How can I watch how full RAM is?

[Sarah]

Hello, the performance and task manager windows let me see paging and
cpu usage but I need to know if my slow down problems result from full
ram. Watching the processes in task manager doesn't help, the total
space used in mem is much less than the ram I have.

My specific problem is incredible (!!!!!) slowness with Firefox. I
hear it's a memory hog and want to watch to see if that is my problem.

Thanks
Sarah

 

[PD43]

My specific problem is incredible (!!!!!) slowness with Firefox. I
hear it's a memory hog and want to watch to see if that is my problem.

On MY system, Firefox worked fine for a while... but it started to use
more and more and MORE memory the longer it ran (memory leak).

You can watch it by opening the Task Manager, and looking at
Processes.

If you find it happening to you, then go to IE7. I did, and have
never looked back.

 

[Frank Saunders MS-MVP IE,OE/WM]

Hello, the performance and task manager windows let me see paging and
cpu usage but I need to know if my slow down problems result from full
ram. Watching the processes in task manager doesn't help, the total
space used in mem is much less than the ram I have.

My specific problem is incredible (!!!!!) slowness with Firefox. I
hear it's a memory hog and want to watch to see if that is my problem.

Thanks
Sarah

Do a thorough check for malware, following all of the steps at one of these
Web pages.
Help with malware:
All MS-MVP Sites.
http://aumha.org/a/parasite.htm
http://aumha.org/a/quickfix.htm
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Removing_Malware
http://mvps.org/winhelp2002/unwanted.htm
http://inetexplorer.mvps.org/darnit.html
http://www.mvps.org/sramesh2k/Malware_Defence.htm

Unexplained computer behavior may be caused by deceptive software.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/827315

So How Did I Get Infected Anyway?
For quite a few people it's by installing programs like Messenger Plus,
whose ads for malware don't identify the malware as such and try to convince
you that you owe it to the author. See also:
http://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=27971
Don't ever do a "default" install of anything. Always choose Custom and see
what else is being carried along. Don't install any extras you're not sure
of.

 

[C.Joseph S. Drayton]

I use StatBar (FreeWare) to monitor CPU, RAM and Network activity.

--

Sincerely,
C.Joseph Drayton, Ph.D. AS&T

CSD Computer Services
Web site: http://csdcs.tlerma.com/
E-mail: (e-mail address removed)

 

[Sarah]

On MY system, Firefox worked fine for a while... but it started to use
more and more and MORE memory the longer it ran (memory leak).

You can watch it by opening the Task Manager, and looking at
Processes.

If you find it happening to you, then go to IE7. I did, and have
never looked back.

Boy, no kidding. I tried IE7 and it was almost instantaneous.

I will keep an eye on it and see if it gets worse as time passes. But
I'm about to switch to a new computer so will wait and see if my
memory leak if fixed (is that a hardware, OS, or Firefox problem?).

Thanks...

 

[Sarah]

Do a thorough check for malware, following all of the steps at one of these
Web pages.
Help with malware:
All MS-MVP Sites.http://aumha.org/a/parasite.htmhttp...://www.mvps.org/sramesh2k/Malware_Defence.htm

Unexplained computer behavior may be caused by deceptive software.http://support.microsoft.com/kb/827315

So How Did I Get Infected Anyway?
For quite a few people it's by installing programs like Messenger Plus,
whose ads for malware don't identify the malware as such and try to convince
you that you owe it to the author. See also:http://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=27971
Don't ever do a "default" install of anything. Always choose Custom and see
what else is being carried along. Don't install any extras you're not sure
of.

Wow. It's worse than I thought. Thanks. I have never felt Ad Aware and
Spybot were enough....they aren't, are they?

 

[Sarah]

I use StatBar (FreeWare) to monitor CPU, RAM and Network activity.

--

Sincerely,
C.Joseph Drayton, Ph.D. AS&T

CSD Computer Services
Web site:http://csdcs.tlerma.com/
E-mail: (e-mail address removed)

It won't give me malware will it

Does it show RAM graphically? I already can use Process manager but
that's useless.

-S

 

[Daave]

Hello, the performance and task manager windows let me see paging and
cpu usage but I need to know if my slow down problems result from full
ram. Watching the processes in task manager doesn't help, the total
space used in mem is much less than the ram I have.

What do you mean by "full RAM?" How much RAM do you have?

When you are in Task Manager, select the Performance tab. You should see
three figures under Commit Charge (K): Total, Limit, and Peak. What are
they? Record these figures shortly after a reboot and then again, after
you have been using the PC for a while and you notice sluggishness.

My specific problem is incredible (!!!!!) slowness with Firefox. I
hear it's a memory hog and want to watch to see if that is my problem.

There have certainly been many reports of memory leaks with FF2. Perhaps
FF3 will be better. If you want to run alternative browsers (i.e., other
than IE), check out Opera and K-Meleon.

What is the malware status of your PC, and which anti-malware programs
do you use? (And do you keep them up to date?)

 

[C.Joseph S. Drayton]

It won't give me malware will it

Does it show RAM graphically? I already can use Process manager but
that's useless.

-S

The last freeware version is v2.405 and has no ad/spy/nag/malware.

No, it just show you the amount (in numbers) of RAM used. You can also
set how often you want the display of usage updated.

--

Sincerely,
C.Joseph Drayton, Ph.D. AS&T

CSD Computer Services
Web site: http://csdcs.tlerma.com/
E-mail: (e-mail address removed)

 

[Frank Saunders MS-MVP IE,OE/WM]

Wow. It's worse than I thought. Thanks. I have never felt Ad Aware and
Spybot were enough....they aren't, are they?

No, they won't catch everything. Nothing does.
The biggest safeguard is always the user staying away from the bad sites and
especially the wrong 'free' downloads.