What is a memory stick and what uses does it have. For example, can a group of downloaded videos or other files be stored on it to keep from using up virtual memory on your hard drive ?
Little help from the x-perts re: memory stick
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Originally posted by George BellefontaineWhat is a memory stick and what uses does it have. For example, can a group of downloaded videos or other files be stored on it to keep from using up virtual memory on your hard drive ?
Mem-cards are for storing saved game files/ photos/music etc.
Sony ps3 and their bravia? tv sets have are sd-capable instant plug-in card use and great for photos on a larger sceen.Robert- Bottom
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Sure, George. I carry one around, and it's useful for transporting files, like when I want to bring something home from work. It's also sometimes useful socially, if you ever interact with computer-geeky people. Somebody might say, "hey, check out this video I found!" or, "Look at this picture!" If you like it, you can just say, "hey, can you copy that to my memory stick?"CHRIS
Well, we're safe for now. Thank goodness we're in a bowling alley.
- Pleasantville- Bottom
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Thanks for the replies, fellas. Awhile back my grandson was downloading a rock concert and he got a warning on my computer saying the virtual memory was dangerously low. I thought some kind of external storage device would avoid downloaded vids taking up memory space.- Bottom
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For the virtual memory message, you need to do one or two things.
One is add more physical memory, if you have 512MB or 1GB, upgrade to more 1-2GB.
Seconding is you need to possibly change your virtual memory settings. Right Click on My Computer and go to Properties. In Windows XP there will be an Advanced tab and on that tab will be a Performance section with a Settings button. Click on that and go to the Advanced tab and you should see a setting for Virtual Memory. Go there and you can either manually set it yourself or let the PC set it for you. General rule of thumb is the settings (if done manually) is the initial size is same as the amount of physical memory you have (ie 512MB/1GB) and the maximum is best set at 1.5x the physical amount.
Also if you have more than one disk (physically) in the PC, it is best to move it to another disk to help increase performance.
Another (third) thing you can also check is if you go to Start -> Run -> "msconfig" (without the quotes) you will get the system configuration utility. Go to the Startup tab and it will show you most of the stuff running in the background on your PC. Uncheck anything you don't want to run at startup (like qttask -- quicktime). It won't remove it, just stops it from running, so you can experiment with things in there to see if it helps. If something doesn't work right after, all you have to do is go back and re-check it. Simple as that.
If you see something in there that you have no clue, just put the name into a search at yahoo/google and it'll most likely tell you what it is (like something for your video or sound card).
Any other questions, post here and I (or anyone else) can most likely tell you what the thing is or if you need it started up upon boot.Digital Audio makes me Happy.
-Dan- Bottom
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In very basic terms, virtual memory is just space on the hard disk that Windows sets aside for programs that need more memory than just the physical RAM you have. I.e. if you're opening or downloading a very large video (like a rock concert ). The hard disk is a much slower device than the RAM, so if you're using a lot of virtual memory your system will feel very slow.
The suggestions pewter mentioned should help a lot. Getting a fast hard drive also is a great speed booster (depending on your system, not sure what you have).-Chuck- Bottom
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Thanks Pewter and Chuck. Here's my pc:
Pentium 4 CPU 3.00GHz
3.06 GHz with 512 MB of RAM
In the Virtual memory setting it is set at 768. The things mentioned are pretty much what is happening. The computer slows down duringlarge downloads. Now I do not have this problem often, just now and then. Should I increase the Virtual Memory setting ? If so, to what ?
Thanks again, fellas.- Bottom
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I would say you definitely need more physical RAM. Around 2GB total should help immensely. RAM is very cheap lately too so it shouldn't cost you much. Two 1GB sticks shouldn't cost you more than about $50-75 right now, provided you're willing to open up your PC and swap them out. I don't think there's much more software-wise you could do to help it.-Chuck- Bottom
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Well for about 80 to 90 % of my usage, the pc is quite fast with just the 512 MB of RAM, so I don't necessarily want to spend money if I don't really have to. Wouldn't I just be fine with increasing the virtual memory setting to perhaps 1000MB ?- Bottom
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Originally posted by impala454Just make sure you have enough free hard drive space to accomodate the bigger page file (virtual memory).- Bottom
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Originally posted by impala454You can go to your My Computer, right click on "C:" and go to Properties.
Thanks for the patience, Chuck.- Bottom
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Well I upped my virtual memory setting to 1000MB and the puter didn't blow up on me so I guess all is well in computer land. Now the next time I have a large video download, I'll see what happens.- Bottom
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Originally posted by buggersGeorge you need more physical ram. It will run with what you got but the stuff is quite cheap these days and will make alot of difference in the performance.- Bottom
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Well for $69 CDN I just increased my ram to 1.5 GB and all is well. Thanks for the help and recommendations, guys.- Bottom
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