System resources help (I'm sorry) 2

[DANNO421]

I don't know that much about computers so bear with me. I have windows 98 and 128 megs of RAM. The problem with my computer is i have to restart it every two hours or so because the system resources are to low. As soon as i go on my icq and let's say winamp, literally in a matter of minutes my computer will tell me i need to restart or close programs. I'm not running anything else other than these two things, plus what opens when i restart. If you can help me that would be great because i'm sick of restarting my computer 10 times a day!!

 

[butchrecon]

Your installation of winam is whats known as a leaky application. That is where a application grabs ahold of RAM and does not let go, even when the application is shut down. To free up RAM from these applications you need to either:
1) reboot.
2) Get a memory manager program like Freemem pro ($20).
3 as DeanSpencer suggested in another POST. Get win2K since it manages RAM better. Please let us (Tek-tips members) know if the solutions we provide are helpful to you. Not only do they help you but they may help others.


James Collins
Computer Hardware Engineer
A+, MCP

email: butchrecon@skyenet.net

 

[xscape]

I agree with above, although I've never had any problems with winamp personally. You could reduce the amount of programs running in the background that are started when you boot the computer. Try going to Run and type msconfig and hit OK. Click on the Startup tab and have a good look at what's there. Uncheck the boxes of anything you don't think you want (like demo stuff or utilities you don't need). But DON'T uncheck anything you're unsure of. Don't uncheck "SystemTray", or any others that don't look like programs you're familiar with.

Hope this is helpful in some small way!

 

[butchrecon]

xscape has a point I did not mention. Make sure you dont have a bunch of programs loading that really dont need to. Just look into the bottom right hand corner of your screen and see how many Icons are listed. If you have more than 2-4 you have too many comming up, each taking a bit of resources to load into the systray. Please let us (Tek-tips members) know if the solutions we provide are helpful to you. Not only do they help you but they may help others.


James Collins
Computer Hardware Engineer
A+, MCP

email: butchrecon@skyenet.net

 

[estesflyer]

I have problems with winamp as well... I have 256 megs pc133 brand name memory (not generic or housebrand), and whenver i open winamp, it usually goes downhill from there. I've never had any prompts or messages, but my comp starts lagging so bad, my mouse skips, the music stops playing for a few seconds, etc... SO i restart... Any known alternatives to winamp?

- Rusty

 

[butchrecon]

The make of the RAM does not matter. Windows just cannot effectivly dishout and take back RAM. When some programs (does not matter which, may depend on how they were installed) shutdown in Win98 they continue to hold on to the resources the initially grabbed. You need a Memory manger program to free them up or just plain il reboot. Please let us (Tek-tips members) know if the solutions we provide are helpful to you. Not only do they help you but they may help others.


James Collins
Computer Hardware Engineer
A+, MCP

email: butchrecon@skyenet.net

 

[CitrixEngineer]

I've never experienced any issues with Winamp, but there are threads on Slashdot and Arstechnica in which this problem is discussed in detail;

It seems that Winamp has problems sharing the DirectX subsystem with anything else. Various solutions have been suggested, from using memory managers, to upgrading Winamp and DirectX, to switching off Winamp's agent.

There are some faqs on Winamps site that describe ways of conserving CPU time, but most involve lowering the sound quality.

Alternatives? Real Player (NOT!), or even Windows Media Player?

I use Sonique

http://sonique.lycos.com/download/

 

[KlondikeMike]

sperling09,
I used to use Winamp when I first started to get into MP3's and had the same problems. Winamp has some nice features, but it is a resource hog.
Music would stutter terribly while using Photoshop, or basically any other applications.
Have you tried MusicMatch Jukebox? You can download the free version at:

http://www.musicmatch.com

It has most of the features that Winamp has, and I get far fewer stutters when multi-tasking.
And, for a nominal fee, you can upgrade to the full version that has all the bells and whistles.

Michael Comeaux
michael_comeaux@hotmail.com