BleepingComputer.com: what do I need to upgrade?

my computer lags a little on startup, and sometimes has to reboot itself when I use a heavy memory application like iTunes. I've had this computer for a while, so what do I need to upgrade? my computer specs are as follow:

pentium 4 cpu 2.4ghz with 768 mb of ram.

thanks in advance.

Before you buy anything to make your computer faster try the free route.

Open My Computer
Right click on the C drive
On the menu click Properties
Click on the Tools tab
Click on Defragment Now
Do the defrag
Click on the General tab
Click on Disk Cleanup
When the disk cleanup box opens put checkmarks in all the little boxes
Click OK

[If you do defrags regularly do the cleanup first]

If you haven't got it download Malwarebytes & install it,

http://download.cnet.com/Malwarebytes-Anti...4-10804572.html

Run the utility & remove everything it finds.

Next Download StartupCPL ,

http://majorgeeks.com/download619.html

When installed it will put an icon in the Control Panel named Startup.
Open the Control Panel
Double click the Startup icon
To stop programs from starting with Windows take the check mark out of the box next to a program.
You can't stop everything from starting with Windows though.
What you do stop will still work when you manually start it.
Things that don't need to start woth Windows,

Office
Adobe Reader [Acrobat Reader]
iTunes
Sun Java updater
Nero [if you have it]

Don't stop your Anti Virus program from startiong !
Also don't stop your firewall from starting.

If you stop something from starting with Windows that you need running just put the check mark back in the box.

Once you have tried all that fairjoeblue has suggested, if you are still having trouble, you might want to get some extra RAM. You are on the fence with the 768MB you have. I would recommend having at least 2GB, especially with iTunes. I'm not sure what type memory you might need but at the present-day cost, it is very cost-effective.

I hope this helps.

DR

ok, thanks for all the advice, and it looks like I'm gonna need to get some ram. any tips on seeing if it fits right before I buy it?

You can have Crucial scan your computer. It will tell you what you have and what you can get.

http://www.crucial.com (the scanner on the left. Allow the activeX to load)

Then, go to http://www.newegg.com and search for that type of RAM. Check the customer reviews and they can tell you of any incompatibilities.