Hi, Steffo.
Something may be wrong in your computer! :>(
I wanted to improve buying WinXP, 2G processor, 1G RAM.
That should be PLENTY of RAM to run most anything short of a
graphics-intensive application, such as editing video.
Yes, many things HAVE changed! As we have been telling you, WinXP is
designed quite differently from WinME. The term System Resources no longer
exists as it did in WinME.
is there anything I can do to enhance the memory space?
What are your settings for Virtual Memory (also known as Paging File or Page
File or Swap File)? You might want to read MVP Alex Nichol's explanation of
the subject first:
Virtual Memory in Windows XP
http://aumha.org/win5/a/xpvm.php
Then go to System Properties | Advanced | Performance/Settings | Advanced.
What does it say at the bottom of this window? "Total paging file size for
all drives" should be about 1.5 * your RAM; on my computer with 1 GB RAM,
this number is 1535 MB. Click Change. On this screen, the "Recommended"
and "Currently allocated" numbers at the bottom of the screen should both be
about the same as that 1535 MB. This screen is where you decide where your
page file should be created and how big it should be. You haven't told us
how many HDs you have or how they are partitioned, so we can't recommend
anything other than the "generic": First, select each Drive, in turn, and
select No paging file, then Set for that drive. Then go back to the one
Drive where you want the page file to be created, click System managed size
for that drive and click Set for it. Then OK your way out; you may have to
reboot for your change to take effect.
Now, you should have plenty of physical and virtual memory to handle ANY
application. To keep an eye on it, bring up the Task Manager. The
Performance tab will show you, both graphically and in table form, how much
memory you have and how much has been used and is being used. Among other
items, under Commit Charge, you should see "Limit 2518692" (in KB - that's
about 2.5 GB, which is your 1 GB physical memory plus 1.5 GB page file); the
Peak number is the most of this memory that you have used in your current
session.
Task Manager's Processes tab shows how your CPU is being used by the various
running processes. The CPU column should always add up to 100%. If you
click on this column head, the table will be sorted by CPU usage; click
again to reverse it from least-used to most-used. Most of the time, the top
item will be System Idle Process; it quite often shows 99%, or close to it.
This means that most of the time, your CPU is just sitting there idling,
like your car engine at a stop light, waiting for you to give it something
useful to do.
If your CPU is actually busy 95% of the time on something other than the
System Idle Process, please tell us which process is using that CPU time.
There are a few situations in WinXP that can result in the System process
using 95%, and we can help you cure that if it really is happening to you.
More often, though, excessive CPU usage is caused by some malware in your
computer.
Just to give you an example: my OE6 is open, an XP browser page's open,
the messenger's open, my FX trading site is open.
My OE6 is open now, including this Compose window, plus a browser page, and
Task Manager itself; Messenger is open enough to show its icon, but I don't
use it. System Idle Process is using 95%-99% (it normally fluctuates
dynamically). I'm not sure what you mean by an FX trading site; is this a
web page open in IE? How much CPU usage does it show?
Some viruses or other malware can also cause excessive CPU usage. Have you
been practicing "save hex"? Have you run a virus scan? Recently?
RC
