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The system has 1GB of memory and a page file size of 1718MB. &nbsp;I'm attaching a screen shot from the system monitor. &nbsp;I opened windows and apps until the condition occured, then took the screen shot of the performance montior. &nbsp;I am showing the following info:<br />
<br />
1. Available memory (over 100MB at the moment)<br />
2. Pages/Sec - basically dropped to zero, but problem still occurs<br />
3. Page file usage and peak - current at about 84%, peak at 92%<br />
<br />
I don't see a problem here, but perhaps I'm misinterpreting this data.<br />
<a href="https://filedb.experts-exchange.com/incoming/2008/07_w29/42390/Desktop-hung.bmp" target="_blank" class="file-inline" title="system monitor when system is one screen away from breaking point (3.8 MB)"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 512 512"><path d="M67.508 468.467c-58.005-58.013-58.016-151.92 0-209.943l225.011-225.04c44.643-44.645 117.279-44.645 161.92 0 44.743 44.749 44.753 117.186 0 161.944l-189.465 189.49c-31.41 31.413-82.518 31.412-113.926.001-31.479-31.482-31.49-82.453 0-113.944L311.51 110.491c4.687-4.687 12.286-4.687 16.972 0l16.967 16.971c4.685 4.686 4.685 12.283 0 16.969L184.983 304.917c-12.724 12.724-12.73 33.328 0 46.058 12.696 12.697 33.356 12.699 46.054-.001l189.465-189.489c25.987-25.989 25.994-68.06.001-94.056-25.931-25.934-68.119-25.932-94.049 0l-225.01 225.039c-39.249 39.252-39.258 102.795-.001 142.057 39.285 39.29 102.885 39.287 142.162-.028A739446.174 739446.174 0 0 1 439.497 238.49c4.686-4.687 12.282-4.684 16.969.004l16.967 16.971c4.685 4.686 4.689 12.279.004 16.965a755654.128 755654.128 0 0 0-195.881 195.996c-58.034 58.092-152.004 58.093-210.048.041z"/></svg>Desktop-hung.bmp</a>
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system monitor when system is one screen away from breaking point

Desktop-hung.bmp

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This issue turned out to be a desktop heap sizing issue. &nbsp;See below from another EE problem thread:<br />
<br />
&quot;But my primary question remains what is causing this limitation, and whether there is an operating envirnment that breaks out of this limitation?&quot;<br />
<br />
It sounds like you're exhausting your desktop heap. &nbsp;This heap is used to store menus, hooks, strings, and windows. &nbsp;The system allocates<br />
desktop heap from a system wide 48 MB buffer. &nbsp;If the heap runs out you will have problems launching other programs and the OS will seem <br />
generally slow, even if you have plenty of available physical memory. &nbsp;This usually happens when you open several Windows.<br />
<br />
You can increase the desktop heap size by editing the following registry key:<br />
<br />
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\<wbr />CurrentCon<wbr />trolSet\Co<wbr />ntrol\Sess<wbr />ion Manager\Memory Management\SessionViewSize<wbr /><br />
Default sould be 48 Decimal, this means 48 MB. &nbsp;Increase it by 16 MB at a time and test to see if the performance gets better.<br />
You must reboot after making this change.<br />
<br />
This limitation is in part due to the limit on Kernel mode address space imposed by 32 bit operating systems. &nbsp;There is a finite <br />
amount of system memory for nonpaged pool, paged pool, system PTEs, system cache, etc. &nbsp;This limit is 2 GB by default. &nbsp;<br />
1 GB goes to System cache, 256 MB to non-paged pool, 470 MB for paged pool, and the rest for System PTEs and I believe a <br />
few other small items. &nbsp;Keep in mind that when you increase the desktop heap you may decrease available paged pool, nonpaged<br />
pool, System PTE's, and/or system cache. &nbsp;Windows XP 64 bit would have somewhere around 128 GB of Kernel memory <br />
available so yes, a 64 bit OS would absolutely fix this.<br />
<br />
Nobody actually provided a solution through EE - so no points can be awarded.<br />

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I have a windows XP desktop system I'm using. &nbsp;The system has IEexplorer and MS/Office as the primary applications. &nbsp;It seems this system gets a little cranky when too many windows are open. &nbsp;It refuses at a certain point to let me open additional windows. &nbsp; Even pulldowns for menu selections don't respond. &nbsp; <br />
<br />
Once I close a few IE windows or applications, the system starts behaving normally. &nbsp;Looking at the performance monitor (the system admin one, not the ctl-alt-delete one), I see plenty of available physical memory and I notice no memory resource that grows in sync with the introduction of this problem or shrinks when I close the apps that free up the system.<br />
<br />
I've gotten the problem isolated to the point where I can close one window and pick up one window's worth of capability. &nbsp; I suspect a critical resource constraint but don't know how to isolate it. &nbsp;I'm looking for ideas. &nbsp;All assistance is appreciated.
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I have a windows XP desktop system I'm using.  The system has IEexplorer and MS/Office as the primary applications.  It seems this system gets a little cranky when too many windows are open.  It refuses at a certain point to let me open additional windows.   Even pulldowns for menu selections don't respond.   

Once I close a few IE windows or applications, the system starts behaving normally.  Looking at the performance monitor (the system admin one, not the ctl-alt-delete one), I see plenty of available physical memory and I notice no memory resource that grows in sync with the introduction of this problem or shrinks when I close the apps that free up the system.

I've gotten the problem isolated to the point where I can close one window and pick up one window's worth of capability.   I suspect a critical resource constraint but don't know how to isolate it.  I'm looking for ideas.  All assistance is appreciated.

Too Many Windows Open in Windows

The Microsoft Legacy Operating System topic includes legacy versions of Microsoft operating systems prior to Windows 2000: All versions of MS-DOS and other versions developed for specific manufacturers and Windows 3/3.1, Windows 95 and Windows 98, plus any other Windows-related versions, and Windows Mobile.

Microsoft Legacy OS

This topic area includes legacy versions of Windows prior to Windows 2000: Windows 3/3.1, Windows 95 and Windows 98, plus any other Windows-related versions including Windows Mobile.

Windows OS

Microsoft Windows XP is the sixth release of the NT series of operating systems, and was the first to be marketed in a variety of editions: XP Home and XP Professional, designed for business and power users. The advanced features in XP Professional are generally disabled in Home Edition, but are there and can be activated. There were two 64-bit editions, an embedded edition and a tablet edition.