only 3 percent of memory left....need crash course in copying photos and removing programmes before computer/dolally meltdown

[dolally]

...please!

computer shared amongst 3 kids....loads of photos on it and I know we must copy them onto a cd. Not sure if I trust myself to do it tho!

Also know I could remove programmes but can I delete stuff which calls itself Windows Hotfix? And google toolbars and Adobe updates melarky....sigh.

Also kids on msn all the time, do their conversations use up memory?

(the geeks on here roll their eyes to heaven)

Are you sure it is your memory which has only 3% remaining and not your hard drive?

It is not unusal for a PC to use 100% of memory (RAM and CPU) intermitently. YOu don't necessarlily need to do anything about this

If it is your hard drive then yes deleting stuff will help.

Sorry if that is incoherent..I am sure a proper geeky person will rescue you soon.

Thanks...

yes slightly, I think it is my hard-drive - but isn't that the same thing as memory?

When I look at properties of disc C it tells me (and shows me a cake shaped graph- you know the stuff!) that I only have 1and a bit GB left.

I can't defragment as it tells me I need 15 per cent of memory or something to be able to do this.

memory is the RAM - probably something between 500Mb and 2Gb - it makes a difference to how quickly programs run - particularly games programs.

It - however - makes no difference to how full up the computer is. If it is really 3% free it probably means you need to stop running some programs in the background or buy some more memory (fairly simple to do - honest).

If instead you mean your hard disk is full up - ie the place where all the files are stored - two options - clear a lot off - write to cd/dvd and generally clear out rubbish (make sure the recycle bin is emptied). The other alternative would be to get an external hard drive to increase your space - again easy and cheap - and they usually just plug in to a usb socket.

I would not delete software unless you are sure you don't use it (maybe check out old games the Dcs no longer use ?).

If you are looking at the properties of the C drive with teh pie chart then you aer looking at disk space and yes you need to clear some out. That is disc space not memory.

ok - in that case - run defragment overnight - shut all over programs down first - and just leave that running.

If you type ctrl-alt -del together you should get the task manager - that will tell you which programs are running - you might realise there is something running in the background that you don't need (in my case kodak software updater agent - I never use it - only put it on to help my mum - must get round to removing it).

And buy an external hard disk (have a look at amazon for examples/prices).

ok got it, disc space not memory.

Thanks throcken - will prob buy an external.

Defragment overnight - I don't think it will do that cos it does the analyse bit first and then tells me it needs to defragment but it can't as it needs 15 per cent of disc space.

15 % disk space or 15% memory ?

If disk space then maybe you can liberate some by clearing files out - empty the recycle bin (when you delete things they are put there and not actually deleted until you empty it), also go to the help section - look up disk space - you should find instructions on how to clean space - maybe use disk cleanup - it will get rid of a whole load of stuff downloaded from the net during surfing etc - may liberate enough space to run the defragment.

thanks both, will check out all the above.

And any hints on copying photos to cd? Please...

depends what software you have - have a look in your programs files - you will need to write a data cd I think (as opposed to music) - should probably just be options in the same software.

Then just select which folders you want to put on the cd - if you try to put too much it will tell you - usually the software is fairly self explanatory.

by the way - it is always good to keep copies of important stuff on cd/dvd - because hard disks can die and then you lose whatever was on it.

Remember also cds/dvds can deteriorate so periodically copy them (either cd to cd copy if your software does that - or back to the hard disk and then on to another cd then delete from the hard disk if needed).

You WILL need to copy stuff off from the sound of it.

If you've never done this before do you know for sure if the CD player is also a CD writer? - and could it even be a DVD writer?

Also what operating system do you have as it makes a difference to the advice you will get. Probably either windows 98, Windows XP or Windows Vista if very new.

Also there are things you can delete cautiously to get some elbow room in the meantime.

Right click the icon for the recycle bin on the desktop and 'empty' it.

On an internet explorer window go to the tools menu and click 'internet options'
in the middle of the box that opens you should see a button to delete 'temporary internet files'

have windows xp.

have emptied recycle bin.

have cleared temporary internet files (I know how to do disc cleanup)

what about "eliminate cookies" in the internet options box? should I do that? What the heck are cookies anyway?

god knows if its a cd or dvd writer. I have managed to put some photos into a "copy onto cd" file, so presumably that's a good sign Can I do this bit by bit...i.e. can I copy some onto a cd and then copy more at a later date onto the same cd without losing the first lot..sorry for stupid question!

clearing cookies won't help since they are tiny, but remember where they are because that's a subject to come back to.

XP is good because it will let you write a CD without installing anything new.

You can only add more to a CD if the blank one you bought was re-writable. Probably called CD-RW on the packet and even then I'm not sure if the built in XP software would let you add to it without installing and learning how to use new stuff.

If your blank CDs are CD-R then you need to decide in advance what is going to go on it

I believe that if you prepare a folder of nearly 700mb and drag it to the CD drive it should offer to write it. I can't try it right now since my DVD/CD software takes over so it will be different on mine.

I understand that it puts it in a temp place while you drag more to make up the amount that fits and then writes it.

thanks grey.

the cd I have in my hand is a TDK CD-R80 (it's ink-jet printable as well which sounds worrying!) Anyway thanks for your advice - sounds like it would definately be more sensible to prepare all to copy first. Hadn't thought of that - I can measure the volume of the pics first!

Will try a few of your ideas.

Have reenabled that on mine to test it out.
You insert the blank CD
you double click on it to open it.
you drag your files/folders to it and it will copy it to a temp place for now (so you will get moans about space but you should be ok for now)
It will also warn you about losing information from Thumbs files, but tell it that's ok.

It will look as though you have already copied them to CD but you haven't yet.

On the left of the window showing the copied files you should see the option to "Write these files to CD". Click that and it runs a little wizard to guide you through it. It may say there are too many in which case you need to close the wizard and remove some from the CD list before carrying on

You may run into a little problem here where it really hasn't got enough space to work in to create the CD. If so we'll have to find some things you really can delete to give you some space to work with.

am with you so far but hang on cos I want to get other pics ready to copy.

I've looked at "add and remove programmes" but can't see anything there I don't need....adobe thingy, loads of windows security and otherwise updates, messenger, antivirus.

Can it be that the photos are taking up all this space? The kids may have some music too but not that much as I've made them delete a lot of it once it's onto MP3.

Thanks alot for your advice so far.

If I had 3% of my memory left I'd be pathetically grateful

lol @ WendyWeber - I know the feeling. I'm training my computer to remember my name in case I forget.

Dolally, if copying photos to CD is going ok then keep doing that for now. That will certainly help because some images can be huge. There's probably not much you can uninstall using add and remove programs.

You could look in the various TEMP folders when you've done your CDs

For example. Each user on the computer has their own temp folder.
C:\Documents and Settings\myname\Local Settings\Temp

They are hidden folders which you can find by typing in the above in the address bar of a folder window and altering myname to the username/s
You can empty them out, but don't delete the TEMP folder itself and not while you're in the middle of doing anything since some files may be in use.

There is also a C:\WINDOWS\Temp which might have stuff in it.

lol wendy!

another stupid question coming up:

where do I type C: documents and settings etc.. -in order to find these folders?

open windows explorer, by holding down the Windows button (the one withthe Microsoft flag on it) and typing e.

you will get a map of your computer. Click on C, it opens up and you see Documents and Settings.

That's it, but because the temp files are hidden you will need to type that line into the address bar

The other way and this might be better is to go to Control panel - Folder options. Click on the View tab tick the "show hidden files and folders' box.

That might be handy anyway while tracking down things that might be taking up room, but do put it back when done cos it has it's uses.

If you do the 'show hidden files and folders' first then you can do it this way

Click on C:
Click on Documents and Settings folder
Click on the 'username' folder (possibly one for each person who uses the PC)
Click on Local Settings folder
Click on Temp folder

And delete whats inside it

gawd, right leave it with me.

.................scuttles off to delete everything she can lay her hands on.

ok, have found a folder called temp.

opened it -

found a folder with Harry Potter and the Goblet of fire DEMO - interesting cos that's nowhere else to be seen on the puter.

and two wordpad documents which seem to be jibberish relating to Windows.

Delete this lot shall I?