Out of memory errors with 320Mb

[Jibber]

I have a Win95 machine that regularly produces 'not enough system resources . . ' and similar errors despite having 320Mb. Obviously any amount of memory can be fully used, but this machine is not much more hard working than the 64Mb and 128Mb PCs next to it.

The resource meter reliably indicates when it is inadvisable to open any more windows, but when I open MSINFO I see the following:

---------- System ----------
Operating System:		Windows 95
Windows version:		4.0
Processor:			Pentium
Total physical memory:		327144 KB
Available physical memory:	24128 KB*
USER memory available:		14%
GDI memory available:		48%
Swap file size:			65536 KB
Swap file usage:		0%
Swap file setting:		Dynamic
Available space on drive C:	403488 KB
Available space on drive D:	830944 KB
Available space on drive E:	46142 KB
Windows directory:		C:\WINDOWS
TEMP directory:			C:\WINDOWS\TEMP

So why does this PC not use it's swapfile? Also, does anyone know of any memory utility that actually tells you something useful about Window's management of memory? I can't get System Monitor to give me straight answer.

Thanks

Jibber

 

[cdogg]

The amount of physical memory does play a significant role when you have less than 128 MB of RAM in the system. In your case, the amount of memory is not the problem. Virtual memory should be your focus. This plays in to the swapfile and physical memory.

You want to start out by hitting CTRL-ALT-DEL after booting up and count the total number of processes in this list. If greater than 12-14 without opening anything, then you need to use the msconfig utility to disable them from starting with windows.

 

[dxd]

Well,

The memory the Windows is referring to does not have anything to do with the total amount of RAM installed in the computer. It is referring to the USER and GDI heaps of memory which are fixed at 64KB. Now, looking at your print out it is obvious that the USER heap is close to being critically low 14%.

I would guess you have some "not so friendly" applications running on this system, possibly resulting in memory leakage. Meaning, after the app runs it does not return all the memory it used. A quick method to test is note the USER memory before opening any apps. Then open one at a time, check USER, and the close it and check USER. It should, at least within a point, return to where it was. Go through your list of frequently used apps.

This may not result in conclusive evidence as sometimes memory leaks will occur after an app has been running for awhile.

I don't think your swapfile is being used because you have enough RAM to handle your tasks. You may want to try fixing the size of the swapfile....it has been awhile, but I think you do this in Control Panel/System/Performance.
Doug
dxd_2000@yahoo.com

 

[crisc]

This may not be that helpful to you but Windows 95 is notoriously bad at managing memory--both virtual and physical. Windows 98 is much better, perhaps an upgrade is not out of the question...

 

[ngagne]

Ahh,

A chance for someone to read the faq faq615-1336 I wrote!

Also, considering you're running a 64MB/256MB RAM stick combo, try removing the 64MB stick and see if the problem still exists. You always want to try to match memory capacitys between chips. Another reason could be your mobo not fully supporting a 256MB stick. Nate Gagne
nathan.gagne@verizon.net
AKA Nick Burns - Your Company's Computer Guy
"Would you like me to save your game of Minesweeper first?"

Like my post? Let me know it was helpful!

 

[cdogg]

Running 320MB of RAM should be ok. You need to concentrate on the amount of apps running at startup, deleting temp files, and defragmeting your hard disk. There's also a chance that a bogus app is causing severe memory leaks, as dxd mentioned. Chances are that it is a combination of the above. All Win95/98 apps cause memory leaks to some degree - some just more than others.


Follow this:

1) Go to Start->Programs->Startup
- Remove any entries that you don't need by right-clicking and choosing delete (e.g. Office Startup, Realplayer, etc.)

2) Go to Start->Find->Files and Folders
- Type *.tmp in the Named field and hit find now
- Delete all results
- Do the same of *.chk

3) In Internet Explorer, go to Tools->Internet Options
- Click Settings
- Click View Files
- Hit CTRL-A to select all files and hit delete

4) Take a look at your system tray (where you're system clock is displayed)
- Any apps that you don't need right-click and choose exit
- If you can, open them first and disable them from starting with windows

5) Empty your recycle bin and reboot
- during the boot process, hit F8 after your BIOS POST completes
- if timed correctly, you should get a Windows startup menu
- choose Safe Mode

6) Go to Start->Accessories->System Tools->Disk Defragmenter
- make sure you disable any screensavers or virus scanning programs first
- also, if you have 3rd party software installed (e.g. Mcafee Office, Norton Utilities), use their defragmenter instead of Windows Disk Defragmenter

7) After finished defragmenting, reboot back to Normal Mode


These are just the basics. If the above doesn't take care of your problem, post back. There are some additional steps we can take...

 

[Jibber]

Thanks for all the suggestions, there's some things there that I wasn't aware of.

I'll try them one by one and post the results.

Thanks again.

Jibber.

 

[grygst76]

go to system properties, performance, virtual memory and click on set your own viirtual memory settings and make the minimum of 65535 and no maximum then ok and reboot you should start with 65535 of virtual you can verify this by checking the root directory of c: and looking for win386.swp and verifying it is 65535 then you will decrease the out of memory errors

 

[cdogg]

grygst76,

You must be EXTREMELY CAREFUL when suggesting this to anyone. First of all, this option should only really be used on a system that has more than one partition or hard drive. This is because the user can temporarily move the swapfile to a different drive in order to defrag the system partition completely. You must make sure you defragment before messing with Virtual Memory settings.

Secondly, it is better to create a block of hard drive space completely dedicated to the swapfile. Your suggestion was halfway there. You should set the minimum = maximum. This will prevent windows from randomly changing the size of the swapfile avoiding fragmentation.

If you're going to change this setting, follow this:

1) Do you have 2 or more hard drives in the system?
- If not, proceed to step 2
- If yes, then defragment the secondary hard drive. Then change the drive letter to match the secondary hard drive's under this Virtual Memory setting. Proceed to step 3.

2) Change the drive letter to another partition (e.g. D: or E
- If you don't have one, then you either need to create one using something like Partition Magic or it might be best to leave this setting alone.
- change the drive letter of the Vitual Memory setting to this other partition and reboot. After getting back into Windows, defrag the C: drive, reboot, and change this drive letter back to the C: drive. Proceed to Step 3.

3) Finally, make the minimum = maximum to twice the amount of RAM in the system
- If you have more than 128MB, do not exceed 256MB for this setting (it is not necessary and could cause problems).


If you have any problems with this setting, try using 256MB of RAM or less or consider upgrading to 2000 or XP. In 95/98/ME, using more than 256MB doesn't really help.

 

[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

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

More Resource Leak-Tweaks .

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

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

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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

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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