Re: Upgrade computer Was (Re: "budget" laptop?)

["Henry J. Wicko II" <henry -dot- wicko -at- gmail -dot- com>]

Kathleen,

I upgraded my RAM from 512 to 2 gig.  I checked the Dell website (I
have a Inspiron 6000) and found out I was dual RAM slot, was only
using one of the two, and the laptop could handle 2 gig RAM.  I also
have a free utility at home that runs a system diagnostic/identifier
of your computers components and specs (I am not sure now) if you are
interested in that and can provide you later.

The memory upgrade was about 80 dollars US and was able to run
Photoshop and IE simutaneously w/o crawling; I also have used SnagIt 8
and 9 in my new configuration w/o problems or slowdowns.

I've also heard, but not investigated, that using most of your hard
drive memory is not so good for speed either...

Other things I do to keep my PC "faster" is defrag my hard drive
often, clean temp files regularly, and run registry cleaners.

Henry

On Thu, Sep 18, 2008 at 2:35 PM, Kathleen MacDowell
<kathleen -at- writefortheuser -dot- com> wrote:
> As it sounds like some of you might be able to offer suggestions, I
> hope y'all don't mind a semi-hijack of this topic.
>
> Situation: I've got a Toshiba Satellite laptop (A215-S4747) I need to
> improve (as inexpensively as possible).
>
> Specs say: AMD Turion 64 x 2 Dual core mobile technology, 1024 MB DDR2
> SDRAM, 200GB HDD
>
> Reasons: It's slower than molasses, and I think some of that is due to
> a drain on the system resources.
>
>  Up till now (since 8/07 when I bought it) I haven't done much but
> browse and do some simple word processing. But I now need to install
> some programs that will make it possible to do some technical writing.
> For example, image processing and/or publishing, such as Flare. Even
> SnagIt 9 bogs things down.
>
> So do I need more RAM? Is it possible to add that? What else? I'm
> thinking I probably should get an external drive. I think it was
> probably a poor decision to buy a laptop, but then computers are such
> a crap shoot anyway....(at least for me).
>
> Thanks for any suggestions
>
> Kathleen
>
>
>
>
> --
> Kathleen MacDowell
> www.writefortheuser.com
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>
> ComponentOne Doc-To-Help gives you everything you need to author and
> publish quality Help, Web, and print content. Perfect for technical
> authors, developers, and policy writers. Download a FREE trial.
> http://www.componentone.com/DocToHelp/
>
> True single source, conditional content, PDF export, modular help.
> Help & Manual is the most powerful authoring tool for technical
> documentation. Boost your productivity! http://www.helpandmanual.com
>
> ---
> You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as henry -dot- wicko -at- gmail -dot- com -dot- 
>
> To unsubscribe send a blank email to
> techwr-l-unsubscribe -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
> or visit http://lists.techwr-l.com/mailman/options/techwr-l/henry.wicko%40gmail.com
>
>
> To subscribe, send a blank email to techwr-l-join -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
>
> Send administrative questions to admin -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot-  Visit
> http://www.techwr-l.com/ for more resources and info.
>
>



-- 

| "Just because there isn't a solution, that doesn't mean you can't find one" |

| "It is better to know some of the questions than all of the
answers." - James Thurber |
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

ComponentOne Doc-To-Help gives you everything you need to author and 
publish quality Help, Web, and print content. Perfect for technical 
authors, developers, and policy writers. Download a FREE trial.
http://www.componentone.com/DocToHelp/

True single source, conditional content, PDF export, modular help.
Help & Manual is the most powerful authoring tool for technical
documentation. Boost your productivity! http://www.helpandmanual.com

---
You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as archive -at- web -dot- techwr-l -dot- com -dot- 

To unsubscribe send a blank email to 
techwr-l-unsubscribe -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
or visit http://lists.techwr-l.com/mailman/options/techwr-l/archive%40web.techwr-l.com


To subscribe, send a blank email to techwr-l-join -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com

Send administrative questions to admin -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot-  Visit
http://www.techwr-l.com/ for more resources and info.