memory consumed

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abcd

I have Windows XP professional and 384 MB RAM for my desktop. When I start
the machine for doing nothing already approx. 265MB RAM is consumed. It
looks that some services are started by microsoft that I may not need
always. Can somebody help me which services should I stop. Mostly I am
working on MS Office and internet explorer for internet browsing.

Thanks
 
In
abcd said:
I have Windows XP professional and 384 MB RAM for my desktop. When I
start the machine for doing nothing already approx. 265MB RAM is
consumed. It looks that some services are started by microsoft that
I may not need always. Can somebody help me which services should I
stop. Mostly I am working on MS Office and internet explorer for
internet browsing.
Click to expand...



As a general rule, you should not have *any* available RAM.
Available RAM is wasted RAM. You paid for all of it and shouldn't
want to see any of it wasted. Windows works hard to keep all your
RAM working for you all the time, for example using it for cache
if your apps don't need it, then taking it back again if your
apps need it later. This is *good*, not bad.
 
abcd said:
I have Windows XP professional and 384 MB RAM for my desktop. When I start
the machine for doing nothing already approx. 265MB RAM is consumed. It
looks that some services are started by microsoft that I may not need
always. Can somebody help me which services should I stop. Mostly I am
working on MS Office and internet explorer for internet browsing.>Thanks
Click to expand...

Go to this site & follow this guy's recommendations. You can save
some RAM by disabling or putting to manual rather than having them on
"automatic" with the features. he lists all of Windows components &
recommends changing some of them. There are several that are wasted
for a regular user & just chew up RAM. I followed it on everything he
says to do except one (when I has less memory than I have now). I
was not comfortable with just one of his explanations of why it was Ok
to disable that certain component & left it unchanged. No problems,
especially if you are not on a network (& I now am on a little home
network, & still all is OK).

Go through them on at a time, jumping back & forth between windows to
check each feature listed vs your components window, and change the
ones he recommends one at a time hitting "apply" after each change.

http://www.blackviper.com/WinXP/service411.htm

Also, you really should go to 512 MBs RAM. You must be running a 256
MB chip & a 128. Wait for a sale on a 256er for $30 - $35. & then
sell your 128er on eBay or something.

Big Mac
 
Isn't semantics horrible? How on earth can RAM be wasted? Available RAM is
wasted RAM? Makes no sense whatsoever. If I only ran two programs, one of
which is 50k and the other 100k, am I 'wasting' 50k of RAM when I run the
smaller program? Is my computer less efficient when I run the smaller program?
 
In
Unknown said:
Isn't semantics horrible? How on earth can RAM be wasted? Available
RAM is wasted RAM? Makes no sense whatsoever. If I only ran two
programs, one of which is 50k and the other 100k, am I 'wasting' 50k
of RAM when I run the smaller program? Is my computer less efficient
when I run the smaller program?
Click to expand...


No, that's not at all what I said. If you have 100K free and run
a 50K program and the operating system lets the the other 50K sit
idle, then the *operating system* is wasting that memory. An
operating system which could find a use for that memory is
operating more efficiently.

--
Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
Please reply to the newsgroup


"Ken Blake, MVP"
 
Hi,

You read but do not comprehend. Ram exists to be in use - that's what you
have it for. Whether that be for current program/data processing or caching,
it should *all* be in use to run your system as efficiently as possible. If
you aren't using it, you are wasting it. If a bus travels from NYC to LA,
and only half the seats are taken, even though there were enough travelers
to fill the bus, then the other half is wasted space - it's the same
concept.

Windows, by design, should strive to use all of the available physical ram.
What is not being used by current processes is used to cache recently run
programs and recently accessed data (in case it needs to be reused or the
program is reopened, they are reloaded faster). As processes are initiated,
older or less critical ones are pushed out depending onpriority levels. This
is the way it is supposed to work. If the amount of ram required for the
current activity exceeds what is available, that is when the slower, but
readily available pagefile comes into use.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers aka "Nutcase" MS-MVP - Windows
Windows isn't rocket science! That's my other hobby!

Associate Expert - WinXP - Expert Zone
 
Like I said, semantics is horrible. There is a world of difference between an
efficient operating system and 'wasted memory'. If every possible program was
running on a computer and there is 500 bytes left, is it wasted? semantics?
 
If every possible program was running on a computer and there is 500 bytes
left, is it wasted?

Yes, it should be used to cache recently accessed data or programs. This is
not a semantics issue, as there are not multiple ways to define wasted
memory usage - it's either used or it's not.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers aka "Nutcase" MS-MVP - Windows
Windows isn't rocket science! That's my other hobby!

Associate Expert - WinXP - Expert Zone
 
Hello Guys

I dont want to debate on Windows what it does. I want to solve my issue. I
want to make my machine faster.
 
In
abcd said:
Hello Guys

I dont want to debate on Windows what it does. I want to solve my
issue. I want to make my machine faster.
Click to expand...


As I pointed out in my original message, you are laboring under a
misconception. You have no problem with Windows using too much
memory, and trying to decrease the amount of memory Windows uses
will make your machine slower, not faster.
 
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