CCleaner and run both Cleaner and Registry scans.

Professionals recommend you defragment once a month, but unless you're installing and uninstalling a large amount, you really only need to do so when you start experiencing slowdown again. You should still run Ad-Aware at least once a month, though.

[EJP]

*Is currently at school working in his 3D computer model of a demon with 2 thumbs on each hand and steaming over his MAC keyboard and mouse.*

Behave you two. I did what the Strategist said and saw only a minimal improvement. But I've yet to fully test it out. I'll be doing what Ninmast Suggested tomorrow. Strategist's thing was not complicated. Try useing Maya 3D modeling 2008, that's a complicated son of a bitch. *Starts getting mad over his textures malfunctioning.*

[Teh Donut]

I've only ever used 3D Studio Max...

Did it all work out? I suppose so, since you didn't reply otherwise.

[EJP]

I haven't gotten the CCleaner thing Ninmast listed yet. Things do seem a bit faster but I'm still testing.