I need more space on my computer, but I can't delete my pictures!?

Question

My computer keeps telling me that the memory is too low on my computer and it is slowing down all of its functions. I am going to uninstall some applications, but I must have hundreds of pictures I can't delete. How can I save them on disc so that if I remove them on my computer, when I want them I can just put the disc back in and download which pictures I need??

Answer 1

External hard drive is your best bet. I just bought an internal 750 GB Seagate SATA drive at Frys.com for $109 on sale, and they had a $10 Coolmax USB external hard drive enclosure that I also bought to put it in. Works great!

If you're not very technical, just buy one of the pre-installed 500GB externals. You can expect to pay between $100-150 depending on the brand. I like Seagate. They seem to be the most reliable for me so far.

Once you plug it in, you can format the new drive and then transfer your pictures over to it. I would also recommend backing them up to DVD once you have free space on your main drive. Having your important pics on a single drive is never a good idea. I always try to have multiple backups! Especially for things that are irreplaceable.

Another way to back up your photos is to use a service like SmugMug.com that will run you about $40 a year, and they have unlimited photo storage.

Answer 2

u can put them on a data disk u can pick them up from asda or a supermarket for cheap or you can buy a usb memory stick

glad to help :)

Answer 3

your best bet would be to get a flash drive or external hard drive, depending on just how much space you want to clear up.  you can get a 250gig+ external harddrive for around 100, give or take, at any local computer store like best buy and transfer all your pictures, music, data files, ect there, and clear up that space on your harddrive.  or if it is just pictures you wish to move you can get a 1 to 4 gig flash drive for cheaper and use that to save them.

Answer 4

<Cough> This might be a bit rude, but all of you went the wrong direction on this one.

The question said the messages were MEMORY is low. This has nothing at all to do with hard drive space, pictures, installed programs or whatever. It has to do with MEMORY. In other words- RAM and TSRs.

I’m going to follow that line, if the asker was indeed meaning to say they don’t have enough Hard Drive space, I apologize.

RAM is memory. Hard Drive is storage. Storage is where the program, or pictures, are on your HD (like Windows/Program Files). Memory is what your computer needs to open the program, like the program that opens the picture, and execute it. Although it is technically not correct, for this exercise think of RAM as being more like your processor. Very different.

One fix is to add more RAM to your computer. This requires buying it and having someone install it (assuming you don’t know how to yourself). You can never have enough RAM. The more the better.

The other thing you need to address, in addition to adding memory or even by itself, is to terminate unnecessary programs running on your computer. This is what is slowing your box down. The average user has no clue that many apps these days will install with some function or the other to automatically load when you start your computer. File Sharing and Chat programs are notorious for this. These are known as Terminate and Stay Resident, or TSRs. (Some folks have more technical definitions for TSRs, but I’m old school and I think TSR is an appropriate term.) Over time, as you install more and more programs the effect becomes accumalitve.

The idea is it makes their product “appear” to load faster because in truth it is ALREADY loaded. It makes as much sense as leaving your car running all the time so when you do jump in it appears as if you take off faster.

To make this worse, in their infinite wisdom, Microsoft has added a new feature to new computers that hides icons in the Systray. The Systray is the area around your clock in the lower right. This is the area you need to focus on first. Click, right click, double click- whatever it takes- these icons one by one. Open them and look for any options along the lines of Start with Windows or automatically load. These are the nice programs. They make it easy to turn off. I know most folks have tons of icons down there. If you are reading this, check. I’m right aren’t I? For comparison, my boxes boot with an average of 3-4 icons. Right now I have many things loaded and I still only have 6 icons. And I want them there.

The next place to look is in the Start Menu. Find the folder called Programs/Startup. Any app in there will also load with Windows. Again, open the program and look for options to turn off auto-loading. If you don’t see you any option know that you can safely delete or remove an entry from the Startup menu. They are only shortcuts and you won’t be deleting the program associated with them. In fact, if you delete it you will most likely get a pop-up asking if you want to delete it (the shortcut) or uninstall the program associated with it. If you aren’t sure- just move it from the menu by a Cut and Paste and put it where you can find it. Then you can put it back if you messed something up you want. Incidentally, the Microsoft Office stuff typically in there falls under that leave your car running idea. Dump them. No harm done.

The final area is in the Registry. That one is technical, and if you goof you could ruin your PC. I can’t give you details for that on this Yahoo thing, but if you are confident just search the web on how to remove auto-launching apps. in the Registry.

Another thing worth mentioning. Virus will use memory like any other program. And typically will not be nice about it. If the symptoms are sudden and severe, you may want to make sure that is not the issue.

Also, a few programs have legitimate reason for starting with Windows. Programs like Anti-Virus and Firewall need that permission for obvious reasons. And depending on your preference, you may want leave some programs that automatically recognize devices like a camera or an iPod and launch the appropriate program when you plug them in. Personally, I don’t let them load either. If I’m going to connect a device I feel confident in my ability to open the appropriate program first instead of letting the app sit there and use my memory just in case. Another item is most programs these days will use an Internet connection to look for updates. Again, the designers know most users don’t keep up with that sort of thing and make it so the updater loads with Windows and checks for updates periodically in the background. I turn those off for the same reason as above. Most other apps have no business auto-launching; period.

Open Task Manger. Right click on a blank space on the bar at the bottom of your screen or do a control-alt-delete and select Task Manager. The first Tab is Applications. You’ll recognize (most of) those entries because they are programs you have open. But now select the Processes tab. Processes are parts of various programs that are running and you probably have no idea that idea that they are doing so. Everything you see in that window is running on your computer and using memory. You can see exactly how much memory in that same window in the column labeled Mem Usage.

Important Note: A lot of these are also Windows’ system processes and are valid to be running. Don’t terminate a process without knowing for certain that it is OK.

You probably see a lot eh? Go get to work! Turn off all that junk and your box will boot and run faster!

Hope I helped

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