Guest Spin Posted September 9, 2008 Posted September 9, 2008 Gurus, Running Windows XP Pro SP3 on a 2GB RAM laptop. After boot and I login and once the desktop settles down, Task Manager reports I have 1.5 GB RAM available. This means the OS itself is using up 512MB RAM. I have already set to manual startup as many "unneeded" programs and services as possible. Looking in Task Manager, I pretty much see the minimum amount of processes that I can cut it down to. What else can I "tweak" on the system that will allow me to eke out more overall available RAM? -- Spin
Guest dadiOH Posted September 9, 2008 Posted September 9, 2008 Re: Want to "tweak" the system to eke out more overall available RAM Spin wrote: > Gurus, > > Running Windows XP Pro SP3 on a 2GB RAM laptop. After boot and I > login and once the desktop settles down, Task Manager reports I have > 1.5 GB RAM available. This means the OS itself is using up 512MB > RAM. I have already set to manual startup as many "unneeded" > programs and services as possible. Looking in Task Manager, I pretty > much see the minimum amount of processes that I can cut it down to. What > else can I "tweak" on the system that will allow me to eke out > more overall available RAM? If you get more, what do you plan on doing with it? Seems to me that 1.5 gigs is plenty for anything. -- dadiOH ____________________________ dadiOH's dandies v3.06... ....a help file of info about MP3s, recording from LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that. Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico
Guest Thee Chicago Wolf Posted September 9, 2008 Posted September 9, 2008 Re: Want to "tweak" the system to eke out more overall available RAM >Running Windows XP Pro SP3 on a 2GB RAM laptop. After boot and I login and >once the desktop settles down, Task Manager reports I have 1.5 GB RAM >available. This means the OS itself is using up 512MB RAM. I have already >set to manual startup as many "unneeded" programs and services as possible. >Looking in Task Manager, I pretty much see the minimum amount of processes >that I can cut it down to. What else can I "tweak" on the system that will >allow me to eke out more overall available RAM? You can disable or set to manual some services running in the background that will reduce the RAM usage. Look here for info and details: http://www.blackviper.com/WinXP/servicecfg.htm - Thee Chicago Wolf
Guest db.·.. > Posted September 9, 2008 Posted September 9, 2008 Re: Want to "tweak" the system to eke out more overall available RAM well, you could simply end/kill any process in task manager that your system will allow. there will be some that you cannot kill while there will be others that you can. if you kill explorer.exe you can start it again as a new task. have fun! -- db·´¯`·...¸><)))º> "Spin" <Spin@invalid.com> wrote in message news:6into1Frh9rbU1@mid.individual.net... > Gurus, > > Running Windows XP Pro SP3 on a 2GB RAM laptop. After boot and I login and once the desktop settles down, Task Manager reports I > have 1.5 GB RAM available. This means the OS itself is using up 512MB RAM. I have already set to manual startup as many > "unneeded" programs and services as possible. Looking in Task Manager, I pretty much see the minimum amount of processes that I > can cut it down to. What else can I "tweak" on the system that will allow me to eke out more overall available RAM? > > -- > Spin >
Guest Bob I Posted September 9, 2008 Posted September 9, 2008 Re: Want to "tweak" the system to eke out more overall availableRAM Re: Want to "tweak" the system to eke out more overall availableRAM What issue is the problem? XP will try to make use of RAM to make the system "faster" and more responsive. If you make other use of the RAM, XP will use less for buffering and caching. I think maybe you should just use the PC and let Windows manage the memory to help you use it efficiently. Spin wrote: > Gurus, > > Running Windows XP Pro SP3 on a 2GB RAM laptop. After boot and I login and > once the desktop settles down, Task Manager reports I have 1.5 GB RAM > available. This means the OS itself is using up 512MB RAM. I have already > set to manual startup as many "unneeded" programs and services as possible. > Looking in Task Manager, I pretty much see the minimum amount of processes > that I can cut it down to. What else can I "tweak" on the system that will > allow me to eke out more overall available RAM? > > -- > Spin > >
Guest Carey Frisch [MVP] Posted September 9, 2008 Posted September 9, 2008 Re: Want to "tweak" the system to eke out more overall available RAM Windows performance tweaking myths, busted http://lifehacker.com/5033518/debunking-common-windows-performance-tweaking-myths -- Carey Frisch Microsoft MVP Windows Desktop Experience - Windows Vista Enthusiast --------------------------------------------------------------- "Thee Chicago Wolf" <.@.> wrote in message news:ksgdc4p4po5v3ulk5v4grsofu4h8gpe7p0@4ax.com... >Running Windows XP Pro SP3 on a 2GB RAM laptop. After boot and I login and >once the desktop settles down, Task Manager reports I have 1.5 GB RAM >available. This means the OS itself is using up 512MB RAM. I have already >set to manual startup as many "unneeded" programs and services as possible. >Looking in Task Manager, I pretty much see the minimum amount of processes >that I can cut it down to. What else can I "tweak" on the system that will >allow me to eke out more overall available RAM? You can disable or set to manual some services running in the background that will reduce the RAM usage. Look here for info and details: http://www.blackviper.com/WinXP/servicecfg.htm - Thee Chicago Wolf
Guest Unknown Posted September 9, 2008 Posted September 9, 2008 Re: Want to "tweak" the system to eke out more overall available RAM Why would you want to? "Spin" <Spin@invalid.com> wrote in message news:6into1Frh9rbU1@mid.individual.net... > Gurus, > > Running Windows XP Pro SP3 on a 2GB RAM laptop. After boot and I login > and once the desktop settles down, Task Manager reports I have 1.5 GB RAM > available. This means the OS itself is using up 512MB RAM. I have > already set to manual startup as many "unneeded" programs and services as > possible. Looking in Task Manager, I pretty much see the minimum amount of > processes that I can cut it down to. What else can I "tweak" on the > system that will allow me to eke out more overall available RAM? > > -- > Spin >
Guest smlunatick Posted September 9, 2008 Posted September 9, 2008 Re: Want to "tweak" the system to eke out more overall available RAM On Sep 9, 7:31 pm, "Spin" <S...@invalid.com> wrote: > Gurus, > > Running Windows XP Pro SP3 on a 2GB RAM laptop. After boot and I login and > once the desktop settles down, Task Manager reports I have 1.5 GB RAM > available. This means the OS itself is using up 512MB RAM. I have already > set to manual startup as many "unneeded" programs and services as possible. > Looking in Task Manager, I pretty much see the minimum amount of processes > that I can cut it down to. What else can I "tweak" on the system that will > allow me to eke out more overall available RAM? > > -- > Spin Several laptop models tend to also use the "general" RAM for video card memory. Without the details on your maker / model of laptop, we can not guide you further.
Guest R. McCarty Posted September 9, 2008 Posted September 9, 2008 Re: Want to "tweak" the system to eke out more overall available RAM One thing that will raise the quiescent memory footprint is using onboard Video. Normally XP uses around 280 Megabytes ( Minus 3rd party services). If you see a "Idle" memory use of 512 Megabytes or more & services are restricted then the extra memory may be allocated for the chipset based video. The goal isn't so much to keep the footprint low as it is to control WHAT is running. Programs these days install way too many background services and watchdog apps that don't need to run 100% of the time. "Bob I" <birelan@yahoo.com> wrote in message news:%23NGP8HrEJHA.5060@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl... > What issue is the problem? XP will try to make use of RAM to make the > system "faster" and more responsive. If you make other use of the RAM, XP > will use less for buffering and caching. I think maybe you should just use > the PC and let Windows manage the memory to help you use it efficiently. > > Spin wrote: > >> Gurus, >> >> Running Windows XP Pro SP3 on a 2GB RAM laptop. After boot and I login >> and once the desktop settles down, Task Manager reports I have 1.5 GB >> RAM available. This means the OS itself is using up 512MB RAM. I have >> already set to manual startup as many "unneeded" programs and services as >> possible. Looking in Task Manager, I pretty much see the minimum amount >> of processes that I can cut it down to. What else can I "tweak" on the >> system that will allow me to eke out more overall available RAM? >> >> -- >> Spin >
Guest Fuzzy Logic Posted September 9, 2008 Posted September 9, 2008 Re: Want to "tweak" the system to eke out more overall available RAM "Spin" <Spin@invalid.com> wrote in news:6into1Frh9rbU1@mid.individual.net: > Gurus, > > Running Windows XP Pro SP3 on a 2GB RAM laptop. After boot and I login > and once the desktop settles down, Task Manager reports I have 1.5 GB > RAM available. This means the OS itself is using up 512MB RAM. I have > already set to manual startup as many "unneeded" programs and services > as possible. Looking in Task Manager, I pretty much see the minimum > amount of processes that I can cut it down to. What else can I "tweak" > on the system that will allow me to eke out more overall available RAM? > > -- > Spin Free RAM is wasted RAM. RAM is significantly faster than your hard drive. Windows allocates free RAM to disk cacheing to improve performance and if the RAM is required to run programs it trims back the disk cache as required.
Guest Bob I Posted September 9, 2008 Posted September 9, 2008 Re: Want to "tweak" the system to eke out more overall availableRAM Re: Want to "tweak" the system to eke out more overall availableRAM Did you mean to reply to me, or just missed the OP? I think he's on the way to optimizing that laptop till it won't run. R. McCarty wrote: > One thing that will raise the quiescent memory footprint is using onboard > Video. Normally XP uses around 280 Megabytes ( Minus 3rd party > services). If you see a "Idle" memory use of 512 Megabytes or more & > services are restricted then the extra memory may be allocated for the > chipset based video. > > The goal isn't so much to keep the footprint low as it is to control WHAT > is running. Programs these days install way too many background services > and watchdog apps that don't need to run 100% of the time. > > "Bob I" <birelan@yahoo.com> wrote in message > news:%23NGP8HrEJHA.5060@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl... > >>What issue is the problem? XP will try to make use of RAM to make the >>system "faster" and more responsive. If you make other use of the RAM, XP >>will use less for buffering and caching. I think maybe you should just use >>the PC and let Windows manage the memory to help you use it efficiently. >> >>Spin wrote: >> >> >>>Gurus, >>> >>>Running Windows XP Pro SP3 on a 2GB RAM laptop. After boot and I login >>>and once the desktop settles down, Task Manager reports I have 1.5 GB >>>RAM available. This means the OS itself is using up 512MB RAM. I have >>>already set to manual startup as many "unneeded" programs and services as >>>possible. Looking in Task Manager, I pretty much see the minimum amount >>>of processes that I can cut it down to. What else can I "tweak" on the >>>system that will allow me to eke out more overall available RAM? >>> >>>-- >>>Spin >> > >
Guest R. McCarty Posted September 9, 2008 Posted September 9, 2008 Re: Want to "tweak" the system to eke out more overall available RAM Pardon me, I did reply to the wrong point in the thread. "Bob I" <birelan@yahoo.com> wrote in message news:OAqeHUrEJHA.4492@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl... > Did you mean to reply to me, or just missed the OP? I think he's on the > way to optimizing that laptop till it won't run. > > R. McCarty wrote: > >> One thing that will raise the quiescent memory footprint is using onboard >> Video. Normally XP uses around 280 Megabytes ( Minus 3rd party >> services). If you see a "Idle" memory use of 512 Megabytes or more & >> services are restricted then the extra memory may be allocated for the >> chipset based video. >> >> The goal isn't so much to keep the footprint low as it is to control WHAT >> is running. Programs these days install way too many background services >> and watchdog apps that don't need to run 100% of the time. >> >> "Bob I" <birelan@yahoo.com> wrote in message >> news:%23NGP8HrEJHA.5060@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl... >> >>>What issue is the problem? XP will try to make use of RAM to make the >>>system "faster" and more responsive. If you make other use of the RAM, XP >>>will use less for buffering and caching. I think maybe you should just >>>use the PC and let Windows manage the memory to help you use it >>>efficiently. >>> >>>Spin wrote: >>> >>> >>>>Gurus, >>>> >>>>Running Windows XP Pro SP3 on a 2GB RAM laptop. After boot and I login >>>>and once the desktop settles down, Task Manager reports I have 1.5 GB >>>>RAM available. This means the OS itself is using up 512MB RAM. I have >>>>already set to manual startup as many "unneeded" programs and services >>>>as possible. Looking in Task Manager, I pretty much see the minimum >>>>amount of processes that I can cut it down to. What else can I "tweak" >>>>on the system that will allow me to eke out more overall available RAM? >>>> >>>>-- >>>>Spin >>> >> >> >
Guest Thee Chicago Wolf Posted September 9, 2008 Posted September 9, 2008 Re: Want to "tweak" the system to eke out more overall available RAM >Windows performance tweaking myths, busted >http://lifehacker.com/5033518/debunking-common-windows-performance-tweaking-myths That article mentions "speeding up" the computer by disabling services. It is not intended to speed up so much as it does free up RAM. This is what the OP was asking about. That part in the author's piece about services is bunkum and not support by facts nor experience since *no one* worth their computer tech mettle would use msconfig.exe to manage / disable / enable their services. That's the wrong way to do it and useless advice. - Thee Chicago Wolf
Guest Thee Chicago Wolf Posted September 9, 2008 Posted September 9, 2008 Re: Want to "tweak" the system to eke out more overall available RAM >Free RAM is wasted RAM. RAM is significantly faster than your hard drive. >Windows allocates free RAM to disk cacheing to improve performance and if >the RAM is required to run programs it trims back the disk cache as >required. heh, the malware and spyware authors know this very well and have that niche filled quite nicely. ~_^ - Thee Chicago Wolf
Guest chuckcar Posted September 9, 2008 Posted September 9, 2008 Re: Want to "tweak" the system to eke out more overall available RAM "Spin" <Spin@invalid.com> wrote in news:6into1Frh9rbU1@mid.individual.net: > Gurus, > > Running Windows XP Pro SP3 on a 2GB RAM laptop. After boot and I login > and once the desktop settles down, Task Manager reports I have 1.5 GB > RAM available. This means the OS itself is using up 512MB RAM. I have > already set to manual startup as many "unneeded" programs and services > as possible. Looking in Task Manager, I pretty much see the minimum > amount of processes that I can cut it down to. What else can I "tweak" > on the system that will allow me to eke out more overall available RAM? > Three relevant questions: 1. How fast is the processor on your laptop? 2. What *model* of processor is on your laptop - i.e. Pentium 4, Dual Core, Centrino, etc.? 3. What is the model and company name of your laptop? -- (setq (chuck nil) car(chuck) )
Guest Spin Posted September 10, 2008 Posted September 10, 2008 Re: Want to "tweak" the system to eke out more overall available RAM The laptop is a Sony VAIO VGN-AX570G. Powered by the Pentium M 750 processor (1.86 GHz), 2 GB DDR2 SDRAM, ATI Mobility Radeon X700 graphics with 256MB of video memory. Has Wi-Fi (wireless connectivity) built-in.
Guest §ñühwØ£f Posted September 10, 2008 Posted September 10, 2008 Re: Want to "tweak" the system to eke out more overall available RAM On Tue, 09 Sep 2008 14:31:27 -0400, Spin aided th' terraists with the following claims : > Gurus, > > Running Windows XP Pro SP3 on a 2GB RAM laptop. After boot and I login and > once the desktop settles down, Task Manager reports I have 1.5 GB RAM > available. This means the OS itself is using up 512MB RAM. I have already > set to manual startup as many "unneeded" programs and services as possible. > Looking in Task Manager, I pretty much see the minimum amount of processes > that I can cut it down to. What else can I "tweak" on the system that will > allow me to eke out more overall available RAM? http://www.blackviper.com/WinXP/supertweaks.htm http://www.jasonn.com/turning_off_unnecessary_services_on_windows_xp FYI -- "Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities" - Voltaire
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