Windows XP Hacks [Electronic resources] نسخه متنی

Hack 92 Getting the Most Out of Your RAM

The best way to improve system performance is
to make better use of your RAM. Here are several hacks to show you
how to try this before you buy more.

No matter how much
memory you have, you could always use more.
Installing more RAM is generally the quickest way to better XP
performance.

But you can also speed up XP by making better use of the RAM you
already have. In this hack, we'll look at how you
can speed up your system performance by using your RAM more
effectively.

11.3.1 Make Better Use of Your Memory with the Task Manager

If your system doesn't have
enough RAM, or if it uses what it has improperly, your system slows
down. That's because in those circumstances it moves
data and programs to a paging file on your hard disk, and your hard
disk is slower than RAM. A certain amount of this is normal, but if
you use a paging file too much, or if even your paging file
can't handle the memory load,
you'll run into system slowdowns and problems.

The Task Manager's Performance tab, shown in Figure 11-2, provides the best way to monitor memory use.
To run the Task Manager, press Ctrl-Alt-Delete, then click on the
Performance tab. With it, you can interpret the information and make
better use of your memory.

Figure 11-2. The Task Manager's Performance tab

The most important parts the screen shown in Figure 11-2 are the charts that report on paging file use and the tabular
material below it that give a more detailed view of your current use
of memory.

The charts relating to the Page File are self-explanatory; they show
current usage, as well as usage over time. If you see that Page File
use is frequently high, it means either that your system
isn't making the most efficient use of RAM, or you
need more RAM. In that case, follow the advice later in this hack for
how to make better use of RAM.

The data below the Page File chart can be almost impossible to
decipher. Table 11-1 details what the data means,
and makes recommendations on how to use that information to make
better use of RAM.

Here's how to use the information on the tab to make
better use of RAM:

If the Total Commit Charge exceeds the Total Physical Memory, you
probably need more RAM. When the Commit Charge is regularly higher than the
Physical Memory available, it means that you have to regularly use a
Page File, which slows your system down. Buy more RAM;
it's inexpensive and will boost system
performance.

Before running a memory-intensive application, use the Processes Tab
to identify memory-hogging applications, and close them down. The Processes tab of the

Task Manager
lists every process and program in use and shows the total amount of
memory each uses. Click twice on the Mem Usage heading on the tab to
reorder the list of programs and processes so that those that require
most memory show up at the top. Close down programs that you
don't really need before running a memory-intensive
application.

If the Peak Commit Charge is frequently at or near the Limit Commit
Charge, you need to increase your memory. When this occurs, it means that your PC is frequently out of memory
or close to being out of memory. Either add RAM or increase your Page
File size.

11.3.2 General Advice for Making Better Use of RAM

So,
you've learned how to use the Task Manager. Here are
some additional tips for making better use of your existing RAM:

Remove DLLs from cache memory. If you
notice your system running slowly after XP
has been running for some time, or if your RAM seems to be getting
low for some reason, the culprit may be left-behind DLLs from
programs that are no longer running, but that XP still keeps in
memory. Sometimes XP keeps DLLs in cache memory even when the program
that required them is no longer running, and this cuts down on the
memory available to other applications.

You can use a simple
Registry hack to
have XP automatically remove from cache memory DLLs that are no
longer needed by programs. Run the Registry Editor [Hack #68] and go to
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer.
Create a new DWORD value named
AlwaysUnloadDll, and give it a data value of
1. Exit the Registry and reboot for the new
setting to take effect. Note that this setting may cause problems
with some programs. Some Windows programsespecially older and
16-bit programsmay issue error messages with this setting in
effect; so if that starts happening, delete the new key or give it a
value of 0.

Reduce the number of colors. Using 32-bit color
takes up a great deal more memory than
16-bit color, and it also puts a greater strain on your processor. If
you primarily use business applications such as word processors and
spreadsheets, you most likely won't notice a
different between 16-bit and 32-bit color, so going with 16-bit color
is a good bet. To change your color depth, right-click on the
desktop, choose Properties Settings, and in the Color
Quality box choose 16 bit.

Avoid DOS applications. DOS
applications don't allow
XP to manage memory properly, and they hold onto the memory they use,
not allowing it to be swapped out for use for other programs or
processes. If you use any DOS applications, replace them with Windows
versions.

Reduce the icons on your desktop. Every
icon on your desktop
uses up memory. Delete icons you don't use
regularly. Run the Clean Desktop Wizard, which will automatically
delete icons that you don't regularly use.
Right-click on the Desktop and choose Properties Desktop
Customize Desktop Clean Desktop Now. A wizard
will step you through the process of deleting unused icons. If you
want the wizard to run every 60 days, check "Run
Desktop Wizard every 60 days."

Reduce the applications and services running in the background. You

may have many
programs and services running in the background, without realizing
it. Look at your Notification area, and see if there are any programs
running that you don't require. Shut them down, and
make sure that they don't load at startup. Also, XP
frequently starts services on startup that you might not need
[Hack #4].
For example, if you don't use a wireless
network card, you don't need the Wireless Zero
Configuration service.