Memories of crashes past
How a few adjustments in storage can minimize computer breakdowns
First of two parts
by Gary Clites
Originally Published in the Dow Jones Newspaper Fund's Adviser Update, Winter 2001
Three hours before press deadline, last minute photos are being downloaded into the computer, pages are being proofed and sports stories updated... and then it happens. The crashes begin. You restart only to meet with an insulting message telling you that you didn’t shut your computer down properly.
Computer crashes are, unfortunately, a part of life in the modern newsroom, but it is no coincidence that they tend to accelerate just at the moment you need the technology most. That is also the time you are taxing your systems most heavily. Many of us, facing growing problems with crashes as computers age, begin cursing our old machines and dreaming of new hardware to alleviate the problems. In reality, computer crashes are seldom related to hardware issues. Rather, they can usually be attributed to software conflicts, memory issues and misuse of the machines. This time, we’ll examine how memory problems can cause computers to crash with a look at software and other issues to follow in the next issue.
The amount of memory you have available and the allocation of memory to various programs can have a tremendous effect on minimizing crashes. Computers use two types of memory and both can be an issue. Random Access Memory (RAM) is the active storage that is actually used to run programs. As RAM is used up, the computer has a harder time operating and can crash. The simple fix for this is to increase the amount of RAM memory in your system. Computers made just a few years ago included much less RAM than do those produced today. Yet the programs we run are often designed assuming a larger amount of this memory.
How do you improve it? By buying relatively inexpensive RAM chips and installing them in your computers. 128-megabyte memory chips can now be had for under $100 and are relatively easy to install (they generally just click into a slot inside the computer). Increasing available RAM is often the most inexpensive way to lessen the incidence of crashes and to speed up the operation of your systems. If you run your computers as a network, as most of us do, it is particularly important that you maximize the memory available on your server computer as its memory is taxed by every computer linked to it. When buying memory, be sure to check you user’s manuals for the exact type of RAM chips needed and the available open slots. Can’t find your manuals? Contact chip vendors with the exact model and brand of your computer and they should have the information available.
In addition, even if more memory is available on board your computer, you may not have allocated enough of it to be used in a given program. Huh? When you install a program, it comes with a preset maximum amount of memory it will use in the computer. If more memory is available, it is important that you allocate that memory for use in the programs. There is not enough space available here to go through the whole process of allocating memory, but you should be able to find simple instructions for doing so in your user’s manual on online at the vendor’s Web site.
ROM, or operational memory, is the long-term storage in your computer, generally the hard drive. It is also worth knowing that as your hard drive begins to fill up, crashes can become more frequent. The computer allocates information onto the hard drive in packets scattered all over its surface. As that plane becomes crowded, it has a harder time doing so quickly and efficiently. If your hard drive is more than 80 percent full, you need to take action. What can you do? If money is available, upgrading the drive or adding a second drive is a good idea. Like RAM memory, hard drive prices have fallen considerably in recent years, with large drives available for around $150. If your computer has a free slot, you can add a second on with minimal effort.
If this is impractical, consider cleaning out your current drive. You can copy important files onto ZIP disks or other removable media then delete them from the on-board ROM (remember that one newspaper’s worth of PageMaker files with photos can easily top 100 megs). Then search your hard drive for programs you are not using. These days, virtually every time you load a new program it loads other free or demo programs you probably didn’t want and will never use. I have searched hard drives and found literally dozens of these programs the user didn’t even know were there, each eating up large chunks of needed space. Look particularly for third-party Internet software from companies like America Online, Mindspring, etc. They pay software vendors to include those packages with their programs, and they are then insidiously loaded onto your computers. Likewise, most computers today come with both Netscape and Internet Explorer installed. Pick the one you are using and uninstall the other. Also, delete as many photo and multimedia files as you can, as these are often very large and eat up an unfair share of a computer’s memory.
Another culprit in computer crashes is Virtual Memory (VM). VM is an odd hybrid of RAM and ROM memory. To increase the RAM, the program partitions off a portion of the hard drive and uses it to store short-term RAM memory. Most computers built over the last five years have come with this installed and running. For some reason, though, computers using VM tend to crash more. Many users I know recommend turning off Virtual Memory entirely, but a handful of programs recommend leaving it on. My approach has been to leave VM operational but to set it to the minimum amount of memory possible, thus lessening the negative effects.
Is memory the only thing that can lead to computer crashes? No, and we’ll examine other issues next time. But taking care of the memory portion of your system’s brain may help prevent headaches for you when the printer is waiting impatiently across town for your latest issue.
© Gary Clites, 2001