expertnn
asked on
DOES RAM INCREASE NOT AFFECT WIN98 PERFORMANCE ??
Hi,
Let me first say thank you for writing the Rambooster program and
sharing it with everybody.
I have a problem with system resource. When I first boot up to Window
98, my system resource is 80% free using 128 mb of ram. I tried opening
up about 10 window programs (e.g. Office 2000, photoshop etc) and 20
Netscape windows -- and this used up my system resource.
I wanted to open up more Netscape windows -- so I added another 128 mb
ram to my system, making it 256 mb of ram. But on booting up, the system
resource is still 80% free (when I expected 90% free) !!!! And the
total number of windows I can open up remain the same as when I was
using 128 mb of ram. What is more frustrating is that the speed of the
system at 128 mb and 256 mb ram was about the same !!!!!
Please enlighten me as to how to maximise my 256 mb ram ..... I shall be
grateful....
My system configuration is as follows :-
Pentium III 667 EB (coppermine) running at 133 fsb.
MSI BX Master mother board (440 BX)
PC133 SDRam 128x2 mb.
Matrox G400 Max video card.
More than 2 GB of free hard disk space.
Win98 SE
Ng.
PS : I've called up the Microsoft technical support -- they seem to
give conflicting views -- some say that increasing ram should allow me
to open up more windows --- can some say the increase in ram will not
alter system resource (but some say it will). So what is the truth ?????
Let me first say thank you for writing the Rambooster program and
sharing it with everybody.
I have a problem with system resource. When I first boot up to Window
98, my system resource is 80% free using 128 mb of ram. I tried opening
up about 10 window programs (e.g. Office 2000, photoshop etc) and 20
Netscape windows -- and this used up my system resource.
I wanted to open up more Netscape windows -- so I added another 128 mb
ram to my system, making it 256 mb of ram. But on booting up, the system
resource is still 80% free (when I expected 90% free) !!!! And the
total number of windows I can open up remain the same as when I was
using 128 mb of ram. What is more frustrating is that the speed of the
system at 128 mb and 256 mb ram was about the same !!!!!
Please enlighten me as to how to maximise my 256 mb ram ..... I shall be
grateful....
My system configuration is as follows :-
Pentium III 667 EB (coppermine) running at 133 fsb.
MSI BX Master mother board (440 BX)
PC133 SDRam 128x2 mb.
Matrox G400 Max video card.
More than 2 GB of free hard disk space.
Win98 SE
Ng.
PS : I've called up the Microsoft technical support -- they seem to
give conflicting views -- some say that increasing ram should allow me
to open up more windows --- can some say the increase in ram will not
alter system resource (but some say it will). So what is the truth ?????
Opening up that many windows, even with plenty of memory, can still make Windows 98 pretty unstable. But what you're doing by adding RAM is manipulating resources. Keep in mind that your hard disk will use the swap file (virtual memory) as you require more RAM. Adding physical RAM will only reduce the swapping and speed up applications like PhotoShop and Netscape. Even so, keep in mind that large amounts of RAM frequently reach a point of marginal returns. It can help in editing large TIF files or in multi-tasking, but you shouldn't necessarily see a huge boost in resorces. For the level of multitasking you're talking about, you should really consider using Windows NT or Windows 2000. Resource management and stability are much better.
Another thing you need to be aware of is that some programs do not free up resources correctly. As you open and close some programs more and more of your resources (i.e. memory) will become unavailable. It's kind of like filling a bucket of water; the volume of the bucket is your resource and as residual "water" spills into the bucket less "volume" is availble. This is a problem with the program itself, it should be cleaning out the residual resource usage when it closes but it isn't. Check for upgrades and patches for your programs that you use most frequently.
Windows 98 doesn't really recongnise more then 128mg . It sees it tells you that you have but doesn't really use it. Most programs don't anyway. You won't see much diffrence beetween 128 and 256. Noy yet! But the more recent programs and gfames will bee able to use.
Do you mean you can't open windows or you get into lockups? I had lockups big time with Windows98 beta. Just so you can eliminate this possiblity,
you should go to a Internet Explorer Window, Tools, Internet Options, last
tab (Advanced), and put a check mark in the box to launch each explorer
window in a new process or something like that. This helps with the whole
operating system run better because IE is integrated in Windows98 (and many
people have complained about that!) What I am saying is do this, even if it
doesn't help with this problem. You will like Windows 98 alot better.
you should go to a Internet Explorer Window, Tools, Internet Options, last
tab (Advanced), and put a check mark in the box to launch each explorer
window in a new process or something like that. This helps with the whole
operating system run better because IE is integrated in Windows98 (and many
people have complained about that!) What I am saying is do this, even if it
doesn't help with this problem. You will like Windows 98 alot better.
jiler is correct, if you really want to utilize that much RAM, go with NT or Win2000. The memory manager is much more efficient and you will see better performance with more RAM. Keep in mind though, if the programs you are using all at once do not total used memory at least equivelant to the total amount of system RAM, it will not help you to add more.
Have you look into what resources is using the most, if not goto your system tools in accessories. In there you can see if it is memory (but with 256 meg i don't think so) if it is program threads or GDI (Graphic Device Interface)
Program threads- are used by win itself and any other programs that you have had run or currently running (with NT you can see just how much each file is using and at what percentage it is running) and some programs are rather durty meaning that even though it has bin click off after you are done with the progam. it leaves some of itself still in memory using up resources. Best cure for that is a reboot (with 95a and b there is a patch from Microsoft for having a system on for over 60 days)
One way to see what is all loaded in win after boot up is to press CTRL-ALT-DEL-----once-----
I had a problem like that and the way that i worked around that was to have multible profiles with each one having only what it needs to get by but still using win98se basic stuff.
For instance one profile could be for internet only, having all af the stuff needed to surf only, like the anti-virus program, basic sounds with no thrills or extras from the sound card and in the bar at the bottom right (the Quick launch area).
Another profile could be for other stuff like games excluding the internet needed stuff to keep resources down. and on and on
Profile are in your control Panel (Users and passwords) more of this is in you 98se disk
using it this way I manage to go from about 40% to 80% on basic resources.
Program threads- are used by win itself and any other programs that you have had run or currently running (with NT you can see just how much each file is using and at what percentage it is running) and some programs are rather durty meaning that even though it has bin click off after you are done with the progam. it leaves some of itself still in memory using up resources. Best cure for that is a reboot (with 95a and b there is a patch from Microsoft for having a system on for over 60 days)
One way to see what is all loaded in win after boot up is to press CTRL-ALT-DEL-----once-----
I had a problem like that and the way that i worked around that was to have multible profiles with each one having only what it needs to get by but still using win98se basic stuff.
For instance one profile could be for internet only, having all af the stuff needed to surf only, like the anti-virus program, basic sounds with no thrills or extras from the sound card and in the bar at the bottom right (the Quick launch area).
Another profile could be for other stuff like games excluding the internet needed stuff to keep resources down. and on and on
Profile are in your control Panel (Users and passwords) more of this is in you 98se disk
using it this way I manage to go from about 40% to 80% on basic resources.
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there's some great information!!! it makes a great answer because everyone here has already said that and no one will disagree with you.
Now, why don't you change your proposed answer to a comment and try to adhere top a few protocols in the future.
1) Experts do not post answer unless they are absolutely sure that the advice will solve the problem. Posting an answer locks the question and furhter delays the questioner's solution.
2) Experts also do not use other people's comments as their answers. The reason for this are obvious.
Try to adhere to this protocol in the future.
Now, why don't you change your proposed answer to a comment and try to adhere top a few protocols in the future.
1) Experts do not post answer unless they are absolutely sure that the advice will solve the problem. Posting an answer locks the question and furhter delays the questioner's solution.
2) Experts also do not use other people's comments as their answers. The reason for this are obvious.
Try to adhere to this protocol in the future.
I will disagree with him!
I have Delta Force 2 - it runs like a pig with 64, and even 128 MB RAM. Now with 196 or more it truly rocks.
The guideline I use for this is the amount of time to go from "Preparing mission" to the time you can actually see the mission screen.
64 MB RAM - 4 Minutes
128 MB RAM - 3.5 Minutes
196 MB RAM - 12 seconds
Win 98 absolutely does recognize and utilize more memory.
So why are you still having problems? What you see when you see resources is not just RAM. It also has to go with stuff in how the GUI itself works. Remember the old Stacks 9,256 statement in DOS? It's kind of like that. In the GDI there are basically stacks involved. The GDI does not have full access to all the memory - Neither does User.exe - both of them have some limitations in place due to backward compatibility with win 3.x apps.
What you get into with these multiple open Windows (Netscape and IE both have this problem) is that it is sucking up the GDI resources, that's how you can have 200 MB free memory and still run out of memory.
The reason NT runs better, is it's a full 32 bit GDI and User.. not a tweaked 16 bit one.
I have Delta Force 2 - it runs like a pig with 64, and even 128 MB RAM. Now with 196 or more it truly rocks.
The guideline I use for this is the amount of time to go from "Preparing mission" to the time you can actually see the mission screen.
64 MB RAM - 4 Minutes
128 MB RAM - 3.5 Minutes
196 MB RAM - 12 seconds
Win 98 absolutely does recognize and utilize more memory.
So why are you still having problems? What you see when you see resources is not just RAM. It also has to go with stuff in how the GUI itself works. Remember the old Stacks 9,256 statement in DOS? It's kind of like that. In the GDI there are basically stacks involved. The GDI does not have full access to all the memory - Neither does User.exe - both of them have some limitations in place due to backward compatibility with win 3.x apps.
What you get into with these multiple open Windows (Netscape and IE both have this problem) is that it is sucking up the GDI resources, that's how you can have 200 MB free memory and still run out of memory.
The reason NT runs better, is it's a full 32 bit GDI and User.. not a tweaked 16 bit one.
I have seen a few issues with 95/98 and over 128 MB of RAM. I have noticed things like incredibly large swap files and excess paging in some cases though in others I've seen it work great. The best results I have seen were when the swap file was manually set to twice the amount of RAM and was not allowed to fluctuate. I also have a friend who works in our lab who has been running a 98 system with 256MB of RAM and NO swap file. He's just doing it for the fun of it but it's very interesting to think about. My point, though, is that in some cases, I have seen 95/98 choke hard above 128MB actually decreasing system performance.
If you want to increase your system resources back to 92% or at least close to it at startup, type msconfig at the run prompt and select the startup tab and disable programs that you do not need loaded at startup.
I know that my kind of chipset (LX) has this problem, but a BX wasn't. Can that be the difference?
Make sure you set it on a drive that has plenty of free space, then set the Minimum and Maximum to the same. Set it to 256, click OK and reboot. This will increase the amount of memory that can be swapped to the hard drive to free it up.
Hope that works! BTW, why do you need to open all that stuff?