Jump to content

Welcome to Geeks to Go - Register now for FREE

Need help with your computer or device? Want to learn new tech skills? You're in the right place!
Geeks to Go is a friendly community of tech experts who can solve any problem you have. Just create a free account and post your question. Our volunteers will reply quickly and guide you through the steps. Don't let tech troubles stop you. Join Geeks to Go now and get the support you need!

How it Works Create Account
Photo

Is adding an external hard drive going to speed up my PC?


  • Please log in to reply

#1
bspra

bspra

    New Member

  • Member
  • Pip
  • 4 posts
I need to add RAM but when I opened the tower to put a new one in, I discovered both slots are being used. Can I purchase an external hard drive to give me extra RAM? Will it speed up my PC?
  • 0

Advertisements


#2
peterm

peterm

    Trusted Tech

  • Technician
  • 3,387 posts
Hi Bspra
Welcome to G2G
An external hard disk will not speed up your PC/
How much ram is in your pc now ? Right click on my computer icon then click on properties this will show you what ram is installed. How much ram did you buy ?
Cheers
Peterm
  • 0

#3
bspra

bspra

    New Member

  • Topic Starter
  • Member
  • Pip
  • 4 posts
I have 512 but won't removing one of them and replacing it cause me to lose stuff I have saved? I returned the RAM I bought.
  • 0

#4
jt1990

jt1990

    Member 1K

  • Member
  • PipPipPipPip
  • 1,519 posts
No - The RAM is what the computer uses while it's running. The hard drive is what everything is stored on permanently - the RAM gets cleared every time you reboot the computer.
  • 0

#5
bspra

bspra

    New Member

  • Topic Starter
  • Member
  • Pip
  • 4 posts
Well, darn and drat, now I have to reorder the RAM. Thank you for the info.
  • 0

#6
bspra

bspra

    New Member

  • Topic Starter
  • Member
  • Pip
  • 4 posts
One more question, please, before I order the RAM. These are the specs from my computer per Tiger Direct:
HP Pavilion 540n
Product Type Personal computer Processor Type Pentium 4
Data Bus Speed 400 MHz Chipset SiS650
Native OS Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition Memory Technology DDR SDRAM
Max Supported Memory 1 GB Memory Speed 266 MHz
Memory Specification PC2100 Upgrade Rule Max 512 MB module
Memory Slot Type DIMM 184-pin Memory Slots Qty 2
Free Memory Slots 1

DO I UNDERSTAND CORRECTLY THAT THE MAX MEMORY SUPPORTED IS 1 GIG AND I CAN ADD A 512 TO THE 256 I HAVE?
:)
  • 0

#7
Facedown98

Facedown98

    Trusted Tech

  • Technician
  • 2,989 posts
Hi bspra and welcome to Geeks to Go!

According to Crucial.com your computer can hold a maximum of 2048 MB (2 GB) of RAM.

Now, you only have two slots from what I can see...

In any case, if you have one slot currently in use with a stick of 256 MB RAM, then you should be able to add that second 512 MB stick in there. That will give you 768 MB which will work very nicely. You'll notice a big difference.
  • 0

#8
peterm

peterm

    Trusted Tech

  • Technician
  • 3,387 posts
As Facedown says your computer will support 2 gig of ram
click on me
In your 1st post you say you are using both slots. So this means you will have to remove 1 stick of ram and put in a larger stick of either 512 or 1gig - If you can afford a 1gig stick then that would be better. If you can afford 2 gig that would be great. Let your budget decide. I would try to strech to 1 gig at leasst.
Cheers
Peterm
  • 0

#9
DDBruce

DDBruce

    New Member

  • Member
  • Pip
  • 1 posts
Posted Image Posted Image Posted Image Posted Image
Posted Image Posted Image Posted Image Posted Image
Posted Image Posted Image Posted Image Posted Image
Posted Image Posted Image Posted Image Posted Image
Posted Image Posted Image Posted Image Posted Image
Posted Image Posted Image Posted Image Posted Image
Posted Image Posted Image
  • 0

#10
DrumnDepfem

DrumnDepfem

    New Member

  • Member
  • Pip
  • 1 posts
Click for see better

Posted Image Posted Image Posted Image Posted Image
Posted Image Posted Image Posted Image Posted Image
Posted Image Posted Image Posted Image Posted Image
Posted Image
  • 0






Similar Topics

0 user(s) are reading this topic

0 members, 0 guests, 0 anonymous users

As Featured On:

Microsoft Yahoo BBC MSN PC Magazine Washington Post HP