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rahata3

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Dose windows eating up my RAM

Hi my name is Rotem and I have a pentum-1 computer. It keeps
Freezing all the time and I can't figure out why. I'm running a
program I downloaded of the web called "WinRAM-Booster
pro.2000" that suppose to optimize my RAM. It indicated that over
75% of the RAM are occupied after Windows is dune loading and
before I even open another application. Then when I go online
(AOL 4.0 + Netscape 4.72) or when I run another large program
the computer either crush or freeze. Recently I upgraded the RAM
from 32MB to 80MB but the RAM is still over 60% occupied and
still freezing from no apparent reason.
My questions are:
1) What is eating up my RAM? How is that possible that I well over doubled the RAM and still the same present of it is used?
2) Way dose the computer freeze? Some time I don't have to do more then moving the muse or try to shut down a window or an
application or even open a certain file (I run into several download
files that would freeze my computer jest by marking them? I delete them all)
3) WinRAM booster is also providing the list of program running.
There is the list of programs I don't recognize.
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\KERNEL32.DLL
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\MPREXE.EXE
C:\PROGRAM FILES\TV VIEWER\TVWAKEUP.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\SYSTRAT.EXE
C:\PROGRAM FILES\IOMEGA\TOOLS\IOWATCH.EXE
C:\PROGRAM FILES\IOMEGA\TOOLS\IMGICON.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\SPEECH\VCMD.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\ SYSTEM\SPOOL32.EXE
Are they necessary? Are they using a lot of RAM? How do I make
it so they won't start with windows?

4) I removed every unnecessary shortcut from the start menu
folder but there is a Few programs still smarting with windows.
(Yahoo messenger, MSN, Scheduled Tasks) is there another start menu?
I hope you will spread some light on the subject or at list refer me
to someone how can.

Thanks ahead Rotem
Avatar of pjknibbs
pjknibbs

Out of interest, did these crash problems only start *after* you installed this WinRAM Booster thing?
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1) and 2) window loads code in the form of DLL files (means dynamic Library) that are build up around collections of instructions and modules.
When a DLL gets loaded, it loads as much as it can (this depends on the amount of physical ram).
When Windows discovers it is running low on memory it pages out of memory those parts of a DLL that are (not) ready used.
This yes to load another DLL that will use as much memory as it can.
This goes on until your system and apps are loaded.
Then when you try to get data (doc's or so) from the disk or network, windows again frees some memory.
That's why your system uses a non predictable amount of memory.
This all depends on the efectiveness of the application.
So if a programmer (vb or c++) uses all standard DLL's instead of creating code himself, a program can get very bulkie without any added function.

But as a result of all the loading and unloading the memory gets fragmented (just like disk) and gets holes that get smaller the longer the system is up and running.
That's where ramboost (and other so called memory mangers come in) they try to defragment the memory but most of the time will fail, leaving you with a totally instable and unpredictable system.
SO ONE ADVICE:
DUMP that kind of tool and let nature (windoze) take mater in his own hands.

I don't know what OS you are talking about (win9x, winnt, w2k) but NT and w2k have memory defragmentation of thier own. (i'm not sure about win98).

So it is of absolutely no importance how much free memory you have left after starting the OS or loading an application, but WHEN and HOW MANY starts the system swapping.

Because swapping is bad for performance you want to avoid that.
But unlike many other OS's NT starts to swap almost at boot time, but just a little.

So again system behavioure during working hours (using perfmon) is more important than plain figures