I would just like to know some ways of cutting down my RAM. If any know of some ways, I have already tried closing some of the processes that I don't need and "un-ticking" some of the startup programs in "msconfig".

Thanks
mattarnster

Get more RAM.

Seriously

Cut down the unnecessary processes, defrag and run Ccleaner often, use lightweight programs and yeah, get more RAM.

To start, what is your operating system and how much memory do you currently have?

If you're on Vista, 1GB is a BARE minimum you should be looking at. Also Vista uses all of the memory regardless of how much you have for caching. Its normal to see just a few 10's of MB free. You should be worried when the USED memory hits near your maximum RAM and the caching value is near zero.

Just check his signature...

Yeah, Windows XP Pro, 1GB of RAM so far...

What apps do you run most often?

First off, get more RAM. Its cheap enough at well under £15 for 1GB sticks of DDR2 www.ebuyer.com.

Second, you can try the following:

- Disable programs with msconfig so they don't start at boot. Nothing except your antivirus/firewall, possibly wireless, and msn messenger should start. (I know you tried this, just expanding on it).

- Disable un-needed services. Sometimes when you install software it creates a service and runs it in the background so the software opens quicker. Disable them and you'll find the computer boots up quicker and uses less memory. You can do this on the services tab of msconfig too by selecting the check box to hide Microsoft services.

- Get rid of bloatware type software such as iTunes, unless you really need it. I hate iTunes and its bloat. Its also stupidly slow, another reason I find it so useless. Just like Apple quicktime which also insists on having an icon taking up 40+mb RAM in the taskbar...

Thats about all you can do really in terms of saving memory. The only other alternative is just buy another 1GB. Its cheap enough and well worth the investment. Doubling the RAM can sometimes more than double the performance of the system.

Well,

If your me, you can run without an AntiVirus program -> Just don't do anything stupid.

FYI -> Vista tries to maximize OS speed, which can correspond to high memory usage. This is not a problem... Rather a feature...

You can also disable hardware you don't use. I have a 9-in 1 card reader but I only use SD cards so I can turn off all but the SD reader. I don't know if disabling hardware really makes a difference though.

Also, If you have two separate hard drives (Physical Hard Drives, not partitions) put your paging file on the hard drive that doesn't not have your OS on it.

Download and run autoruns (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysi ... 63902.aspx), wait for it to scan fully, then go to file->save, upload the contents of the log somewhere (like pastebin) and post a link so I/we can take a peek.

Also, open a command prompt and type the following:

tasklist > c:\processes.txt
(replace tasklist with "wmic process get description,executablepath,WorkingSetSize" if tasklist isn't on XP)

and get us the file contents (same as above).

I would reccomend some 1gb ram sticks. You could also turn off the ram check at the start of the boot and make your harddrive go to the top of your boot that can make the boot faster and also the rest of your computer. You can turn off the idexing service if you don't use windows search you can find out how to do all of this and more speed ups at tweakxp.com
Hope this helps


Ryan

You can get XP down to 160 MB (with the taskbar and the blue theme) but that is getting to the point where you can not cut down any more without disabling important things or just using pagefile. Definitely disable the indexer if you have not though, and try no GUI boot shaves a few seconds off boot.

its amazing that now 1GB of ram is considered low spec .. i mean im still running on a 256mb stick on my 266mhz laptop and it copes perfectly well (web browsing/emails , some games and office)


Only one of my computers has more than 512mb of ram .. my dual core laptop

Using Windows 95

Zamadatix, that's not helpful.

Foobar2000 is a rather light weight music player, worth trying.

I am just saying that processor does not meet the recommended amount for XP.

mattarnster, I noticed you have that l33tsig crap. You're aware that also takes up memory, CPU cycles and bandwidth. It may not be a lot, but it all adds up.

I know you said you tried disabling unneeded programs, but I think we need to define your definition of "need." You don't need L33TSig, and I'm sure there are a lot of other stuff you don't need. How many processes do you have (should say in the bottom left hand corner of Task Manager"), this can be a clear indication of whether you have stuff open that you don't need. Also, do what expert01 said. Download autoruns and upload the results.

Ok, thanks people. I'm working on getting some more RAM, as soon as I have the money (damn you credit crunch) I have about 43 Processes running at any one time, I don't have iTunes, also I like having L33Tsig, it gives people an insight into my computer, when I come back from my Dad's (thursday) I will run the autorun app and upload the results.

Thanks again guys.

Here's the thing though. I'm sure there are a lot of stuff you like, but they all take up what you're trying to free up, memory. You can't have your cake and eat it too, unfortunately.

I think you can get it down to 16 processes without your apps running or something before you loose important things.

Linux is always an option too.

The Only time I would recommend Linux is when you either do not have a windows license and do not have the money or you have a older computer you do not really use that needs something light that can run relatively new software. After all what are you going to need more than 1 GB of ram in XP for unless your going to play a game .

If you upgrade to DOS 1.1, you can use the full 640K,