I have Debian 2.1 running on a P-133 with 32MB of RAM and a 6.4GB Western
Digital IDE, but it is awful slow when I have a lot of stuff running,
including a few Netscape Communicator web browsers. Specifically, it
likes to keep me waiting while it stops and runs the hard disk in the
middle of a program, or sometimes when I switch to a virtual console that
has been idle for a while.
Based on the report below, I think a RAM upgrade might reduce swapping,
which should speed things up.
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$ uptime
8:10am up 11 days, 15:11, 5 users, load average: 1.10, 1.21, 0.83
$ free
total used free shared buffers cached
Mem: 30964 30408 556 14472 652 14928
-/+ buffers/cache: 14828 16136
Swap: 128484 32196 96288
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On top of this, I plan to install StarOffice and try and run it without
exiting any other programs. Could someone take a moment and give me some
advice on this issue. I can think of four specific questions:
1. Am I barking up the wrong tree with the idea of a RAM upgrade?
2. Is it a bad idea to buy RAM for a P-133 since it only takes 72-pin?
Instead, should I upgrade to a motherboard that can handle a newer
type of RAM?
3. If I upgrade nothing but RAM, how much do I need to have enough to cut
down on the swapping it does now and keep it to a minimum even after I
load StarOffice 5.1? Keep in mind that although my budget is limited,
so is my patience with this old hardware.
4. Is there something else I should upgrade?
Your response is appreciated.
Thank you,
Patrick Olson
