Big memory leak.

[Mary Poppins]

Here's the problem: I have 128MB of RAM, and when I boot Rambooster tells me that I have 50-70 MB free (varies from time to time), but five minutes later, after using the most simple programs (like explorer) I have 4-8 MB free. I close everyting, and it doesn't help. I can't figure out what the problem is, or even how to diagnose it. This is a recent issue, but I can't for the life of me figure out what happened. Just did a clean install of Win98, too. My virtual memory is set at 256 for both max and minHELP!!!!

[BFlurie]

Bottom line is, is your system responding quickly w/o errors? If so, there's no problem. If Windoz needs more memory, it will take it from the vcache (virtual disk cache), where your memory is probably going so quickly. W/128 Mb ram, you might try the following lines in the [vcache] section of System.ini:

[vcache]
MinFileCache=6144
MaxFileCache=65536
ChunkSize=512

Those lines might help by limiting your vcache, but I'm dubious about how much it really helps (it won't hurt). Memory programs like Rambooster, IMHO, are purely cosmetic 'cause Windoz already manages memory properly -- resources, not memory, are almost always the bottleneck.

[Mary Poppins]

No, my system is having problems. I never knew what my usage was until I started having these problems and I tried to figure out what was wrong. I have occasional crashes, which I think are being caused by the low RAM. The system resources seem to be OK--60+% free most of the time. Here's the thing: when I first boot I have 60-70 MB free. I am testing my system with MemoKit (which tells you exactly what is running and how much RAM and swap memory it uses), and this is what happens: once applications start, more RAM is obviously being used; the problem is that once I close an application, the RAM usage stays the same. So then when I open and close several applications, RAM is at 8-10 MB free and I have little memory left to run new apps. So I have the same applications running as before, but my RAM usage is up 100%! And an issue that may or may not be related--my system insists on running ScanDisk every time I reboot, even when shut down normally.

[BFlurie]

Stop ALL startup progs using Msconfig & reboot. Help any?

Run Sysmon & monitor Mem manager -- Disk Cache, Free (unused) mem, & Swapfile in use. Start it right after booting up, minimize, then open some apps. Maximize Sysmon then to see what has gobbled your memory. I would THINK it'd be Disk cache. Let us know.

[Mary Poppins]

BFlurie--how do I monitor my disk cache?

[BFlurie]

In Sysmon -- Edit/ Add item/ Mem Manager/ Disk Cache Size

[This message has been edited by BFlurie (edited 01-22-2001).]

[krusty the klown]

A long shot: you don't happen to be running motherboard monitor do you?

I had a really bad memory leak with MBM4 and Win98....

[Mary Poppins]

Krusty--no, I'm not using MBM.

My Disc Cache is running at 29M--is that normal? My memory seems to be acting normal lately--although I would love to know what caused the problem in the first place, since I didn't do anything to fix it. Hmm. Thanks for your help, BFlurie http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/smile.gif

[This message has been edited by Mary Poppins (edited 01-24-2001).]

[BFlurie]

There is no "normal", but monitor it w/Sysmon along w/Free (Unused) memory -- especially when your free mem gets low. When it does get low, start closing stuff w/Ctl-Alt-Del & continue monitoring w/Sysmon to see what happens.

[sphismatic]

try using maxmem from http://www.analogx.com. It is easy on resources, tsr in systray, and is easily configured. All it does is free memory stolen by other tsr's (terminate and stay residents) or proggies that leak memory. Free, too. Analog X rox! too bad he hasn't updated in a while.