How to Increase RAM on a Laptop
If either your older laptop is slow or your completely new system begins to slow to a crawl when you have too many tabs open, adding more RAM on the laptop may be the solution. If your laptop lacks sufficient physical memory and low memory is frequently the source of obstacles on any given laptop and it can result in not only sluggish performance but also stability issues. So you need to understand how to increase RAM on a laptop.
What is RAM?
RAM stands for random access memory and short-term memory that goes away when the power is turned off is stored on a memory chip, which is usually located on the motherboard. RAM serves as the central storage location for all active and running programs and processes.
When you use up all of your RAM memory, your laptop’s performance may suffer because it lacks the storage needed to complete its tasks. When you free up RAM space on your laptop, it becomes more capable of performing tasks.
How can I get more RAM for free on my laptop?
Before you go out and buy more RAM, here are some tips for making the most of your laptop’s RAM in simple steps:
1. Restart your Laptop
The first thing you can do to increase the RAM is to restart your laptop. When you restart or shut down your laptop, all stored data is erased and programs are restarted. This may clear out some background processes and programs that are consuming RAM storage.
2. Stop any running programs or processes
On Windows, you can see how much RAM each program uses by going to the Task Manager and selecting the Processes tab. Select the Memory header to sort processes based on RAM usage to see which programs use the most RAM, then select the process to be terminated and click End Task.
3. Update your software
Update your software and operating system. If you have a new version of your operating system or a program that you frequently use, it is most likely more optimized for your laptop. Having the most recent software versions available can help to prevent memory leaks and other performance issues. Keep Windows up to date, and update your laptop on regular basis. It is critical to use the most recent versions of your laptop software and applications. Older versions of software and apps can consume more memory, causing your laptop to slow down.
4. Get Rid of Your Background Apps
If you use Windows, you might have apps running in the background that you are unaware of. Without noticing that some of these apps were consuming RAM storage after using your laptop for years. Your data bandwidtH, battery, memory and will be rapidly depleted as a result of this.
There are some steps to stop background apps:
- First, you have to select laptop Settings.
- Select the Privacy.
- Background Apps you can see on the left side when you scroll down.
- If you are not using any apps then Turn Off.
5. Processes to Track Memory and Clean Up
You should keep track of your laptop RAM usage so that you don’t run out before you want it. You can check the processes in the task manager to monitor your laptop’s memory. How much space they are taking up and which programs are running you can see here.
To track and clean up processes need to follow these steps:
- To open the Task Manager, press Ctrl+Alt+Del.
- Choose the “Processes” tab.
- To see how much space they take up, go to the “Memory” column
6. Uninstall or disable programs that you no longer use
The best and fastest way to free up RAM is to close programs but when it is not in use anymore you should uninstall it. If you are using a laptop for some years, you’ve probably downloaded a lot of software that you’ve either forgotten about or no longer use. After the processes tab shows you which programs take up the most space, navigate to the startup tab to disable those you no longer require.
Here are some steps to disable startup programs:
- From the Task Manager, go to the “Startup” tab.
- Click on “Startup Impact“to organize the programs from commonly utilized to least utilized.
- Right-click on those programs that you are not using to disable.
Steps to uninstall the program:
- In search bar type Control Panel.
- Select Programs after opening the control panel.
- Select the program that you don’t want and right-click on it to uninstall the program.
7. Clear pagefile on shutdown
Your page files are not cleared or reset when you restart your laptop because, apart from RAM, they are saved on the hard drive. As a result, when RAM is stored in on-page files, it is not cleared along with the rest of the RAM at shutdown. Clearing page files on your hard drive will clear any RAM it has stored, allowing your laptop to operate more smoothly.
- Type “Registry Editor” into the search bar.
- On the left side, HKEY_ LOCAL_MACHINE click on it.
- Navigate to CurrentControl set> Contor> Session Manager > Memory Management.
- On the right side select Clear Page File At Shutdown from the list.
- Select Modify.
- Enter the number 1 to change the value.
- Reboot your laptop.
8. Increase your laptop virtual memory
virtual memory is also known as a swap or paging file to provide a temporary expansion. Our system’s virtual memory accomplishes this by utilizing a portion of your hard-drive memory to effectively expand your RAM. As a result, this virtual memory is beneficial. It enables your system to process more data for more programs than was previously possible.
Steps to increase your laptop virtual memory:
- On the search bar type Control Panel.
- Navigate to System and Security> System.
- To open your system properties click on Advanced System Setting. Now open the Advanced tab.
- Select Settings from the Performance menu. Navigate to the Advanced tab. Change is the option under Virtual memory. Here are the Virtual Memory options available to you.
- Uncheck the box of Automatically manage paging file size for all drives and Choose the drive for which you want to change the paging file size. This is usually for C: drive.
- Select a Custom size to set the maximum size for your paging file, keeping in mind the recommended size for your system. Remember that Windows limits the size of your paging file to three times the size of your installed RAM. This is done to ensure the system’s stability. Set the Initial size to the size that is currently in use.
- The last step is to press ok.
9. Disable windows visual effects
Windows includes several minor visual enhancements by default to improve the overall appearance of the operating system. Because these processes, like everything else, use RAM, disabling them will free up some memory.
Follow these steps to access the visual effects on your laptop:
- Open File Explorer.
- Click “Startup impact” to sort the programs from most used to least used.
- By right-clicking on any programs you don’t need, you can disable them.
- Choose the “Advanced” tab.
- Choose the “Performance” and under performance their is a setting button click on that.
- Select the Adjust for best performance option under “Visual Effects” on “Performance Options” to disable all effects and animations.
10. Use a RAM cleaner
There are memory cleaner apps available if you do not have the time or simply cannot organize your laptop. Mighty PC cleaner, for example, keeps your RAM and hard disc clean by automatically deleting unnecessary data. The observable gains will most likely be minor, but every bit counts.
Conclusion
In this article, there are very simple ways and steps to increase RAM without wasting any penny when you are going through a crisis of low storage problem on your laptop so this helps you to increase RAM with the easiest methods. I hope this article helps you to understand how to increase RAM on a laptop and if you have any queries you can contact our Technical Support Team. They will assist you.