Determining how much RAM is installed and available
Question
Determining how much RAM is installed and available.
Answer
To check how much RAM is available on your computer follow the below steps.
Tip: Memory (RAM) and hard drive space are two completely different things. If you want to know how much information you can store on your computer see the how to determine how much hard drive space page.
Tip: See our determining the type of memory my computer has page if you're trying to find memory specifications for upgrading your computer memory.
Windows Vista and 7 users
Windows 95, 98, ME, NT4, 2000, and XP users
Windows 3.x users
MS-DOS users
Apple computer users
Linux and Unix users
- Click Start
- In the Search box type "ram" without quotes and click the Show how much RAM is on this computer.
or
- Click Start
- Click System and Security
- Under System, click View amount of RAM and processor speed.
View used resources
To determine the amount of available system resources, including memory, as well as what is currently being utilized open the Task Manager. In the Processes tab you will be able to see what programs are using what resources. In the Performance tab you will have can see an overall picture of all the system resources.
Windows 95, 98, ME, NT4, 2000, and XP users
- Click Start
- Click Settings
- Click Control Panel and double-click the Systems icon.
- In the General tab will be listed the amount of RAM currently installed and detected.
or
Windows 98, ME, 2000, and XP users can also run the System Information (msinfo32) program that comes pre-installed on the computer. Additional information about this program can be found on our msinfo32 definition page.
View used resources
To determine the amount of available system resources, including memory, as well as what is currently being utilized open the Task Manager. In the Processes tab you will be able to see what programs are using what resources. In the Performance tab you will have can see an overall picture of all the system resources.
Click File and then Exit Windows. At the MS-DOS prompt type mem and press enter.
At the MS-DOS prompt type mem and press enter.
Note: MS-DOS 6.2 will not accept or recognize more than 64 megs of RAM when typing mem.
Click
"About this Mac" in the Apple menu on
a Mac OS X is how to see how much RAM is installed on a Apple Mac computer.
In the picture to the right, is an example of the Apple Menu. As can be seen
in the picture the About This Mac is the first option.
Linux and Unix command line users can use top command, which will display the total memory detected by the computer, how much memory is used, and how much is free.
Using the free command will also give you an overview of memory as well as how much of the memory is being stored in the buffers.
Additional information
- See the RAM and memory definition for further information about each of these terms and related links.
- See the mem command page for further information about this command.
- Why do I have lost system resources and how to recover lost system resources.
- How do I find the hardware and system specifications of my computer?