low system resources 2

[dachang]

Hello,<br>
I have a computer running Win 98 SE which is suffering from low system resources. I suspect some sort of memory leaks. At the start of a day the computer starts in the upper 70% for system resources. After a day's hard use, the resource level can fall to below 50%. I rebooted the machine and the system resource goes back up. I leave the machine on overnight. When I come back the next day, the system resources fall back to its low level (no one uses the machine at night). Before I replace the RAM, I was wondering if anything else (software, win 98, etc) can cause this? Please advise. Thanks. <p>D. Chang<br><a href=mailto:dkc@llsi.com>dkc@llsi.com</a><br><a href= > </a><br>

 

[dachang]

Sorry for leaving out the details: I have a Compaq Prosignia (PIII450 with 128 RAM, a large hd). I also run Office 2000. <p>D. Chang<br><a href=mailto:dkc@llsi.com>dkc@llsi.com</a><br><a href= > </a><br>

 

[Hubris]

I had the same problem on a Dell and had to reinstall Win 98 and 98 SE. It started suddenly for &quot;no apparent reason&quot;. It is sometimes easier to bow to the inevitable and just reinstall. If you want to &quot;fix&quot; it instead, make sure that the IE updates from the WIN98 Update page are applied as well as the updates for 98 SE that are out then check your startup programs and weed those out. You can also check in system configurator utility. <br>
Click as follows:<br>
Start¦Programs¦Accessories¦System Tools¦System Information¦Tools¦System Configuration Utility¦Startup Tab<br>
When you get there you can uncheck a few things that startup behind the scenes. <br>
<br>
Good Luck

 

[Guest_imported]

I have the same problem only it is my fault because I run so many applications but my Dell Dimension deos the same thing. Although my resources my drop ocasionally to 10% all my application still run and function until I hit 5%.

Even though RAM and virtual memory are strong factors for a system performance they are not directly linked to the information provided by the performance tab of the system properties. That is to say you can cram as much ram in your system as you want but it still will not improve that percentage. I have 512MB of ram on a 1GHz PIII with a 60GB hard disk. I can still only run the same amount of applications as my dads AMD K6-2 450MHz with 128MB of ram and a 45GB hard disk.

There are many articles that the system resource percentage comes from yet another cache or memory subsystem that is neither visible or changeable.

This link has an article that will explain further:

http://www.pcnineoneone.com/howto/resources1.html

 

[reghakr]

D. Chang,

I do think 70% is a liitle on the low side on startup, but it's VERY comon for resources to diminish. I'm at 48% right now and I see no slowdown whatsoever.

To increase resources on startup, you'll need to eliminate program sthat start unneccessarily when Windows starts. Here's my general speed tips:
Try hitting F2 or the Del key on startup to access the BIOS. You may see an entry for Fast Boot or similar wording.

If it's running that poorly, right-click on My Computer, click the Performance tab and verify the File System and Virtual Memory are 32-bit.

Click the Virtual Memory button and make sure that Windows is managing the virtual memory. If you have another drive or partition with more space, place the swapfile there.

If those are OK, try these steps to eliminate unecessary program running:

The things that make the computer slow are the many unecessary items that automatically startup when Windows starts.

Right-click on the icons in the tray area, open each, go through the options to turn off the &quot;tray&quot; or &quot;run at startup&quot; feature.

For the others, go to Start>Run, type msconfig. Leave systray, scan registry, Load Power Profile (both), your virus scanner and firewall if you have one.

Go to Start>Run, type sysedit. Look over the autoexec.bat for unneccessary lines, click the win.ini and check for programs loading here:
[windows]
load=
run=

Open Explorer and navigate to c:\windows\temp and delete all files here. Empty the Recycle Bin

Open Internet Explorer, go to Tools>InternetOptions, click the Delete Files and Clear History buttons. Set a reasonable cache size...40MB for 56K connection, 10MB for DSL or cable.

Close all tray applications and hit Alt_Ctl_Del and end task on all items except for explorer and systray, disable your screensaver, then run scandisk, then defrag.

If you don't know what an entry is or what it does, post back.

If you use Microsoft Office, kill the Find Fast indexer.

Some sites with more info:

http://content.techweb.com/winmag/columns/explorer/2000/14.htm

http://www.freetune.com/most_popular_pages.htm

Please don't believe the claims of those so-called RAM boosters. The resources they use nullifies their effect.

reghakr

 

[Keymaster]

System Resources have nothing to do with RAM, virtual memory, or the file system. They are fixed resources, GDI and User. You cannot increase them, but every application and window open will deplete them.

Normally shutting down the apps and windows will restore them, but some are not released in anticipation that you will need these same resources again. Furthermore the resources used by 16 bit applications are not released until all 16 bit apps are closed.

They will not cause a degradation in system performance until you run completely out. However, since some apps can use as much as 25% of these resources, you should beginning shuting down apps whan they fall to 25%. If you cannot restore them to at least about 20%, rebooting is the only way to restore them.

As stated earlier, there are two sets of resources, GDI and User. When they are reported as a single %, it is the lower of the two being reported.

 

[Guest_imported]

this is happening to me too...i was wondering if it could be a worm of some sort....this seemed to start after one of my kids were in a chat room...i have done everything i can think of...like the one of the others here...i can restart the computer and resources are at 80% and then just let it sit and the resources will go done to like 24%...this is causing the computer to run slowly...i shut down and it starts up high again...to me it seems like something is constantly running in the back ground like in a loop or something and using up the resources.

 

[vop]

Two other possibilities to consider are:

if you have a firewall, check for and disable any unnecessary 'allow server' processes (these may drain resources and not necessary give them back gracefully),

check for running of adware and spyware (Ad-aware or Optout can check for this and remove same).

 

[schase]

Hey reghakr

If I could pick your brain.

Many years ago I had found a tutorial on increasing performance, mostly had to do with msconfig.

As a result I boot up with system resources about 94% free. But I also find if I'm approaching the low 50's, it's time for a reboot.

Question is - the turorial I had read back then said to only leave one loadpowerprofile checked. Where you mention leave both checked. Could you dive a bit deeper?

Thanks

 

[jmatt]

This is overkill I know , some information may not be relevant , but
for those that are reading this question & learning rather than
answering , they may get something out of these extra sites . John .

http://www.pcnineoneone.com/howto/resources1.html

Windows Resources vs. Memory

-----------------------------------

http://windows.about.com/compute/windows/library/weekly/aa081100a.htm

http://windows.about.com/compute/windows/library/tips/bltip181.htm

http://windows.about.com/compute/windows/library/tips/bltip182.htm

-----------------------------------

http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2000/2000-06-08.htm

More Resource Leak-Tweaks .

-----------------------------------

http://www.aumha.org/a/resource.htm

----------------------------------

http://www.3feetunder.com/krick/startlist.htm

-------------------------------

http://www.pcforrest.freeserve.co.uk/resources.htm

System Resources .
GDI and User Resources explained .

-----------------------------------

Free up Conventional Memory .

http://www.geocities.com/thegorx/Windows/Help/Cmem.htm

-----------------------------------

http://content.techweb.com/winmag/columns/explorer/2000/11.htm

http://content.techweb.com/winmag/columns/explorer/2000/12.htm

http://content.techweb.com/winmag/columns/explorer/2000/13.htm

http://content.techweb.com/winmag/columns/explorer/2000/14.htm

 

[reghakr]

schase,

If there is only one user on your computer, only one LoadProwerProfile entry is good enough.

Some say none are neccessary. Test it on your machine and see what the results are. You simply check the entry again to re-enable it. Couldn't be easier.

reghakr

 

[Philidor]

reghakr said:
Please don't believe the claims of those so-called RAM boosters. The resources they use nullifies their effect.

I think you're using a machine with enough RAM, etc. For me, using a pc with 64 megs and a 366 cpu, I had trouble with freezing when starting big applications such as Outlook Express.
RamIdle has a shortcut connection that frees 32 megs when you start selected applications. No more freezes. I think for underpowered machines RAM boosters (and changing cache sizes) do have some value.
The better solution is obviously a better pc, but...
On the resource issue, just want to observe that some tasks, such as playing mp3's, reduce resources, and they aren't released until reboot.

 

[1MT]

Finding the culprit is a good idea.
Thankfully windows does provide a utility for doing just that.

If you don't have it already install the resource meter by going to control panel/add remove programs/windows setup/double click system tools and scroll down until you see system resource meter. Click that and apply it.

Then go to the run box and type this to activate it...
rsrcmtr.exe

Now keep this up on your desktop and do your normal daily computer activity. Observe which programs are taking your memory and not giving it back. I know this won't fix the problem, but at least it helps point towards a specific application.

Hope this helps.

1MT

 

[Guest_imported]

As luck would have it, I, too, have experienced low system resources; and have been trying to correct this issue for 2yrs plus, with no results. However, I have come to understand that all my TSR programs are the cause: my firewall, antivirus, dsl connection, battery backup, task monitor, and every other TSR {Terminate & Stay Ready}programs that may be running constantly. I am more confident now that this glitch so many of us experience is an OS problem. Microsoft did not foresee this problem in time, or if they did, they/he simply recovered by using this issue to market every other OS. Does 2 megabytes of memory being allocated to system resources for the mega systems of today sound balanced to anyone else? I was told that that's how XP became such the advanced system: resource issues are handled continually in the back ground. Maybe Microsoft will devise a fix for our low resource issues. Can anyone relate to my take on this topic?