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BTW, does anyone know if stockcharts runs better with added memory? I am thinking of adding a gig of memory if it makes that site quicker.
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Doubtful...
For Windows XP the "sweet spot" for memory is around 512Mb. Adding to more than that shows little speed improvement.
In your case you need to improve connection and graphics drawing speed.
If your computer used to be fast drawing internet graphics but not anymore try the following: (try it anyway, it won't hurt)
- In Internet Explorer go to the menu: Tools - Internet Options... In "temporary Internet Files" click on "Delete Files" and delete them all. (including offline content)
- After that click on the "Settings" button on the right of "Delete Files" and reduce the "Amount of Disk Space to Use" to 80Mb.
- That's it.
Every time Internet Explorer needs a picture (a chart in your case) it searches first in a temporary directory that exists in your hard drive. The idea is to save time and do not ask for the picture if it is already in your computer. Problem is this temporary directory gets to be huge in almost no time, and searches take longer and longer. Besides with fast connections it's sometimes faster to bring it from the site anyway.
With the first action you are removing all cached pictures.
With the second you are reducing the size of the directory so it won't grow so large again.
You can tell if you had this problem if it takes more than a few seconds to delete the temporary files. (In a laptop my son uses for internet games it took more than a minute to erase the files. Imagine that!)
If this doesn't help, and you are using the graphics that come embedded in your motherboard (Intel on-board graphics) then you might want to upgrade to an accelerated graphic board. Anyone is better than the Intel one. I usually buy some nVidia based and pay for it from $60 to $80. (Pricier ones are for game addicts...)
Good luck,
H.
