Huynh Minh Huong writes:
<<I use Rampage to free memory but I don't understand its terms:Total
RAM,Free RAM,Total Page,Free Page,Total Virtual and Free Virtual.Can any of
you explain me what each of them means?>>
Memory, and the ways in which various versions of Windows manage the
different forms of memory, is a complex subject, about which very few
people other than Microsoft engineers, fully understand or need to understand.
About all you really need to know is that RAM, or "physical memory", is the
memory contained within the memory sticks built into your computer. If your
computer has the minimum amount of RAM recommended for the version of
Windows that you are running, then whenever Windows loads at startup, the
registry, fonts, and various other essential bits are loaded into this
memory and will use up most of that memory. It is by far the fastest form
of memory in your computer.
When you run any other programs, which all need some memory, then Windows
very cleverly creates extra artificial or "Virtual Memory" on your Hard
Drive. This is much slower than the physical memory, which explains why a
computer will run a lot faster and better if you add extra RAM sticks, up
to maybe 4 times the basic minimum requirement. After that, differences
become less noticeable, unless perhaps you are running very
memory-intensive programs such as video editing or large graphics programs
such as CorelDraw.
This also explains why Windows needs a certain amount of free hard drive
space to run, as it is continually creating and moving this "virtual
memory" as required at any moment. The more RAM you have installed, the
less "Virtual Memory" is needed.
Generally, Windows manages memory pretty well, and there's not a lot you
can do to improve it.
You can set the hard drive to set aside a fixed size for Virtual Memory,
thus saving Windows from having to resize it as needed. Usually the
advantages of this are somewhat illusory except perhaps in some special
circumstances where you only have the bare minimum RAM.
You'd think that a "memory manager" (there are lots of them) would assist,
but in fact most of them do practically nothing other than look good and
throw impressive-looking figures at you. They all delight in telling you
how much RAM they are freeing, etc, but in real terms these figures are at
best illusory and don't really do anything to improve performance.
I think I've tried most of them at various times. Rampage is one of the
better ones, because its interface is very simple, and it appears to
consume no resources. Some others with fancier interfaces actually consume
more power than they save, and may therefore be counter-productive.
I was using Rampage myself for about 6 months until I did a general cleanup
recently. It was always nice to see extra memory apparently becoming
available after clicking on it, but quite honestly I haven't bothered to
reinstall it. I never perceived any performance improvement from using it,
nor do I perceive the slightest difference now that I don't use it.
Perhaps in some very specialised circumstances it might have a use, but
generally I'd say that third-party memory managers have little or no effect
on your computer performance, and in some cases may have a negative effect.
Fred Langa dealt at length with this subject a few months ago, and his
conclusions were similar.
It would be interesting to hear from any readers who can actually say they
see a real-life improvement from using a memory manager. By that I don't
mean simply the figures the program TELLS you are being created. And I
don't mean by setting Windows to the "Let me manage" option (which CAN be
beneficial in a few cases).
If replying along these lines, please state the circumstances, and computer
details, of any such improvement.
Don Penlington
Free computer tutorials at: http://www.geocities.com/donaldpen/
Also Fractal Galleries, free icons, poetry, and beautiful Queensland beaches.
PCSOFT's List Owner's:
Bob Wright<[log in to unmask]>
Drew Dunn<[log in to unmask]>
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