After several months of other activities, a few problems and general stuff getting in the way I’ve really got down to following the  John Thornhill Coaching Program I bought about 18 months ago.

Once I’d written the ebook and ordered the graphics I got on to building the sales page. Freshly armed with the great graphics supplied by Dave Nicholson (I know these are shameless affiliate links but do these guys give great value for money) I downloaded my trial (free) version of Microsoft Expression Web 4.

Fired up the program and guess what – everything ground to a halt. Not the fault of  Microsoft, it’s just that these big programs use up so much RAM that my poor old PC couldn’t cope. It was so bad it reminded me of the old computer days when I’d input a pile of info and make a cup of coffee while it churned through. Memories come flooding back of green print on black screens and where even a small company with 20 screens needed a separate big air conditioned computer room…….

Anyway this was a not an acceptable state of affairs. So I Googled “make my computer go faster” and immediately got the usual pile of c**p software offers that would transform my 5 door hatchback into a Ferrari for $30. Pressing on, I came across www.crucial.com who explained to me that the problem might lie in not having sufficient RAM in my computer.

Their simple procedure allows you to input your computer details and tells you the maximum RAM that you can have in you computer. By clicking on my computer/properties I quickly discovered that the RAM installed my computer was 1024Mb and I could install up t0 2048Mb.

The Crucial site also advises you of the different upgrades that are compatible with your machine and of course the price. Thus emboldened and putting aside my gut gripping fear of opening the box that is my PC, I placed my order. The bits arrived within a couple of days and that was when the terror really set in. Was I, the techy dunce, really going to tackle this seemingly impossible task?

Back to the Crucial site where I found a great little video that took me step by step through the process. The only bit I had to figure out for myself was how to open the box (told you I was the techy dunce).

Tip: You’ll first have to disconnect your computer and then disconnect all the leads etc. Make a note or take a pic of where everything plugs in so that you can join it all back up again the same way.

Once this was done it was dead easy to follow the steps and replace the old modules with the new ones.

Tip: there’s an off centre slot in each module that stops you putting it in the wrong wrong way round.

I then put the box back together again, joined up all the cables and and then hovered fearfully for a couple of minutes building up courage to press the button. There was nothing to worry about as when I pushed the button it booted up OK. The next test was to see if it was any faster. Boy! You bet it is. I wish I done it months ago.

So if you’re suffering the same problem as I was don’t be afraid to have a go. It probably saved me at least £50+ from calling in my local PC repair man.

Not only did I learn something of value and save myself some money but I felt damn good about it!