Thanks so much for all of the replies - my question is now - should I just
add 512 memory - or update to 1 or 2 gbites - not sure what would be best -


"Ken Blake, MVP" wrote:
[..]

On Wed, 4 Feb 2009 13:09:09 -0800, Ginnie
<Ginnie> wrote:

> Thanks so much for all of the replies - my question is now - should I just
> add 512 memory - or update to 1 or 2 gbites - not sure what would be best -


How much RAM you need for good performance is *not* a
one-size-fits-all situation. You get good performance if the amount of
RAM you have keeps you from using the page file, and that depends on
what apps you run. Most people running a typical range of business
applications find that somewhere around 512MB works well, others need
more. Almost anyone will see poor performance with less than 256MB.
Some people, particularly those doing things like editing large
photographic images, can see a performance boost by adding even more
than 512MB--sometimes much more. But unless you are running such a
demanding application, it's highly unlikely that more than 1GB can
help you at all.

If you are currently using the page file significantly, more memory
will decrease or eliminate that usage, and improve your performance.
If you are not using the page file significantly, more memory will do
nothing for you. Go to
http://billsway.com/notes%5Fpublic/winxp%5Ftweaks/ and download
WinXP-2K_Pagefile.zip and monitor your pagefile usage. That should
give you a good idea of whether more memory can help, and if so, how
much more.
[..]

Ginnie

Are you still using McAfee? If not replace that first and then see what
the situation looks like.