How To Get More Gb On Your Laptop

Why Should I Upgrade My Ram

Random access memory, or RAM, is the short-term memory portion of your computers brain. Your computer uses its RAM to temporarily house any data it needs right now, or that it will access in the immediate future. That way, it doesnt have to comb through all the information sitting on your hard drive. In other words, computers load data into their RAM for speedy access.

Thats why a PC memory upgrade is one way to boost your computers speed and performance. The more RAM your computer has, the smoother everything feels and runs. Youll experience faster startup times, more browser tabs with no interruption, higher FPS when gaming, more freedom to multitask with different apps, and an all-around snappier experience.

Ready to give it a whirl? Read on for our complete PC memory installation guide.

What To Do If Windows Needs More Space To Update

If you’ve tried all of the above but still don’t have enough space, it’s time to look at some more advanced solutions.

This is an incredibly common problem that people with very cheap computers often run into because their laptop had very little storage to begin with.

The simple solution is to connect either an SD, micro-SD or USB storage drive , but Windows will still make you jump through some extra hoops before it lets you do this. The message that pops up to say Windows needs more space will require you to free up space using the Storage Sense tool to claw back at least 4GB of storage. If this is proving difficult, read the next few sections of this article to see how else you can save more space.

Once you’ve found that magic 4GB, Windows should let you pick a drive or SD card that youve plugged in, and allow you to continue your update. On computers with only 16GB or 32GB of storage, its sensible to always have a micro-SD card plugged in so that this problem is less likely to occur in the future.

Choose An External Drive

If replacing your current hard drive is not a feasible option, you can always get an external drive and store files on it.

It can be a pain in the ass to carry an additional drive with you everywhere, if you are traveling a lot, but it is still better than burning data on CD or DVD like in the old days.

With that said, this could be a better option for someone who is less tech savvy, as you don’t have to take your laptop apart or pay a technician to do that.

An external hard drive is completely plug-and-play, so You can just simply connect it to your laptop, transfer some files and pack it away. These external hard drives vary from size to size

The advantage of this drive is that it can store a huge amount of data , while being portable.

Some of the best rated external hard drives:

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The Future Of Hard Drives

So, there it is the world of laptop hard drives as it stands today. Will it continue to evolve? You better believe it! Over the coming years, we can expect SSD technology to continue to improve, giving us ever faster speeds and larger capacities. At the same time, the cloud continues to evolve as does the quality of our internet connections. Who knows? In another 10 years, your next laptop may not need an internal storage drive at all!

Delete Temporary And Downloaded Files

You can delete temporary files without running Disk Cleanup, along with files you downloaded that you may no longer need. Go to Settings > System and click on Storage on the left panel. Next, click Temporary files from the list that shows you how your storage is being used on the C: drive and check the boxes for the type of temp files you want to jettison before clicking the Remove files button to delete them.

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Determine If Memory Needs To Be Removed Before Installing Additional Memory In Your Desktop Computer

Finding Memory Information For Your Computer Model

Product Information

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Use Readyboost To Increase Your Memory

ReadyBoost is a clever little feature that was introduced by Microsoft as part of Windows Vista. It essentially allows you to boost your system memory by using a flash drive as additional capacity.

Although its not as effective as swapping a traditional hard drive for a solid-state one or adding more RAM, ReadyBoost will give a little uptick to the performance of your system, particularly if youre using a low-powered laptop with only a couple of gigabytes of RAM. It puts aside a part of the flash drive memory for things such as caching, assisting often-used apps to open quicker, and increasing random read access speeds of the hard disk.

To use ReadyBoost, first insert a USB memory drive into an empty USB slot on the laptop you wish to speed up. A dialogue box will open asking you what you want to do with the flash drive. Choose Speed up my system using Windows ReadyBoost’. Another window will open and here you can select how much of the drive you wish to give over for boosting. Its generally a good idea to use as much of the drive as possible.

Once thats done, confirm the settings and the window will close. The drive will be automatically detected and used whenever its plugged in.

One last note: if your machine is fast enough already, Windows will prevent you from using ReadyBoost, as your system wont be able to see any benefit from it.

What About Ram Speed And Latency

If you go shopping for memory, youll also see a couple of other specifications that get talked about a lot: RAM speed and latency .

• RAM Speed: This is based on a rather complicated combination of hardware factors, and the relative speed of RAM is specific within a generation. Speeds are usually labeled using either the older standard or the new standard that also includes a more specific speed rating .
• Latency: This deals with how fast the RAM module can access its own hardware. Lower latency means faster data access. Latency timings are presented as a series of four numbers, so you might see something like 5-5-5-15.

The truth, though, is that speed and latency just isnt all that important. Higher speed and lower latency RAM really isnt that much faster than the lower speed, higher latency stuff. Youll find a lot of talk about it from people who like to brag about their systems, but its pretty safe to ignore. Even with a high performance gaming machine, it just doesnt make that much differenceespecially since most of gaming is handled by the RAM on discrete graphics cards.

That said, there are a couple of things that are important to keep in mind.

For latency, its best if you use modules that sport the same latency numbers. Its not critical, especially if youre adding memory to a system. But if youre replacing memory, you might as well get all the same kind.

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External Hard Drives To Upgrade Your Storage

This is an affordable portable hard drive connects to your laptop via USB-C. It comes in Mac or PC models, so make sure to buy the right own. It’s available in silver or blue, as well in a number of capacities that range from 1TB to 5TB.

The SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD is a rugged portable hard drive that has a USB-C connection and is compatible with both Windows and Mac computers. There are storage options ranging from 250GB to 4TB.

LaCie’s line of Rugged hard drives are shock- and water-resistant and come in different models with various connections and storage capacities so get the one that works for you. This model connects via USB and is compatible with both Mac or PC.

The most important thing to know is that the amount of usable storage space a laptop actually has is much less than what is advertised, for two reasons. First, your operating system is taking up space. The latest version of macOS, , for example, takes up a little more than 8GB, while the latest version of Windows 10 takes up about 15GB.

Second, because user-facing specs deal in normal base-10 numbers instead of the less intuitive base-2 numbers computers actually use, hard drives are just always smaller than they are rated to be. According to Lifewire, for each gigabyte that you think your hard drive has, it has about 70.3 megabytes less of disk space.

Uninstall Desktop Apps You No Longer Need

Uninstall desktop apps you don’t need any more in Programs and Features.

To uninstall or change a program

Note: If the program you want to uninstall isn’t listed, it might not have been written for this version of Windows. To uninstall the program, check the information that came with the program.

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What Is The Difference Between Ddr3 Vs Ddr4 Ram

What you need to know: A DDR3 RAM stick wont fit into a DDR4 RAM slot. They are notinterchangeable so be sure to know which type of slots/RAM your computer holds.DDR stands for Double Data Rate. RAM speed is measured in megahertz . This measure tells you how many times your RAM can access its storage space per second. The number indicates a generation difference. The DDR4 is newer, faster, more energy efficient, and has higher capacity .Note for curious : A DDR3 RAM stick operates at 1066.6 MHz. Since two processes are running at the same time, manufacturers label the component with its total frequency . However, instead of using the unit MHz , the memory stick is listed as 2133 MT/s.

How To Upgrade Laptop Memory

Before you start, you need to determine where the RAM DIMM or DIMMs are on your laptop, and how youll reach them. The bigger your laptop is, the more likely it is that youll be able to access the memory without disassembling it completely. The smaller and lighter your laptop is, the more likely it is that the memory is soldered to the motherboard and cant be changed at all. Ultralight laptops almost never have user-accessible memory.

Most laptops that allow user-accessible memory upgrades to do so either through a small access panel on the bottom of the case, or by performing some level of disassembly . Consult your laptops user manual or do some web searches to find information for your model.

Before you start, turn off your laptop and remove all cables, accessories, and batteries.

My ThinkPad T450s is pretty middle-of-the-road here: it requires me to remove the battery, take out eight different screws, and pop off the metal bottom to access the RAM. Other designs only require you to remove a single screw, then take off a sectional cover. I only have access to one DIMM slot, the other is soldered to the motherboard.

To insert a new DIMM, I have to remove the one thats already in the slot. To do this, I gently pull the two tabs locking down the DIMM on either side. The RAM DIMM springs up at a diagonal angle.

In this position, simply grip the card gently and pull it out of the slot. Be careful not to touch the electrical contacts, and set the module aside.

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What To Do If Problems Occur After Installing Memory

• Reseat the new memory module by following the steps in the Installing memory section.
• Remove the new memory module and clean the groove in the socket that the module sits in. Use a can of compressed air with a straw-type extender and safety glasses.
• Check other cable connections inside the computer. Reseat any cables that were disconnected or partially unseated.
• Remove the new memory module and try starting the computer again. If the computer starts, make sure you purchased the right type and compatible size of memory . You can remove and reference from the memory module that originally came installed in the computer.
• If possible, make sure all memory modules in your configuration are from the same manufacturer and share the same model number.
• If the computer still does not restart properly, remove the replacement memory, reinstall the original memory, and verify that the computer can operate in its original configuration.

How Can I Get More Gb On My Laptop For Free

Now that you know what is eating up storage space on your laptop we are going to show you how to easily free up space and create more storage for new files without any cost. In this section, we are going to focus on Windows 10s Storage Sense and how to use it to create more space on your laptop.

We recommend that you use Storage Sense instead of Windows Disk Cleanup if you are using Windows 10 since it is much more efficient. You can either use Storage Sense manually or set it up to run automatically and do all the hard work for you.

How to use Storage Sense Manually

If you dont want Storage Sense to clean your hard drives regularly or want control over which files are deleted you can choose to only use it on demand.

Here is how to manually free up storage on your laptop using Storage Sense.

• Click on the Windows icon on your taskbar then open Settings
• Click on System then select Storage
• Click Free space now under Storage Sense
• Your computer will scan for temporary files that can be deleted to create more space
• After the scan is complete, you will be presented with a list of files that are recommended for deletion.
• Tick the files you want to be deleted and click on Remove files
• All temporary files will be permanently deleted.

How to Configure Storage Sense to Run Automatically

If you trust Storage Sense To do a good job of cleaning your drives, here is how to configure it to run automatically.

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Check The Current Space On Your Pc

Tips:

• You can view the size of your Windows Store apps and choose whether to uninstall them by tapping or clicking See my app sizes.

• You can also free up space by tapping or clicking Empty my Recycle Bin if you have files there.

Notes:

• If you don’t see Disk space, you don’t have the latest update to Windows 8.1 and Windows RT 8.1. For more info, see Install the Windows 8.1 Update .

• You can also check the current space on your PC in File Explorer by searching for This PC.

How Much Ram Can Your Pc Accommodate

You cant just add more RAM to your computer without confirming a few things in advance. Every PC has two limits on its maximum RAM: its motherboard and its operating system . Whichever limit is lower is the maximum RAM for your PC.

Finding your motherboards maximum RAM

Your motherboard has a maximum amount of RAM that it can handle and a fixed quantity of RAM slots the physical spaces where the RAM modules are located. Keep these factors in mind when assessing how to select RAM for your motherboard.

See the four slots in the top-left corner of this motherboard? Thats where your RAM goes. On this specific motherboard, there are four slots available, which is common today.

First, identify the type of motherboard you have. To avoid taking things apart, you can use a third-party tool like Speccy by CCleaner, which will display all your computers core information without you having to dig around for it. Identify your motherboard manufacturer and model, then look up its maximum RAM capacity online or in your ownership manual.

RAM modules come in a range of capacities, so even if you have only a few RAM slots, you can meet your motherboards RAM maximum by purchasing higher-capacity RAM modules. For example, if your motherboard has four RAM slots and maxes out at 32 GB of RAM, you can install four 8 GB RAM modules.

Finding your operating systems maximum RAM

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