Originally Posted by dwlpl
I have two hard drives one (the original) of which I don't use.
I remember reading somewhere that a PC allocates RAM to all drives.
If you mean that the PC allocates some RAM to manage each drive, the answer is technically yes, but the amount is very small and essentially irrelevant.
Originally Posted by dwlpl
Can the RAM for the original hard drive be released in order to increase my current 256mb?
See above
Originally Posted by dwlpl
Or is there another way of getting more RAM keeping in mind all the PC's internal slots are full?
Yes (and you ain't going to like this) - replace original RAM modules with higher capacity modules.
All the talk about virtual memory is confusing you I suspect!
What the PC does is to create a special (large) hidden file on the hard drive and use it as sort of fake RAM. This is called Virtual Memory, 'cos it isn't real memory. Its also called a swap file, 'cos data in real RAM that hasn't been used for a while is swapped out to the disk fake RAM.
Swapfile fake RAM is much slower than real RAM of course, but it does allow the machine to work even if the amount of real RAM is small.
When you install Windows the creation and use of Virtual memory (a swapfile) is done automatically, no matter how much real RAM you have, using default values for size etc. that work pretty well. If you wanna be smart it IS possible to tinker with these default values and produce some speeding up of the system, but for the average guy/gal it isn't worth it.
Just for completeness sake, if you have LOTS of real RAM then it IS theoretically possible to work without ANY swapfile fake RAM - but not all machines are stable in this configuration and I don't advise it.
Bottom line: If you want your PC to work better you'll have to replace the original RAM modules with higher capacity modules if all the memory slots are full. 512MB should be OK, but if you can afford 2 matched sticks to make 1GB that's even better. More than 1GB is a waste unless you're editing humungous files (like video).
PS: There's memory and memory I'm afraid - there are grades of memory speed (usually the faster the more expensive). You'll need to make sure that the new memory modules that you get are at least fast enough for your machine. Unfortunately the PFY (pimply faced youth) who sells you the new RAM won''t have a clue about this and will happily sell you el-cheapo slow RAM that will cause your poor machine to bluescreen regularly - try to find a pal who knows that they're doing.
More of the unstable machines I see are due to mismatched or defective RAM than bad drivers or malware.
Luck!
Mac
