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Computer Memory: What is ram and hard disk?

     The two types of memory that you need to know about are Ram memory and your hard drive memory. Ram (random access memory) is the amount of memory readily available to run programs. If you have several programs open at the same time, you are using more Ram. It is measured in megabytes, and most computers in the last few years came with 256 megabytes or 512 megabytes. This is fine to run Windows XP. New computers that come with Window Vista installed should have a minimum of 1024 megabytes which is equivalent to 1 gigabyte. Megabytes are sometimes referred to as "Meg" or "Megs", and gigabytes are sometimes referred to as "Gig". You can run a free scan to see how much ram your computer has HERE. Click on "Scan my system".
     The other type of memory your computer contains, is the entire capacity of your hard drive (or hard disk). This is generally measured in gigabytes (gig). If you store a lot of music, movies, photos or you have a lot of programs installed on your computer, you may need a large capacity internal hard drive. Ten years ago, a 13 gigabyte hard drive memory was considered huge. Now, an 80 gigabyte hard drive is the minimum I would recommend. 120 gigabyte hard drive is now common and movie buffs are even known to install a terrabyte of hard drive memory (equal to 1000 gig!). A larger internal hard drive can be installed without losing any of your current programs or files. 
     It is not recommended to fill your hard drive completely. Windows has a safety feature that will move files if it finds a damaged sector of your hard drive. If you are reach near capacity, you may also purchase an additional "external" hard drive. This is a stand alone hard drive that connects to your PC generally through a USB port. This is also useful to back up important files.