MeganeMaster wrote...
PumpJack McGee wrote...
-If I were to somehow install an absurd amount of RAM (lessay, a terabyte), my computer would never crash again?
That may not fix your problem. Most motherboards can only handle a certain amount of RAM, depending on how old your computer is. Most of the newer PC's can handle up to 256 MB, which is the most I seen so far. If you were to do any modifications to your computer, I'd recommend researching your computer's specs to find out what hardware is compatible with your motherboard.
I assume you meant GB? This would be a silly thing to do anyway. Anything remotely close to that amount of memory would cost an astronomical sum of money.
@PumpJack McGee you may be confusing "memory" with "storage". RAM (memory) is a special type of high speed storage device. A "stick" of RAM typically comes in small amounts (e.g. 2 gigabytes or 4 gigabytes) because it's relatively expensive. Just 8 GB of RAM will cost you about $70 USD today. Storage on the other hand is a very slow container for your data. Storage is (usually) very cheap in comparison but your computer needs both to function. Storage devices include hard disks, flash drives, and more recently solid state drives. A typical 1 terabyte hard disk will cost only $50-$70 USD.
Everything on your computer is stored on a storage device at first. When you want to boot up Windows or run a program (like your browser) your computer moves that data from storage to RAM in order to have high speed access. Without doing this, your computer would be awfully slow and unresponsive, so it's not really feasible to have a computer system without RAM.
With that out of the way let's talk about how RAM might affect your performance. There are basically only three scenarios.
1. You have sufficient or maybe even too much memory available. In this case everything should run smoothly and you should not experience any problems. Having extra memory will not add any additional benefit.
2. You have insufficient RAM available. As MeganeMaster described, your computer will set aside a chunk of space on your storage device (typically at least double the capacity of your RAM). When your memory starts to fill up, your operating system (Windows) makes the decision to put some stuff that was in your memory into this page file. The term "virtual memory" just means that your computer treats it as an extension of your actual RAM. This allows your computer to keep using memory even when you're trying to use more than it has available. However, there is a limit to how much extra mileage you can get. You will eventually run out of virtual memory and at that point Windows will warn you and you may start experiencing serious problems.
[EDIT] Additional opinion: 2GB of RAM is not very much today. Most people will recommend 4 GB minimum these days for a new computer. We can't rule out the suggestion that you have insufficient RAM.
3. Your RAM is failing. If part of your RAM stick is failing all sorts of bad things may happen. If you can safely conclude that your computer
only experiences problems with Flash and video then your RAM is probably not failing. You would probably experience much more random problems if your RAM was bad.
With all that said, it's still not clear what the root of your problems is. This problem has only manifested recently so there must have been some change. The requirements for computing is constantly changing, and for the most part we need more powerful machines as time passes. In this case your computer would just be outdated and literally unable keep up with the times. But I'm not convinced that this is the case. To my knowledge, there hasn't been any major change in the requirements to play video (but I could be wrong about this).
More likely to me would be as dasBattleship01 suggested, overheating. After a long period of time (especially without thorough maintenance) a computer will run hotter and its parts will be worse at dissipating heat. For less powerful computers, playing video will really heat things up. This not only shortens your computer's lifespan, but it also decreases performance in the present time. You always want to keep your computer as cool as possible.
If you haven't checked it for dust, make sure to pop it open and have a look. There are many guides on the internet for proper cleaning and maintenance. OK if you have a laptop this is much more difficult but possibly doable.