Computer Memory

Many people often confuse RAM with their desktop’s hard-drive space, which can make it difficult to properly understand desktop memory.

RAM is your desktop’s memory, but it is not storage. You cannot manually delete anything from your computer’s RAM if you are trying to free up space. RAM stands for Random Access Memory, and it is essentially a temporary storage location for your computer’s programs while they are in use. Once you close down a program because you are finished using it, it will be removed from your computer’s RAM automatically.

On the other hand, your hard-drive is your desktop’s permanent storage. Here it stores all of your documents, pictures, and programs all the time. If you want to free up space on your computer, you will need to delete from here manually – but once you do, whatever you delete will be completely removed from your desktop.

Your desktop’s virtual memory is used temporarily by your computer to store any RAM programs that you have loaded but that you are not currently using. If your system is running low on RAM, your desktop will use more virtual memory so it can free up the space it needs to operate effectively. However, if this happens you will see your computer acting much slower than normal. That’s a good indication that you should quit a few programs or close down a few Internet browser tabs.

If you’d like to help your current RAM work a little better, it’s a good idea to close down any applications you are not using so your computer isn’t trying to focus on too many things all at once. Sometimes, restarting your computer can also give your RAM a quick refresh.

Improving your Desktop Performance
Having more RAM on your desktop can help it to run faster. It’s easy to purchase more RAM for your desktop to help increase its speed. You can also perform easy, regular maintenance on your desktop to keep it running at its best. This includes keeping some free space on your hard-drive – imagine it as some “breathing room” for your desktop. You can transfer large files like movies, pictures and music to an external hard-drive to free up some space easily.

There are also several programs you can download to help your computer run more efficiently by compressing files, defragmenting your hard-drive and removing temporary system files. Overall, it’s important to treat your desktop well, both RAM and hard-drive, if you want to keep your computer running smoothly.

There is a seemingly never-ending list of the types of files that can be stored on computers in the modern day. There are also quite a few different types of physical memory that perform different roles within your laptop or desktop PC.

One of those is ‘Flash Memory’ which is widely used in a number of different devices and we often get asked how it actually works, which is something we’ll try to explain now.

Created by Toshiba
Flash memory as we know it today, was developed by Toshiba from electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM) at the beginning of the 1980s and was subsequently released onto the market in 1984. There are two main types called NAND and NOR logic gates.

No Moving Parts
Unlike other types of data storage, flash memory includes no moving parts and is used as permanent memory, rather than as a temporary or ‘volatile’ hardware source. Another name for a flash drive is a solid state storage device and is the principal used to create SSDs that are faster and more stable alternative to conventional HDDs.

Writing and Erasing
Flash memory mimics the way traditional memory works, in that it ‘traps’ electrons inside its electronic circuits to create a ‘1’ and releases that energy to create a ‘0. It does this in the blink of an eye, which is why it is so fast when compared to storage devices that have to move mechanically to reach data. 

As mentioned before, flash memory is used in various different forms in many different electronic devices and they include:

• CompactFlash/SDHC/MicroSDHC (Usually used in digital cameras)
• Mobile Phones
• The BIOS chip found in all laptops and desktop PCs
• PCMCIA cards, which are I/O devices that connect to personal computers
• Memory cards used in millions of games consoles to save game progress
• Memory sticks or USB drives
• SSDs also use an advanced and refined form of flash memory to act as a computer’s main storage

One of the only known drawbacks to flash memory is that it costs that much more than traditional hard drives, but the price difference is reducing with each passing year. Also, there are a maximum amount of write operations that can be performed in its lifetime. The majority of flash devices are created with around 1,000,000 total write cycles, but its data can be read on an unlimited basis.

If you would like to know more about flash memory and how it can best be used to make your computer work that much faster, talk to one of our tech support team now.