I would definitely consider the new ultra books in particular the Asus ultra book that is both a tablet and laptop in one it won't be cheap but for travel the size and weight will be important, I think you should go with 8,it will hard to find new with out it. I would definitely not get 17" for travel. I think anything in the newer released laptops will cover your needs. The ultra book convertible is the best of both worlds, I think being able to use it in tablet mode will come in very handy. I personally own the Asus tf300 transformer tablet which I love but you want something bigger it sound like and your gaming needs would probably dictate a laptop. I don't mind a refurbished as long as it is factory refurbished with some warranty.

you should be able to right click on the folder itself and select delete, you should be able to drag and drop items to and from the flash drive. The most important thing is to always remember never ever remove anything like a flash drive until you have clicked the remove safely icon down in your systray and select which item you want to disconnect from your pc and wait till it says it is safe to remove. Not doing that can really mess stuff up. I have no idea why it would change the order unless did it perhaps put them in alphabetical order? if you right click start then explore and open your explorer tree find the drive letter assigned to the flash drive then from the right pane you should be able to drag and drop anything into that drive and in the same manner remove stuff from that drive. Or go to my computer find that drive select it and view what is on it and manipulate the data. When you select a picture on the flash drive and right click on it do you not have options listed there as to how you want it to open?

You can find computers that do what you wish for less than the amount you have indicated. For a faster computer be sure you choose a dual core processor; either AMD or Intel have those, and most new computers come with such. I'd also recommend at least 4GB of RAM, although more won't hurt. If you are not into gaming or photo editing, an on-board video card is just fine. You can probably find what you want for $500 or less, if you watch for sales. Search the websites of Dell, HP, Gateway, and others to see what is available, and then look at ads at the big box stores, including Wal-Mart, Staples, Office Max, Best Buy?, etc. You should be able to find one that meets your needs and then some. Why are you needing a new computer after 4 years? Just because you want a newer operating system, or is the one you have no longer capable of doing what you want? I ask, because even though I have a newer Windows 7 laptop, I'm still using my 5+ year old XP desktop for most of my work, including online banking and investing, photo work, e-mailing, browsing, etc.----all the things you say you do with the exception of business office functions, but with the right program, it is fully capable of doing that, too. Good luck, whatever you decide, and remember it does pay to read, research, and shop around.

cynic, do you know what the paging file is? Reading your post, I doubt it. Simply put, the only thing correct in your post is that RAM is volatile. That is, the information it holds is lost when the power is turned off. You're relationship analogy is flawed and indicates a lack of understanding of the architecture involved. Of course adding RAM makes the computer work faster! Any time you reduce or eliminate the caching of information to a hard disk you increase the speed at which the system can operate. People, this is rudimentary level stuff. I build computer systems. There are really only three ways to look at the needs of a certain system: 1. Bare minimum - This would be the absolute minimum system requirements which would allow the hardware and software to boot. With a system like this, you're probably better off with pencil and paper. I seriously doubt anyone here has a system at this level or you wouldn't be reading this without needing to reboot a few times, though some may be close.. 2. Functioning - Here is where I see a majority of systems. These systems may be meeting the hardware and software minimum requirements or be slightly ahead of them (recommended minimum requirements). This system can function for many years providing the user does not upgrade applications without upgrading hardware. As time goes by, these systems will not be able to run the newer operating systems, more powerful applications or run the latest gaming software. Remember, you can still be using an original pentium with 128MB EDO ram if you use win95 and the original windows version of photoshop. You may even feel this is "peppy". It's all relative. 3. Current - A current system is one which includes the latest technology and can run, without much difficulty, the most demanding operating system and software. Production is much higher since the time it takes to perform the same tasks as a functioning system is extremely reduced. As long as there are no bugs from new hardware or software, these systems operate at peak efficiency and do not run into some of the frustrating problems a functioning computer has. Owners of these systems can either let it stay as is until it becomes, with age, a "functioning" system or they can stay on the curve by upgrading until the technology changes enough to require a new system. The choice is yours. I do not recommend a "bare minimum" system and I strongly suggest that for production sake, you keep your "functioning" system as high above the "recommended minimum" as possible. We let, or I let, this topic ge way off, I apologize for that. You originally were asking about "clearing" Ram. If your system uses DRAM, then the memory controller in the operating system suffice. Considering the context of the original post, I do not think you meant this. What I think you need to do is upgrade.