Symptoms
- System becomes very slow under normal use
- 'Out of memory' messages or app crashes
- Heavy disk activity light with no obvious cause
- 'free -h' shows very little available memory
Likely causes
- CommonToo little RAM for current workloadModern browsers and apps can use more memory than older or budget systems have installed.
- CommonNo swap space configured, or too littleWithout swap, the system has no overflow space when RAM fills up, causing crashes instead of slowdown.
- PossibleA memory leak in a specific applicationA buggy app can keep consuming more memory the longer it runs.
What to do
- Run 'free -h' in a terminal to see total RAM, used memory, and existing swap.
- Close unnecessary browser tabs and apps to immediately free some memory.
- If swap is small or absent, create a swap file: 'sudo fallocate -l 4G /swapfile && sudo chmod 600 /swapfile && sudo mkswap /swapfile && sudo swapon /swapfile'.
- Make it permanent by adding it to /etc/fstab as instructed in your distribution's documentation.
- Use 'htop' to watch memory usage over time and identify if one specific app keeps growing (a leak) rather than general heavy use.
- If RAM is consistently maxed out during normal tasks, consider a physical RAM upgrade if your device supports it.
Tools and parts
- Terminal access with sudo privileges
Laptop/desktop RAM moduleSearch: “laptop RAM upgrade compatible with [model]”
When to call a pro
If a RAM upgrade is needed and you're not comfortable opening the case, a technician can install it.
Safety
Generally low risk
Generally low risk for a careful person. Stop if anything looks different from what this guide describes.