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Windows question
I'm not sure if I'm doing the right thing so I could use some help.
I am noticing that my PC is running anywhere between 45 and 50% RAM just doing basic stuff like typing this message. I'm running 1GB. I know that there must be stuff running in the background that is eating up RAM but 50% seems to be too much. So I want to know how to best shut down some stuff that is loaded up at startup. I'm assuming that most of it are displayed in the System Tray. For example I'm running an ATI utility, ActiveSync for my iPaq, Norton AV (Corporate Edition), and a few other things. I sometimes run Skype and uses up a fair bit of RAM it seems. What I have done is get into msconfig and manually disable some programs. I did that and I'm still eating up RAM. Is the the best way to do this or is there a better way? I am particularly sensitive to this because I got a sweet new keyboard that has a backlit LCD display and one thing is scrolls is CPU and RAM usage. |
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When you see your list of startup items, type the process name into Google to ID what it is and whether or not it is safe to remove it. I have only 3 items checked in my startup list btw. IMO, you should have less than 30 processes running after initial boot up of your computer and before opening any programs. |
IMHO you've got a worm/trojan.
Delete all of your offline IE content and cookies, then do a full system scan with the machine in safe mode and not connected to the internet. |
How does one check to see what RAM usage is?
I can't resist screwing around and seeing what's doing in my 'puter. And, like SG, I want it running leano and meano. SG, thanks for the tips on paring down the startup stuff. BR,mD |
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I'd suggest doing a "Disk Cleanup". That will erase all of the offline IE content and temp folders (where spyware/malware likes to hide). Also run a spyware detection program like spybot to clean out any pests.
You never mentioned what version of windows you're running, and what service pack level. Also, switch to a non-IE browser like Firefox or Opera. You'll have much less problems with malware and Internet related pests. Check out this article for more info, http://blogs.zdnet.com/Spyware/index.php?p=733 |
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I have 59 "processes" running, :confused: and 5%-8% CPU usage, bouncing around. I gotta toss some stuff that I never use. Edit & PS: the collective knowledge on this Board never ceases to amaze me! :thumbup: |
plus you want to check all the services you have running, and set them to not auto start if you don`t need them.
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I had some photo folders open but diminished, I had OutExpress open/dim, Real Player and Sonic as I was dupeing disks for my kids, and the X5Board. Don't know what's really running in the "background"... When I get back to the Mtn, next week, I'm gonna play around with search and delete, but carefull, so I don't screw sumpin'up. :) |
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59 isn't a lot... but 5-8% CPU utilization when you're just browsing the internet is. What processor do you have in that box and how much RAM? |
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uhhh, not really.... i have between 50 and 60 running on a daily basis, it's pretty much the norm. |
Messing around, and curious, I just dumped all offline files, cache, etc.
and, have only X5World up and running on screen. I checked the TMgr thing again: it showed 58 processes and 2% CPU... I looked in the Porcesses Tab in TaskMgr and sure enough, there is a fookin laundry list of "processes". So, when I get some time, I'm gonna bug one of you Mavens and toss what I don't "need", or send some of those "processes" to someplace I can get it later, if/when I need it. We are rolling north tomorrow, so I'm azzholes&elbows today. BR,mD |
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I'm going to go home and blow up my computer. Oh, and the basic specs: P4 3.0 HT 1 GB RAM Windows XP Service Pack 2, can't remember what specific version of that. |
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Get rid of Norton and get Trend PcCillin ;) |
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OT...
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I feel like pulling out MrMossberg or, S&W or, my Glock, about once a week and showing this Dell bastard who's really boss. :rofl: |
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Before you blow anything up, let's make sure you're looking at the right variable: Are you looking at PF (page file) useage? or RAM ? and do you have multiple MS Office apps open at the same time when you're checking task manager? R |
stop the violence, make sure you guys are looking at the right processors % and not at the RF as mentioned by gresch nor the processes which just notes how many active "applications" are in the background
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WOW!!:wow: Interesting stuff. You guys sound like you really know what your talkin about. :trustme: :NOADD: :rofl:
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What like System Defrag won't solve the problem?
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:withstupi
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+ the system defrag that come with windows will not defrag the page file, you need a separate program for that that will defrag the page file on the next boot-up. |
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here's some info for everyone: A blank unformatted disk is like a newly constructed parking lot with no lines. Formatting puts the lines in and in those spaces, or blocks (the correct phrase) on a disk is where files are written. Blocks can vary in size and the size is determined by what the disk will be used for. For commone every day use like a home PC, a small block size is best as most files are small. On a machine that stores HUGE files, a bigger block size is best. Why? Because if you put a small file in a big block, whatever space that isn't used in the block is wasted (i.e. putting a 4k file in a 10k block wastes 6k or 60% of the space). Writing a HUGE file to small block sizes makes the disk work harder as it traverses all of those tiny blocks instead of doing a looooong read on a big block. Another example: Say you've written 10 files to a disk and delete files 5 & 6 in the middle. The next time that the OS needs space to write a file it knows that the blocks taken up by files 5& 6 is available so it plunks all or part of the new file in that space. If the file is too big for the space, the OS writes a part of the file there, then seeks to a new spot and continues to write. Why does this matter? Because now that new file is written all over the disk and to retrieve (open) it, the disk heads have to traverse all over the disk to get it. What does defrag do? It reads the disk and puts all of those "fragmented" files back to together in 1 contiguous space so that when they are retrieved the drive does less work by reading the file from 1 place. All of that being said, NTFS does a better job of not letting a disk get fragmented, while a FAT drive is usually a mess and needs to be defragged a lot. *puts pocket protector away and continues on with day. Have a nice day :) |
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bringing up the machine in DOS prompt only, you can delete the page file and when windows restarts in normal mode, it will recreate the page file. This is good because the page file itself can become fragmented and then you'll have a ton of problems potentially. |
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another way to prevent programs from running at
start up is from the registry. i believe it's the hkey_current_user\software\microsoft\windows\curre ntversion\run folder and the hkey_lolcal_machine\software\microsoft\windows\cur rentversion\run folder. |
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Okay, thanks very much for the advice guys. It is a little above my head though so here is a screenshot of my Task Manager with the stats. What up?
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:iagree:
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lol you got 47, I've got 63 and my CPU is at 0-3% the processes dont matter unless they are actually physically running, a lot of those are system processes, some are things that show up on your taskbar (anything that starts up and lurks in the background for quick access i.e. Instant messenger its a process while in the taskbar but it doesnt actually use anything up however it will help load faster) just open your processes tab in task manager and google each process with each one there should be an explanation of what it is and how to remove it should follow if not do a little search
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Another utility for monitoring processes(from Microsoft's acquisition of Sysinternals).
Process Monitor |
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