The usual recommendation for slow computers is to buy more RAM. But is that really the problem? The performance tab in Windows Task Manger (Crtl-Alt-Del) gives some clues but the terms like “Total Commit Charge” are pretty hard to grasp. Even Googling the terms didn’t educate me much. I just found a good resource form Microsoft at http://support.microsoft.com/kb/555223. It is still very technical but at least it tries to define terms and how they relate to slow computers. It suggests using Performance Monitor (Start > Administrative Tools > Performance) which can give quite a bit more information than Windows Task Manger.
What I learned so far is that the “Page File” is hard drive space that the computer uses when it runs out of RAM.
The “PF Usage” window on the Windows Task Manger performance tab shows graphically how much of the page file is in use. The lower the better. 70% is a slow computer. 90% is an almost frozen computer.
There’s a lot more to this subject. Stay tuned for:
- How much RAM can I add?
- How do I reduce Page File usage?
- Why is my hard drive light on all the time when my computer is running slow?