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Is it possible for a computer to run out of memory? - Firefox Can you erase somethign to give it more if it is full? Where can you buy more? I am using Windows Vista HP

Best Answer: Yes. A computer can run out of memory. Erasing files off of your hard drive will not change the amount of memory. You can buy more memory at a computer store. You can even install it yourself. Send me an email for more information. Here is something that you should know - - The difference between "hard disk space" and memory (RAM) - - My friend explained it to me this way - - Your hard disk space is like a filing cabinet in your office. There is limited space to store your (computer) files in your filing cabinet. When your filing cabinet gets too full then (a) there is no more room to store files and (b) it is time to get rid of some of the files. (Perhaps move some files to another storage space. Another filing cabinet. - Another hard drive or a burn a CD or DVD or whatever). RAM (memory) is like your desk in your office. It is your "working space". If you have a bigger desk (more RAM) you can get more files out of the filing cabinet (e.g. open more computer programs and more computer files). A bigger desk means there is more space to "work with". When you run out of desk space (RAM) you will have to put some files away (back into your filing cabinet) so that you can get out another file that you want and put it on your desk. NOTE - This "swapping" takes time (your computer has to think). A bigger desk (more RAM/memory) means that your computer will have less swapping to do. It will have more time to "think" about other things - other than swapping files around. P.S. Another piece of your computer is the processor. I mention this because the processor has a "clock speed". This is "how many tasks" your computer can do in a minute. The faster the processor, the more tasks can be done in one minute. If your computer is swapping files from RAM/memory to your hard drive, the speed of the processor will determine how fast that swapping happens). I hope this helps . . . Deb - Deb

it depends, there are 2 types of memory, RAM (Random Access Memory) and ROM (Read Only Memory) think of the RAM as a desk space, and of the ROM as a file cabinet, the RAM is cleared when you turn the computer off, which is why your data needs to be saved to a hard drive. you could tweak your computer so that it uses less RAM, or you could get a RAM upgrade. but if it's the hard drive you're talking about, then you'll need to delete some stuff. A computer can't run out of RAM since there is a space on the hard drive called the page file, but hard drive access times are extremely slow, but RAM access times are near instantaneous. you're best choice would be to get a RAM upgrade if that's what you need, if it's disk space, then just delete programs that you never use, you know, spring cleaning kind of stuff. - der_kaiser_von_kase

are you getting a message that says virtual memory is low? you can increase the paging file size to compensate for the ram, this allows your computer to find your programs and files faster. and uses a portion of your hard drive as if it was ram. It all depends on what type of memory you are talking about. if it is your physical memory,(hard drive) you can delete some files that you no longer need, or want. than defrag. Either way you can find good solutions at most computer stores. (circuit city, office max newegg.com, tiger direct.com etc). - richard_mcdaniel_2005

That depends on what you mean by memory. Memory (RAM [random access memory]) refers to a the place in a computer where the operating system, application programs, and data in current use are kept so that they can be quickly reached by the computer's processor. RAM is much faster to read-from and write-to than the other kinds of storage in a computer, like the hard disk, a floppy disk, or a CD-ROM. You can only increase your RAM by buying more at a local computer supply store (The Office Max where I live carries RAM), and then opening your computer up and putting it in. You can't delete stuff on your computer to increase RAM. I would not recommend opening your computer yourself unless you know exactly what you're doing; I would have a computer technician do it for you. There are a few other things you would need to buy in addition to the RAM, if you decide to do it yourself. (Like a shock bracelet thingy so your computer doesn't get fried by static electricity.) In addition, your need to know the type of RAM your computer uses. I would definitely let a pro help with all this, there's lots that can go wrong. Now, if by memory you meant hard drive space, you're using the word memory incorrectly. It's OK though, lots of people get the two confused. Your hard drive is where all your files are stashed. You can delete things to increase the amount of free space on a hard drive; but you can't make it bigger by deleting things. Sorta like a basket totally full of apples. You can take the apples out, but by doing so, the basket isn't getting bigger, there is just more space. Just be careful about what you delete, and make sure you empty the Recycle Bin to totally delete files. Now if your want your "basket" (hard drive) bigger you can, again go out to a local computer supply store and buy an external hard drive. Hope that helps. - Grey

You can also try defragmenting (Control Panel then Performance and Maintenance) this will sometimes give you more space. Use outside storage as much as possible on things that are only needed infrequently. This is my biggest space saver technique. - sansan1256

If you are running Vista, that is sucking up most of your RAM already. You can buy more at Best Buy or any place that sells computer components. - sysmai

um, yes you can erase it to give it more but if you want more memory you need to not have a laptop because you cant really upgrade their harddrive space, if its a desktop just go buy a sata harddrive with a lot of space and hook it up, thats it then just start adding stuff to it instead of the other harddrive, it should have directions to how you would hook up the harddrive, i cant explain it on this, too much to tell you, hehe - Nick Campbell

There may be some programs that will not run if the system has insufficient memory to run them. Memory can be bought at circuit city and many other stores - Jerry J

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