I have 512 MB of memory and want to know if there are built-in tools in WinXP
Home to tell the memory usage. I am concerned that my PC is running slowly
when I have too many applications open due to this, and may need to add more
memory. Thanks for any information.
--
J150

you could add more
memory, but it may
not improve the
performance.

a simple test is to boot
into safemode and see
if windows runs faster
than in normal mode.

it is highly likely that
windows will be faster
in safemode, because
the majority of time it
is third party software
loading in normal mode
bogs down windows


--

db ·´¯`·.¸. , . .·´¯`·..><)))º>`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·...¸><)))º>¸.
><)))º>·´¯`·.¸. , . .·´¯`·.. ><)))º>`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·...¸><)))º>


..


"J150" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:16234E97-3A50-420A-B678-(E-Mail Removed)...
>I have 512 MB of memory and want to know if there are built-in tools in WinXP
> Home to tell the memory usage. I am concerned that my PC is running slowly
> when I have too many applications open due to this, and may need to add more
> memory. Thanks for any information.
> --
> J150

Thanks for that suggestion, but I would still like to know if there is a way
to determine the percentage of memory usage when I have different
applications running. Is there a command I can enter in the 'Start', 'Run'
window to measure this? Then how high a percentage of memory usage would be
likely to cause slow throughput of the system?
--
J150


"db ´¯`·.. ><)))º>` .. ." wrote:

> you could add more
> memory, but it may
> not improve the
> performance.
>
> a simple test is to boot
> into safemode and see
> if windows runs faster
> than in normal mode.
>
> it is highly likely that
> windows will be faster
> in safemode, because
> the majority of time it
> is third party software
> loading in normal mode
> bogs down windows
>
>
> --
>
> db ·´¯`·.¸. , . .·´¯`·..><)))º>`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·...¸><)))º>¸.
> ><)))º>·´¯`·.¸. , . .·´¯`·.. ><)))º>`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·...¸><)))º>
>
>
> ..
>
>
> "J150" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:16234E97-3A50-420A-B678-(E-Mail Removed)...
> >I have 512 MB of memory and want to know if there are built-in tools in WinXP
> > Home to tell the memory usage. I am concerned that my PC is running slowly
> > when I have too many applications open due to this, and may need to add more
> > memory. Thanks for any information.
> > --
> > J150
>
>

Right-click an empty space on the Task bar, the (usually) blue bar at the
bottom of your screen.
Left-click "Task Manager" on the "menu" that pops up.
Click the "Performance" tab. CPU usage is shown at the top, Physical Memory
"available" a little below that.
This page explains about "Commit Charge", but near the middle shows a little
about Mem usage:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commit_charge

hth


"J150" wrote:

> I have 512 MB of memory and want to know if there are built-in tools in WinXP
> Home to tell the memory usage. I am concerned that my PC is running slowly
> when I have too many applications open due to this, and may need to add more
> memory. Thanks for any information.
> --
> J150

J150 wrote:
> I have 512 MB of memory and want to know if there are built-in tools
> in WinXP Home to tell the memory usage. I am concerned that my PC is
> running slowly when I have too many applications open due to this,
> and may need to add more memory. Thanks for any information.

512 MB of RAM is generally enough, but there are some exceptions. Image
and video editing can use up lots of memory. So can Virtual PC. And
running many apps at the same time could be problematic. Finally, memory
leaks can occur, so rebooting every 24 hours (assuming your PC is always
on) can address that issue.

It's possible that you do need to add more RAM. This will lessen your
reliance on your page file, which resides on your hard disk and is
considerably slower than RAM.

But before you purchase more RAM, a little bit of diagnostics is
necessary. First, open Task Manager (ctrl+alt+del). Select Performance
tab. Under Commit Charge, what are the values for Total, Limit, and
Peak? By the way, Total represents your total virtual memory (that is,
RAM plus pagefile) being used currently. Limit is the total virtual
memory available. And Peak is the most you have used since your last
reboot.

(Note: some people define virtual memory as the pagefile only. Again,
I'm defining it as RAM *plus* pagefile.)

Also click on the Processes tab. Click on the Mem Usage heading twice.
Now you can see the biggest memory users at the top. Do you see any
particular memory hogs?

There are other causes of a slow PC. The most common ones are malware,
too many unneeded processes running in the background, and too many temp
files. See www3.telus.net/dandemar/slowcom.htm for methods to speed up
your PC. For starters, concentrate on Steps 1, 3, 5, 7, and 10.

Thank you for the information. With a typical application load, I see CPU
Usage average ~4%; Physical Memory:458M Total, 172M Available, 234M System
Cache; Commit Charge: 500M Total, 1081M Limit, 560M Peak. Does that sound
like my 512M of RAM is sufficient?
--
J150


"Script" wrote:

> Right-click an empty space on the Task bar, the (usually) blue bar at the
> bottom of your screen.
> Left-click "Task Manager" on the "menu" that pops up.
> Click the "Performance" tab. CPU usage is shown at the top, Physical Memory
> "available" a little below that.
> This page explains about "Commit Charge", but near the middle shows a little
> about Mem usage:
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commit_charge
>
> hth
>
>
> "J150" wrote:
>
> > I have 512 MB of memory and want to know if there are built-in tools in WinXP
> > Home to tell the memory usage. I am concerned that my PC is running slowly
> > when I have too many applications open due to this, and may need to add more
> > memory. Thanks for any information.
> > --
> > J150

Thank you for the information. With a typical application load, I see CPU
Usage average ~4%; Physical Memory:458M Total, 172M Available, 234M System
Cache; Commit Charge: 500M Total, 1081M Limit, 560M Peak. Looking at
Processes, Internet Explorer is the largest at 49M, there are two at 14M, and
the rest are 6M or less. I run Ad-Aware and Spybot scans monthly and
occasionally delete the temp files. I will look at the article you referred
me to tomorrow, but from what I describe, does that sound to you like my 512M
of RAM is sufficient?

--
J150


"Daave" wrote:

> J150 wrote:
> > I have 512 MB of memory and want to know if there are built-in tools
> > in WinXP Home to tell the memory usage. I am concerned that my PC is
> > running slowly when I have too many applications open due to this,
> > and may need to add more memory. Thanks for any information.
>
> 512 MB of RAM is generally enough, but there are some exceptions. Image
> and video editing can use up lots of memory. So can Virtual PC. And
> running many apps at the same time could be problematic. Finally, memory
> leaks can occur, so rebooting every 24 hours (assuming your PC is always
> on) can address that issue.
>
> It's possible that you do need to add more RAM. This will lessen your
> reliance on your page file, which resides on your hard disk and is
> considerably slower than RAM.
>
> But before you purchase more RAM, a little bit of diagnostics is
> necessary. First, open Task Manager (ctrl+alt+del). Select Performance
> tab. Under Commit Charge, what are the values for Total, Limit, and
> Peak? By the way, Total represents your total virtual memory (that is,
> RAM plus pagefile) being used currently. Limit is the total virtual
> memory available. And Peak is the most you have used since your last
> reboot.
>
> (Note: some people define virtual memory as the pagefile only. Again,
> I'm defining it as RAM *plus* pagefile.)
>
> Also click on the Processes tab. Click on the Mem Usage heading twice.
> Now you can see the biggest memory users at the top. Do you see any
> particular memory hogs?
>
> There are other causes of a slow PC. The most common ones are malware,
> too many unneeded processes running in the background, and too many temp
> files. See www3.telus.net/dandemar/slowcom.htm for methods to speed up
> your PC. For starters, concentrate on Steps 1, 3, 5, 7, and 10.
>
>
>

For how you are currently using your system, you could use more RAM. The
reason is that 54 MB of your RAM seems to be used right off the bat by
your onboard graphics card. So you really only have 458 MB of RAM
available, which again is normally fine (at work, I only have 256 MB,
but since I don't multitask or use RAM-hungry apps, I'm fine), but your
Commit Charge and Peak values reveal you're relying on your pagefile,
which slows things down.

Sure, more RAM will definitely help. I suggest going to crucial.com to
determine the *exact* type you need.

However, it's also possible to run more lean, which might eliminate the
need for more RAM. Visit that link I gave you in the other post. Since
you already scan with AdAware and Spybot S&D (they are both updated,
no?), you've got Step 3 covered. So, concentrate on Steps 1 and 10 (5
and 7 are important, too, but they don't address your RAM usage).
Assuming you have no viruses, trojans, etc., Step 10 will be most
helpful. When you run msconfig, which processes do you have in the
Startup tab?

Also, back in Task Manager, Processes, click View and select Columns.
Check the Virtual Memory Size box click OK. Now you have a Virtual
Memory column next to your Mem Usage column. Click on the heading twice
so the largest VM uses are at the top. What are the values for the top
five (or ten)? Reboot and run the same combo of apps. Look at the values
again. Are they lower?



J150 wrote:
> Thank you for the information. With a typical application load, I see
> CPU Usage average ~4%; Physical Memory:458M Total, 172M Available,
> 234M System Cache; Commit Charge: 500M Total, 1081M Limit, 560M Peak.
> Looking at Processes, Internet Explorer is the largest at 49M, there
> are two at 14M, and the rest are 6M or less. I run Ad-Aware and
> Spybot scans monthly and occasionally delete the temp files. I will
> look at the article you referred me to tomorrow, but from what I
> describe, does that sound to you like my 512M of RAM is sufficient?
>
>
>> J150 wrote:
>>> I have 512 MB of memory and want to know if there are built-in tools
>>> in WinXP Home to tell the memory usage. I am concerned that my PC is
>>> running slowly when I have too many applications open due to this,
>>> and may need to add more memory. Thanks for any information.
>>
>> 512 MB of RAM is generally enough, but there are some exceptions.
>> Image and video editing can use up lots of memory. So can Virtual
>> PC. And running many apps at the same time could be problematic.
>> Finally, memory leaks can occur, so rebooting every 24 hours
>> (assuming your PC is always on) can address that issue.
>>
>> It's possible that you do need to add more RAM. This will lessen your
>> reliance on your page file, which resides on your hard disk and is
>> considerably slower than RAM.
>>
>> But before you purchase more RAM, a little bit of diagnostics is
>> necessary. First, open Task Manager (ctrl+alt+del). Select
>> Performance tab. Under Commit Charge, what are the values for Total,
>> Limit, and
>> Peak? By the way, Total represents your total virtual memory (that
>> is,
>> RAM plus pagefile) being used currently. Limit is the total virtual
>> memory available. And Peak is the most you have used since your last
>> reboot.
>>
>> (Note: some people define virtual memory as the pagefile only. Again,
>> I'm defining it as RAM *plus* pagefile.)
>>
>> Also click on the Processes tab. Click on the Mem Usage heading
>> twice.
>> Now you can see the biggest memory users at the top. Do you see any
>> particular memory hogs?
>>
>> There are other causes of a slow PC. The most common ones are
>> malware,
>> too many unneeded processes running in the background, and too many
>> temp files. See www3.telus.net/dandemar/slowcom.htm for methods to
>> speed up your PC. For starters, concentrate on Steps 1, 3, 5, 7, and
>> 10.

in the task manager
there is a column that shows
memory usage for each process
on the processes tab.

be sure to enable the columns
via the menu view option.

then you can calculate the percentage
yourself by using the "total physical
memory" on the performance tab.

for example:

+ 42.5 (explorer process size)
/ 425 (megs of used physical memory)
-----------------------------
= 0.10 (percent)

there might be third party
software that does this
calculation, but i would
be reluctant to use them
since it would be constantly
calculating as the processes
and memory fluctuate continuously.

however, you might want to
print the task manager processes and
use excel to calculate your percentage.

also, keep in mind that some
processes for software that
you have closed are still
lingering into memory.

so a memory defragger is
helpful in clearing the
unneeded processes out
of memory.

here is the one i use:
http://www.amsn.ro/

if you choose to use it
as well, then here are a
couple of tips:

set the slider to 75% &
run and close the program
as needed, instead of letting
it run continuously in memory.

it can also print the processes
as well.

--

db ·´¯`·.¸. , . .·´¯`·..><)))º>`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·...¸><)))º>¸.
><)))º>·´¯`·.¸. , . .·´¯`·.. ><)))º>`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·...¸><)))º>


..


"J150" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:8637B1BD-904A-46C7-9BDA-(E-Mail Removed)...
> Thanks for that suggestion, but I would still like to know if there is a way
> to determine the percentage of memory usage when I have different
> applications running. Is there a command I can enter in the 'Start', 'Run'
> window to measure this? Then how high a percentage of memory usage would be
> likely to cause slow throughput of the system?
> --
> J150
>
>
> "db ´¯`·.. ><)))º>` .. ." wrote:
>
>> you could add more
>> memory, but it may
>> not improve the
>> performance.
>>
>> a simple test is to boot
>> into safemode and see
>> if windows runs faster
>> than in normal mode.
>>
>> it is highly likely that
>> windows will be faster
>> in safemode, because
>> the majority of time it
>> is third party software
>> loading in normal mode
>> bogs down windows
>>
>>
>> --
>>
>> db ·´¯`·.¸. , . .·´¯`·..><)))º>`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·...¸><)))º>¸.
>> ><)))º>·´¯`·.¸. , . .·´¯`·.. ><)))º>`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·...¸><)))º>
>>
>>
>> ..
>>
>>
>> "J150" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
>> news:16234E97-3A50-420A-B678-(E-Mail Removed)...
>> >I have 512 MB of memory and want to know if there are built-in tools in
>> >WinXP
>> > Home to tell the memory usage. I am concerned that my PC is running slowly
>> > when I have too many applications open due to this, and may need to add
>> > more
>> > memory. Thanks for any information.
>> > --
>> > J150
>>
>>

Thanks.

--
J150


"db ´¯`·.. ><)))º>` .. ." wrote:

> in the task manager
> there is a column that shows
> memory usage for each process
> on the processes tab.
>
> be sure to enable the columns
> via the menu view option.
>
> then you can calculate the percentage
> yourself by using the "total physical
> memory" on the performance tab.
>
> for example:
>
> + 42.5 (explorer process size)
> / 425 (megs of used physical memory)
> -----------------------------
> = 0.10 (percent)
>
> there might be third party
> software that does this
> calculation, but i would
> be reluctant to use them
> since it would be constantly
> calculating as the processes
> and memory fluctuate continuously.
>
> however, you might want to
> print the task manager processes and
> use excel to calculate your percentage.
>
> also, keep in mind that some
> processes for software that
> you have closed are still
> lingering into memory.
>
> so a memory defragger is
> helpful in clearing the
> unneeded processes out
> of memory.
>
> here is the one i use:
> http://www.amsn.ro/
>
> if you choose to use it
> as well, then here are a
> couple of tips:
>
> set the slider to 75% &
> run and close the program
> as needed, instead of letting
> it run continuously in memory.
>
> it can also print the processes
> as well.
>
> --
>
> db ·´¯`·.¸. , . .·´¯`·..><)))º>`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·...¸><)))º>¸.
> ><)))º>·´¯`·.¸. , . .·´¯`·.. ><)))º>`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·...¸><)))º>
>
>
> ..
>
>
> "J150" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:8637B1BD-904A-46C7-9BDA-(E-Mail Removed)...
> > Thanks for that suggestion, but I would still like to know if there is a way
> > to determine the percentage of memory usage when I have different
> > applications running. Is there a command I can enter in the 'Start', 'Run'
> > window to measure this? Then how high a percentage of memory usage would be
> > likely to cause slow throughput of the system?
> > --
> > J150
> >
> >
> > "db ´¯`·.. ><)))º>` .. ." wrote:
> >
> >> you could add more
> >> memory, but it may
> >> not improve the
> >> performance.
> >>
> >> a simple test is to boot
> >> into safemode and see
> >> if windows runs faster
> >> than in normal mode.
> >>
> >> it is highly likely that
> >> windows will be faster
> >> in safemode, because
> >> the majority of time it
> >> is third party software
> >> loading in normal mode
> >> bogs down windows
> >>
> >>
> >> --
> >>
> >> db ·´¯`·.¸. , . .·´¯`·..><)))º>`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·...¸><)))º>¸.
> >> ><)))º>·´¯`·.¸. , . .·´¯`·.. ><)))º>`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·...¸><)))º>
> >>
> >>
> >> ..
> >>
> >>
> >> "J150" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> >> news:16234E97-3A50-420A-B678-(E-Mail Removed)...
> >> >I have 512 MB of memory and want to know if there are built-in tools in
> >> >WinXP
> >> > Home to tell the memory usage. I am concerned that my PC is running slowly
> >> > when I have too many applications open due to this, and may need to add
> >> > more
> >> > memory. Thanks for any information.
> >> > --
> >> > J150
> >>
> >>
>
>