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Question Concerning RAM Memory

Discussion in 'Memory - RAM' started by John Stenger, Nov 29, 2021.

  1. John Stenger

    John Stenger Registered Members

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    I have an older Dell Optiplex 780 SFF, that has 8GB of Ram Memory, but it is processing everything! very slowly! constantly showing that spinning Circle and just not responding until its ready! I have a Great amount of Photos in my Pictures, and probably more Programs installed then I should have ! Could someone tell me if adding more Ram memory might speed up this machine,l or do I need to remove things?
     

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  2. Tony D

    Tony D Administrator Administrator

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    8 GB RAM is usually enough. However, if you're doing video, photo, or audio editing, you may need more.

    If your hard drive is over 5 years old, it may be slowing down.
    If your hard drive is more than 80% full, it may be slowing down.
    A background process may be using CPU resources causing other processes to slow down. To check, go to the Task Manager and look at the CPU usage to see what processes are active.
     
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  3. IJAC

    IJAC Super-Moderator Super Moderators

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    To add to Tony's post I would check on your programs that are also set to start up. Look in settings,apps,startup also check what apps are running in the background you don't need running.
     
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  4. John Stenger

    John Stenger Registered Members

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    I will do all of that! ...Also If I put a new hard drive in to it, I would have to reload the windows 7 Pro OS correct? here is a screenshot of the Disk usage!
     

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  5. IJAC

    IJAC Super-Moderator Super Moderators

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    I have a Asus prime Z270A MB
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    Rip Jaw 32 GB
    Hard Drive:
    Samsung Evo 500 GB SS
    Graphics Card:
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    No you can just image your old hard drive onto the new one. If you do get a new drive I would recommend a solid state drive they are much faster.
     
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  6. Tony D

    Tony D Administrator Administrator

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    You can rule out the hard drive being full. Plenty of space on it.
     
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  7. John Stenger

    John Stenger Registered Members

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    So the slowness would not be the HD ..or could still be?
     
  8. Tony D

    Tony D Administrator Administrator

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    It could be the hard drive. As I mentioned
    You ruled out it being full. You haven't ruled out it being slow.

    I'm with IJAC when he says to look at startup items and I'll again add to look at what process are running in the background.
     
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  9. plodr

    plodr CHF Advisor CHF Advisers

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    The Dell Optiplex 780 came out in 2010 from what I could find.

    Have you cleaned it both inside and of extraneous programs in the time you've owned it?

    36 installed programs is not many so you are good there. (I checked and I have 86 on my Windows desktop computer!)
    7zip: you are running v 9, that has security flaws. I just installed 21.06 on our four Windows 7 computers. Either install a new version or get rid of it and use Windows 7 built in zip utility.

    I'm not sure Avira Security is needed. I see you also run MS Security Essentials and that is still being updated. Avira Security might contribute to a system slowdown.
    Decide which one you want and remove the other.

    Check if TeamViewer is running at startup. You don't need it running at startup. You can simply run it if you have a meeting.
     
  10. John Stenger

    John Stenger Registered Members

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    @plodr ..I got rid of the 7Zip program, when you say Cleaned it inside and of extraneous programs! I have constantly run disk cleanups, and I defrag every week! and most of the programs were added by me. The startup menu is something that has always confused me! so maybe you could tell me what you see in it! I included an image. Thanks!
     

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  11. John Stenger

    John Stenger Registered Members

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    @plodr I tried to add this to other reply but was too late! I deleted Avira, and I'm now only protected by MS Security Essentials! I removed it after taking the screenshot of the startup menu, so it will still be present!
     
  12. plodr

    plodr CHF Advisor CHF Advisers

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    Defragging weekly is not needed. Windows 7 includes a defrag in the OS and runs it weekly. I haven't defragged since I bought this computer in 2009.
    defragger.JPG
    As you can see, it is kept in good condition automatically.

    Have you noticed a difference with Avira removed?

    What you are seeing is NOT the startup menu. This is Task Manager showing everything that is currently running. You have java update running. Go into Java and turn that off. Java is updated once every 3 months.
    To view what is running at startup, type this in the run/search box
    Code:
    msconfig
    and then press enter.

    Click on the Startup tab. There you will see everything that runs when Windows starts up.
    If you have any questions on anything you see there, ask.
     
    Last edited: Dec 1, 2021
  13. John Stenger

    John Stenger Registered Members

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    @plodr Yes I was wondering about that weekly Defrag setting! because I did not set it! and that is the weekly defrag I was talking about! The Machine is Running remarkably better! I guess those Virus programs, were fighting each other! Again I did not realize there was a Virus program on Board Windows 7 ...that is why I added the Avira! I assumed I was unprotected! I just did a screenshot of the Startup menu and have posted it within! I also shut off Java Updates ...and Thank You very much for your help!
     

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    Last edited: Dec 1, 2021
  14. Tony D

    Tony D Administrator Administrator

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    Try disabling everything in there except the Microsoft Security and Intel items.
     
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  15. John Stenger

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    @Tony D I disabled everything you mentioned! and then the machine needed to restart! It came back up much quicker, then it previously would! ...Before those adjustments, If I shut it down! it would take maybe 20 minutes before it was up and processing normally again! The circle would just keep Spinning! and it would become Unresponsive! ...Thanks for the Help!
     
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  16. plodr

    plodr CHF Advisor CHF Advisers

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    I'm glad it is peppier now John. Thanks Tony for looking at his startup items.
    See you didn't need additional RAM, just a few removals and tweaks to solve the problem.
     
  17. John Stenger

    John Stenger Registered Members

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    Yes and Thank You for your Help! ...I'm very happy! I already had to get a new Power supply for this Dell, and I don't really want to spend more on it! ..One last Question! I have quite a collection of photos on My Pictures! Would moving them out! and onto a Flash Drive, also speed up the machine?
     
    Last edited: Dec 2, 2021
  18. Tony D

    Tony D Administrator Administrator

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    Moving them won't speed up your computer because you have plenty of free space on the drive.

    What you need to do is to BACKUP your important files !!!!!!!!!!!!! Get an external hard drive and copy those important files, yes that includes photos. Make a COPY of them. Don't move them. Then you will have the documents on your computer AND your backup drive. Once you made a copy of your important files on the external hard drive, disconnect that external hard drive.
     
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  19. John Stenger

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    @Tony D, I have a USB HD Dock, and an extra Hard drive, If I copy them on to that HD is that a sufficient Backup?
     
  20. Tony D

    Tony D Administrator Administrator

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    Is it sufficient? If your house burns down where are your files? Consider keeping one of your backups off site and/or in the cloud.

    No one ever regretted having more than one backup.
     
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