Hi mscat1962 and Welcome to the Forums.

Without a doubt, increasing the amount of Ram will fix this problem. There may be some tweaking you could do, but with only having 256mb's of Ram, it can't really get much better.

Todays programs, games, and just about everything else, even some OS's will require at least 2gigs of Ram.

Upgrading your Ram will make everything run a lot smoother and quicker.

Check this site for Upgrades. Let it scan your computer and it will tell you exactly what you will need to know for the Upgrade, including pricing.
Hope this Helps.

Memory upgrades, flash media, and usb storage at Crucial.com

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