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03-21-25 03:29 AM |
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| 0 users reading Why you should stop using Windows 10 with only 4GB of ram. | 1 bot |
| Main - Computers and technology - Why you should stop using Windows 10 with only 4GB of ram. | Hide post layouts | New reply |
| Moline |
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 Shyguy Normal user Level: 22 Posts: 70/97 EXP: 52424 Next: 5926 Since: 12-21-16 From: Northwest Arkansas Last post: 38 days ago Last view: 38 days ago |
NOTICE: This not a bash of Windows 10, nor do I hate it. I like it. I just don't like how slow it can become after a while on 4GB ram computers. This leads me to believe 10 is not really supported on that kind of ram. I did what I described here, and love it! Heck, I'm using it right now. Installing Windows 7 allowed me to give a 4 year old buggy HP laptop a new life. There are some issues this didn't fix, but I can fix those by buying genuine HP spare parts.
Introduction and the Procedure: If you have a Windows 10 laptop with only 4GB of ram, here's why you should stop using it and downgrade to either Windows 7 or 8.1 (7 may be faster than 8.1, who knows). Let's be real, Windows 10 will run with 4GB of ran no problem, when you first got the computer. Now, stack up all the updates released every month and the big updates every 6 months. That eats up a lot of disk space, and can even consume your ram, plus more if something goes wrong (such as the high ram usage from Cortana due to a bug). This can make your computer feel like your running Windows 10 on a 10+ year old computer that only has 1-2GB of ram. This won't do if you're using the computer for everyday purposes. Now note, you won't have this issue on an 8GB+ ram laptop, those will run fine, this is just for 4GB ram laptops. I will also show you how to install Windows 7/8.1 in place of Windows 10 so you can experience faster speeds. How does downgrading to Windows 7 or 8.1 help make 4GB of ram faster? You are installing an OS that is not prone to major updates with new features every 6 months, plus the OEM software and any additional partitions created alongside 10 will be gone (more on this later). To start, back up anything off of the Windows 10 installation to an external source, such as a USB HDD. After, navigate to Device Manager, and make note of the manufacturer of all the drivers there. Most will be fine, but since Windows 7/8.1 is most likely unsupported, you won't have things such as intel graphics, wi-fi, and ethernet out of the box, and your computer manufacturer will probably not have a drivers page for 7/8.1 for your computer, so you'll need to search for them with google. Once you get wi-fi or ethernet working, you can then use Windows update to update the rest of your drivers for you. If it cannot find anything, then google for a windows 7 version of the same driver that was listed in 10's device manager. Once done, using either a CD or USB (I recommend you use a USB 8 GB or higher), load your windows media. If you don't have media, then using a burning software such as imgburn for DVD's or Rufus for USB's, burn the installation media for 7 or 8.1 to it (default settings should work. On Rufus, there will be an option to switch between MBR and UEFI, make sure UEFI is selected since that's what Windows 10 uses. After that, there is one more thing to take care of. This doesn't apply to Windows 8.1, only Windows 7, and I believe it only happens when running from USB. When you try to run the Windows 7 installation, it will tell you that it needs a required DVD driver, despite the fact we aren't even using that. This error stems from Windows 7 not having USB 3.0 support out of the box (and switching the port will most likely not help at this point). To fix this, follow everything in this YouTube video, especially the link in the description. This will take some time, but once it is done, we can officially start rocking and rolling. Also, Windows 10 will probably say the device malfunctioned since the last time you used it. Don't worry about it and just simply unplug the USB and plug it into a blue USB 3.0 port. Open up the Metro settings and go to update and security. Go to the recovery section and choose the option that takes allows you to enter settings such as your BIOS. Once the options screen shows up, choose the BIOS option (the one that allows you to enter the BIOS). Your computer will restart, once it powers back on, immediately hit the key that enters your BIOS (such as Del or F2), keep hitting it until the BIOS pops up. Once it does, navigate to the boot tab and disable secure boot and enable legacy boot. Also, rearrange the boot order so the USB, and not Windows 10 boots first. Once done, exit and whatever windows version you chose should be loading. Navigate through Step 1 normally. When you reach the hard drive manager, delete everything there so there is only unallocated space listed. We do not want the OEM software or any other parttion related to 10. We want to be able to take advantage of the full hard drive space. Don't worry, deleting these extra drives won't harm your computer or your ability to get into the BIOS. These were just extra drives to support the Windows 10 installation. Click the unallocated space once and then click next. After the files are copied, expanded, etc, it will reboot, and we will go back into the bios. Back in, go back to boot and change the boot order so the hard drive boots first rather than the USB (but leave that inserted). Exit, and the rest of Windows will install. Do it normally, and Windows will eventually load. Once you are in Windows, get all the drivers installed, as mentioned previously. Once done, check for updates. For Windows 7, make sure to plan accordingly, you'll probably have almost 200 updates at once. This will take probably a good 4 hours, give or take a few. For Windows 8.1, I do not know how many updates that needs, it has never pestered me to update. Once drivers are installed and the big update is done, you can then customize Windows how you'd like as it means you are done. You should notice a speed increase almost immediately, and certain Steam games such as Bloons TD 5 should run better than they did under a laggy Windows 10 install. |
| Garhoogin |
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 Paratroopa Boots and Cats Level: 25 
Posts: 42/144 EXP: 83207 Next: 6413 Since: 11-14-18 From: Somewhere chilly Last post: 758 days ago Last view: 7 days ago |
I use a Windows 10 on 4GB of RAM and it seems to work fine. It used to be Windows 8, but I upgraded to 8.1 and 10 after. Hey, why not check out my website while you're here? |
| Moline |
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Shyguy Normal user Level: 22 Posts: 71/97 EXP: 52424 Next: 5926 Since: 12-21-16 From: Northwest Arkansas Last post: 38 days ago Last view: 38 days ago |
| salty |
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aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa Level: 85 
Posts: 1962/2046 EXP: 5880229 Next: 18311 Since: 03-02-14 From: aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa Last post: 156 days ago Last view: 9 hours ago |
there are other options besides this though:
basic one is to upgrade your ram although this might be hard with the hardware you have, like a laptop or something you can also try deleting programs that you don't need, some bloatware can come on the pc typically stuff is slow because of how many programs are starting up. see what you can do about those these are only a handful of stuff you can do to speed up your stuff. imo reinstalling should be a last resort as you probably have important stuff you don't wanna go through the trouble of backing up ____________________ discord: taikonotatsujin photobucket  |
| Anthe |
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Member I have found a basket to put in my SD card reader so I never lose it Level: 67 
Posts: 1098/1099 EXP: 2470558 Next: 122314 Since: 08-17-12 From: Belgium Last post: 1097 days ago Last view: 687 days ago |
I have ran Windows 10 on multiple computers with 4 GB of RAM. They all worked fine. ____________________ ![[image]](http://backloggery.com/anthe/sig.gif) |
| ButteredStaples |
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Newcomer Average Weeaboo Level: 7 
Posts: 2/9 EXP: 1162 Next: 286 Since: 02-23-20 From: Kitchen/Office Hybrid Last post: 1841 days ago Last view: 1174 days ago |
I recommend running Windows 10 with 16mb of DDR RAM ____________________ Fun Fact: Staples covered in butter work best. |
| Moline |
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Shyguy Normal user Level: 22 Posts: 81/97 EXP: 52424 Next: 5926 Since: 12-21-16 From: Northwest Arkansas Last post: 38 days ago Last view: 38 days ago |
| Main - Computers and technology - Why you should stop using Windows 10 with only 4GB of ram. | Hide post layouts | New reply |
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