Macbook still slow after adding an extra ram

I am facing very weird problem with the Macbook which I have bought recently. The Macbook is installed with Mac OS X 10.5 on it. The Macbook worked fine for few days but now the performance of the Macbook has become really slow. All the applications take lot of time to open. I thought upgrading the RAM will solve the problem but the Macbook is still slow after adding an extra ram. I dont know why the Macbook has become so slow and hence need your help in solving the issue. Any suggestions about the topic are welcome.

Upgrading the RAM does not help in speeding up the computer if not done properly. The extra RAM chips which are added to the computer must be compatible with the RAM chips which are already present on the computer. Compatibility between the chips here means the FSB and the frequency of operation should be same. If there is difference in the FSB and or in the frequency of the operation then adding the extra RAM chips will not help you in speeding up the performance of the computer. Therefore check if the chips which you have added are compatible to each other or not.

There must be lot of processes running in the background due to which the performance of the Macbook is suffering. Every process which is executed on the computer requires some memory and CPU usage to be allocated. If lot of processes are running together then lot of CPU and memory would be used. At such times the processor takes up lot of time to process any new applications and hence the performance of the computer slows down. Open the activity monitor and check all the processes which are unwanted and are taking up lot of memory usage. Terminate such processes and then check if the performance of the computer improves or not.

Most of the problems which are faced by the MAC users are solved by doing a PRAM reset. Many times invalid entries get stored in the system RAM. If the system RAM gets flooded with the invalid entries then the operating system will not work properly. You will have to clear all the invalid entries from the RAM to bring the system back to working state. To clear the invalid entries, you will need to perform a PRAM reset :-

• Shut down the computer.
• Locate the following keys (Apple, option, R and P)
• Press and hold the following keys while booting the computer.
• Keep the keys pressed till 3 startup chimes are heard.
• As soon as the 3rd startup chime is heard, release the keys and let the system boot normally.

May be the operating system which you are using is not working properly and hence the performance of the computer is suffering. If any of the files of the operating system are missing from the system then the system will not work properly. Try upgrading the operating system on your Macbook and see if the performance of the computer improves. Insert the installation disk of the operating system (Mac os X 10.6) and boot the system from the disk. Select the Install/archive mode of installation which will enable you to use all the applications which are installed on the previous operating system. After installation of the operating system, check if the performance of the system has improved or not.