Internet Browsing causing memory leaks?

[Guest]

In using MSN EXplorer 9.5 dial-up I noticed that after 3-4 hours online that
my available ram (1 GB installed) reduced to only 300 MB available. My system
after restart shows 590 MB free in System Information, and Task manager shows
a Commit/Charge of 375 MB for 48 processes. After 3-4 hours online System
Information shows only 300 MB free, and Task Manager shows a Commit/Charge of
525 MB with about 30 of the 48 processes showing 10-30 MB above the amount of
memory allocated to each process just after restart. Is this a svchost.exe
related problem? Remote Procedure Call problem? Should I just wait for the
next service pack to see if it clears up the problem? Any input would be
appreciated. Thanks in advance.

XP Professional SP2 with all the latest updates
Norton Internet Security 2007 (up to date)
Spysweeper for MSN
Windows Defender
Dameon Tools

 

[Bob I]

Sounds like you have so much memory and so little tasks that Windows is
trying to use it where ever it can. I would not worry about it.

 

[Curt Christianson]

Windows makes every attempt to use as much memory it possibly can, after
all, that's what you bought all that memory for right? "Free memory is
wasted memory" is a popular mantra among those in the know here. XP even
goes so far as to allocate memory *in anticipation* of where it may be
needed next.

Until your computer starts confronting you with "insufficient memory"
warnings, don't be concerned. Even when those nasty kind of warnings crop
up, they are very *seldom* due to actually lacking memory.

--
HTH,
Curt

Windows Support Center
http://aumha.org/

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

In using MSN EXplorer 9.5 dial-up I noticed that after 3-4 hours
online that my available ram (1 GB installed) reduced to only 300 MB
available. My system after restart shows 590 MB free in System
Information, and Task manager shows a Commit/Charge of 375 MB for 48
processes. After 3-4 hours online System Information shows only 300
MB free, and Task Manager shows a Commit/Charge of 525 MB with about
30 of the 48 processes showing 10-30 MB above the amount of memory
allocated to each process just after restart. Is this a svchost.exe
related problem? Remote Procedure Call problem? Should I just wait
for the next service pack to see if it clears up the problem? Any
input would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

There is no problem and there's nothing to clear up. Wanting to minimize the
amount of memory Windows uses is a counterproductive desire. Windows is
designed to use all, or nearly all, of your memory, all the time, and that's
good not bad. Free memory is wasted memory. You paid for it all and
shouldn't want to see any of it unused and wasted.

Windows works hard to find a use for all the memory you have all the time.
For example if your apps don't need some of it, it will use that part for
caching, then give it back when your apps later need it. In this way Windows
keeps all your memory working for you all the time.

"*Only* 300 MB available" is actually the backwards way to say it; that's
300MB more than you should have free. If you have *as much as* 300MB free,
the only issue is that you have so much more memory than you you need that
Windows was unable to find a use for all of it.