How to Clear Computer RAM Memory

If your computer freezes or programs stop responding, the problem may be overloaded RAM, or random access memory. This is the temporary data storage for running programs and the operating system. RAM uses less storage than the Hard Drive, so it is easily overloaded if you are using multiple programs or have more than one browser open while we are working on other things at the same time. However, there are solutions for this.

Because RAM is temporary memory, restarting the computer easily and fully clears the RAM. If restarting is not an option at the time, there are ways you can clear enough space on the RAM to improve performance for a little while longer.

• Close some programs that you currently have running. This will partially clear some computer RAM. Each program you close will free up any amount of memory that program was using. Keep in mind though; closing every program running on the computer will not clear all the RAM being used. The operating system uses a great deal of memory, and cannot be cleared.


• Run the disk cleanup utility. This will also clear the RAM. Disk cleanup clears any temporary files stored on the computers temporary memory. The steady increase of temporary files will decrease the computers efficiency.
  To do this click> Start>All Programs>Accessories>System Tools>Disk Cleanup.


• Defragment the hard drive. This will also free some space. What defragmenting actually does is rearrange the files, so that they are more efficient and easier to access. This also clears any unused temporary files.
  To start the process of defragmenting the hard drive, click the "Start" button or press the windows logo key, and then select>All Programs>System Tools>Defragmenter.


• End any background applications that are running. Many people do not realize that many programs that continue to run in the background on a computer.
  
  While some background applications are essential to run the computer's Operating System, some applications running in the background are, in fact, unwanted.
  
  To do this, click "Start" and then select "Run" from the menu. Once the run dialogue box has opened, type "msconfig" in the text field, and then click "OK."
  
  This will allow you to choose what programs will automatically run at startup and continue to run in the background. On the general tab, select the "Selective Startup" option, and then click the "Startup" tab. Here is a list of all the programs that automatically run when the computer is started and continue to run in the background.
  
  To help improve performance, uncheck any applications that are not essential to have run immediately upon start up. For the most effective settings, have only files marked C:WINDOWSSystem files ticked. Once you have made these changes, you must restart your computer.


• Clear all available RAM completely. The only option to do this is to restart the computer. For this reason, the computer needs to be turned off and restarted daily, for optimal performance.