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Urgal · Guest Offline

Anyone have a good recomendation for a memory checking tool? I keep using almost half of my computer recources on something and I think its a mem leak.

Doc Flabby · Posted: Tue Dec 26, 2006 10:29 am *Post maybe stupid* Post subject:

thats normal. Windows uses alot of memory. if you had a program with a memory leak your computer would run out of memory.
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Maverick · Posted: Tue Dec 26, 2006 11:07 am *Post maybe stupid* Post subject:

Use the task manager to see which process is using the most memory. (Ctrl + Shift + Esc)
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Cyan~Fire · Posted: Tue Dec 26, 2006 12:13 pm *Post maybe stupid* Post subject:

Honestly the task manager's memory readout is utterly retarded. Have you ever noticed how the numbers don't add up to the total page file usage?

If you ever find out how to really find what's using the memory, let me know, I'd love you.
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Mine GO BOOM · Posted: Tue Dec 26, 2006 1:35 pm *Post maybe stupid* Post subject:

Memory can be a difficult thing to read. If you memory map a file, and another application does the same, your OS will share that memory. Run two IEs? Well, some of IE's memory is hidden because it is using memory already allocated by the operating system. That is why tons of people say IE uses so little memory, because technically, lots of what IE requires is already preloaded by other applications.

Dynamic and static libraries can be shared between applications as well. But they both may show the memory requirements for them under both applications, while both use the same page file. When running an exe itself, your OS maps the file in memory. This is because to run an executable, the instructions need to be in RAM, but if your system wants to clean up untouched memory, it can wipe that from RAM without worries, because when it needs it again, just grabs from the hard drive, not from your page file. When you minimized an application and look in task manager, you'll notice its current RAM usage drops to under a meg. That is because if it isn't active, windows cleans up lots of the mapped memory.

But that memory isn't really wiped. It is marked as available, but not always the first to be used. If you reactivate the window, the memory will spike, but it won't cause the memory to be reloaded, because the memory is still in RAM untouched. When you leave a window down for a while, and reactivate it, you'll notice it will chug for a bit. That is your OS reloading all the mapped memory back into your main memory.

So, how can you actually see the real usage in Windows? Can't. If your system has free memory being used, all those memory mapped spaces that are marked as available are still cached by your OS. This is good design, because if you open Excel then close it, you have a good chance of reopening it soon. If your system has half a gig free, there is no reason to use those specific page files, so Windows just leaves it cached. It is free to be used by any other application, but won't be allocated until other free spots are used first.

Unless you are constantly paging your memory, you shouldn't need to worry about it. Operating systems are very good memory handlers.

Doc Flabby · Posted: Tue Dec 26, 2006 1:35 pm *Post maybe stupid* Post subject:

You need to view all the columns. The numbers are correct. There is a virtual memory column. additionally half of your memory is used by windows privately, the most memory a user land program can theoretical use on standard windows xp is 2GB

Cyan~Fire · Posted: Tue Dec 26, 2006 2:56 pm *Post maybe stupid* Post subject:

Well maybe they changed something in Windows XP, Doc, but here in 2000 adding up the numbers gives me 144000K while total usage is 259000K.

Doc Flabby · Posted: Tue Dec 26, 2006 5:28 pm *Post maybe stupid* Post subject:

are you adding both the VM SIZE and mem usage columns together?

virtual memory and mem usage are added together to produce the total amount of memory used.

Cyan~Fire · Posted: Fri Dec 29, 2006 12:11 pm *Post maybe stupid* Post subject:

Adding them up actually gave me a number higher than the total mem usage. That wouldn't make sense anyway, why would the total mem usage be adding the VM size and the physical size (which is what I'm assuming the first column is)?

So, although adding them up gives a closer value, it's still wrong, which just shows my point that Windows seriously under-reports memory usage somewhere.

i88gerbils · Posted: Fri Dec 29, 2006 1:09 pm *Post maybe stupid* Post subject:

I used to use Memturbo II (warezed). I still have it on my laptop, but honestly I haven't had a need to use the "Recover Ram" or "Scrub RAM" optiotns.
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Doc Flabby · Posted: Fri Dec 29, 2006 5:40 pm *Post maybe stupid* Post subject:

remember of course DLLs are often shared between programs. Im not sure if this would make a difference.

Solo Ace · Posted: Sun Jan 07, 2007 10:25 am *Post maybe stupid* Post subject:

You shouldn't use the regular task manager anyway, get Process Explorer instead.

Cyan~Fire · Posted: Sun Jan 07, 2007 2:10 pm *Post maybe stupid* Post subject:

Holy crap! Why didn't I know about that? Thanks Solo.

Solo Ace · Posted: Sun Jan 07, 2007 3:02 pm *Post maybe stupid* Post subject:

I love sysinternals (I liked it better when they weren't that much Microsoft related though), all their utilities are simply great and simply do what they're supposed to do.

BDwinsAlt · Posted: Sun Jan 07, 2007 3:21 pm *Post maybe stupid* Post subject:

I agree with solo. I like their software too.

Animate Dreams · Posted: Sun Jan 07, 2007 4:54 pm *Post maybe stupid* Post subject:

Process Explorer eats up all my rams. :(

Cyan~Fire · Posted: Sun Jan 07, 2007 7:15 pm *Post maybe stupid* Post subject:

It's not like you have to leave it running...

Animate Dreams · Posted: Mon Jan 08, 2007 12:41 am *Post maybe stupid* Post subject:

I suppose not. Process Explorer is kinda cool, but the only times I'd really have a use for it is when all my ram is gone, and at that point, opening Process Explorer just makes things worse. I guess I should just go ahead and buy the other gb of ram I planned on when I built this computer. Buying anything for this computer seems a bit futile now, I want to build a new one. I spent about 400 on this processor just so I could get a dual core(this was the first cheap dual core, the AMD 3800+), and now Intel has their kickass Conroe cores for under 200. Of course, with quad cores coming out now, I guess even those are going to become superfluous. The computer I have would probably run everything perfectly if I just upgraded to 2gb dual channel ram and got a decent video card, though. Maybe I'll look for a cheap video card some time.

Cyan~Fire · Posted: Mon Jan 08, 2007 1:34 pm *Post maybe stupid* Post subject:

Cheap Video Card

I just bought it as an upgrade a few weeks ago. (And I probably shouldn't have admitted that.)

Animate Dreams · Posted: Mon Jan 08, 2007 1:56 pm *Post maybe stupid* Post subject:

Hahaha, 40$ is what I paid for my video card too. I plan on spending a bit more this time, although nowhere near 500$ or anything that crazy. Mine's a 128mb Radeon Xtasy 9200, PCI. I need that PCI slot, too. I don't think that video card would be massive improvement over mine, though. But I have problems running Halo, and I know it's not my processor that's limiting me. Of course the best solution is to stop running Halo, and I've done that, but I'd at least like to be ABLE to run Halo.

Cyan~Fire · Posted: Tue Jan 09, 2007 12:02 am *Post maybe stupid* Post subject:

Hmm a PCI-express video card v. PCI? Yeah, I think it would actually be a major improvement.