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#1
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System resources leaking away
A few days ago I asked about the low system resources on my
five-year-old Windows 98 Dell desktop. Some procedures were given for me to do some diagnostics but they're complicated and I haven't had the time to do them. Meanwhile the problem has clarified. Basically, when I turn the computer on or restart, and if I have no major applications on, but just the background utilities (including things like Zone Alarm, internet connection, Icon Corral, and stuff like that), I have 64% resources free. But over the course of a day, that percentage keeps dropping. Right now, for example, the computer has been on for about 24 hours, and the system resources (with no major applications open) is at 51%. So something is making system resources get less and less while the computer is on. I wish there was some way of figuring this what's causing this without having to turn off one utility after another and see what happens over the period of many hours for each one. Larry |
#2
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System resources leaking away
Larry
As far as I'm concerned, you're describing a perfectly normal operation. When you reboot, assuming just you have managed your startup operation, your system resources are in the 70% range, and they gradually decrease as you use your computer. "Larry" wrote in message ... A few days ago I asked about the low system resources on my five-year-old Windows 98 Dell desktop. Some procedures were given for me to do some diagnostics but they're complicated and I haven't had the time to do them. Meanwhile the problem has clarified. Basically, when I turn the computer on or restart, and if I have no major applications on, but just the background utilities (including things like Zone Alarm, internet connection, Icon Corral, and stuff like that), I have 64% resources free. But over the course of a day, that percentage keeps dropping. Right now, for example, the computer has been on for about 24 hours, and the system resources (with no major applications open) is at 51%. So something is making system resources get less and less while the computer is on. I wish there was some way of figuring this what's causing this without having to turn off one utility after another and see what happens over the period of many hours for each one. Larry |
#3
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System resources leaking away
I've been using ZoneAlarm for several years, both the free and "Pro"
versions, and have not noticed any obnoxious behavior from the software. So, if you were going to suspect some of your background utilities, I'd put ZA last on the list of culprits. Unfortunately, the only way you're going to have to experiment by shutting off one thing at a time until you find your problem. And, you should reconsider whether you truly need some of your utilities. For instance, if you need Icon Corral, it's probably because you're annoyed by the number of icons in the system tray. Why *are* there so many? How many? Is it really worth running a utility for such a lightweight purpose? "Larry" wrote in message ... A few days ago I asked about the low system resources on my five-year-old Windows 98 Dell desktop. Some procedures were given for me to do some diagnostics but they're complicated and I haven't had the time to do them. Meanwhile the problem has clarified. Basically, when I turn the computer on or restart, and if I have no major applications on, but just the background utilities (including things like Zone Alarm, internet connection, Icon Corral, and stuff like that), I have 64% resources free. But over the course of a day, that percentage keeps dropping. Right now, for example, the computer has been on for about 24 hours, and the system resources (with no major applications open) is at 51%. So something is making system resources get less and less while the computer is on. I wish there was some way of figuring this what's causing this without having to turn off one utility after another and see what happens over the period of many hours for each one. Larry |
#4
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System resources leaking away
Larry wrote:
A few days ago I asked about the low system resources on my five-year-old Windows 98 Dell desktop. Some procedures were given for me to do some diagnostics but they're complicated and I haven't had the time to do them. Meanwhile the problem has clarified. Basically, when I turn the computer on or restart, and if I have no major applications on, but just the background utilities (including things like Zone Alarm, internet connection, Icon Corral, and stuff like that), I have 64% resources free. But over the course of a day, that percentage keeps dropping. Right now, for example, the computer has been on for about 24 hours, and the system resources (with no major applications open) is at 51%. So something is making system resources get less and less while the computer is on. I wish there was some way of figuring this what's causing this without having to turn off one utility after another and see what happens over the period of many hours for each one. Larry Hi, There really isn't a faster way to figure out what is causing the drain on resources. Disabling them from startup or uninstalling them is the best way, albeit slow. Surely there must be some programs you have running that don't need to be. My experience tells me that very few programs actually need to load at startup. Disabling them at startup doesn't mean the program won't work; take MS Office for example- all of the applications work just fine without loading at startup. Icon Corral seems to ba a fairly worthless program to me. It claims to move the "clutter of minimized applications from your taskbar to your system tray"; just what is that supposed to do for you? I don't get it. When my 98 system starts up, I have 16 processes (not programs) running. Those include truly essential Windows processes, firewall, AV, battery back-up utility, optical mouse software, and 1 purely optional program that I could disable if it were a problem. Other 98 systems I take care of have approximately the same or less than that, depending on if they're in a network or if they have a Lexmark printer with its numerous startup entries. (Although, through trial and error I have figured out which ones to turn off and still have a functional printer, but there are still too many, especially for a printer of all things.) I wish there was a way to plug in a gadget that just tells you which one(s) is (are) the culprit(s), but there isn't, at least not yet. It seems that Gary Terhune went over this with you in detail already, so your choices are clear: disable or uninstall some applications or just let them eat up your resources as they please. mm |
#5
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System resources leaking away
Doug Kanter wrote:
snip For instance, if you need Icon Corral, it's probably because you're annoyed by the number of icons in the system tray. Why *are* there so many? How many? Is it really worth running a utility for such a lightweight purpose? /snip Hi, I was curious as to what Icon Corral does so I looked it up; it does just the opposite of what you would think. Here's their pitch: "If a herd of programs always seems to be grazing in your Taskbar, round them up with Icon Corral. This program steers your minimized programs into the system tray rather than the Taskbar itself." I think you were being way too kind when you said it has a "lightweight purpose". mm |
#6
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System resources leaking away
Yeah, Gary gave me those procedures to follow, but I was hoping for a simpler answer. I hope Gary doesn't think I'm ungrateful. :-) BTW, why is everyone so sure that my little utilities, like Icon Corral, are causing the problem? I've been using Icon Corral (and all my other regular utilities) for several years but I've only had this Resources drain in the last few weeks. Larry |
#7
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System resources leaking away
"Mostly Me (MM)" wrote in message
... Doug Kanter wrote: snip For instance, if you need Icon Corral, it's probably because you're annoyed by the number of icons in the system tray. Why *are* there so many? How many? Is it really worth running a utility for such a lightweight purpose? /snip Hi, I was curious as to what Icon Corral does so I looked it up; it does just the opposite of what you would think. Here's their pitch: "If a herd of programs always seems to be grazing in your Taskbar, round them up with Icon Corral. This program steers your minimized programs into the system tray rather than the Taskbar itself." I think you were being way too kind when you said it has a "lightweight purpose". mm Whatever it does, it's using resources, like everything else in Windows. Shut off desktop themes. Eliminate wallpaper & replace with just a background color. Uninstall fonts that you never use. Be brutal about eliminating utilities that provide nothing but cuteness. Don't use 3rd party screensavers - stick with the ones which come with Windows. If you run big apps all day, LEAVE them running - don't shut them down and restart them a million times. Even the well-written ones don't return all their resources to the system at shutdown. |
#8
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System resources leaking away
"Larry" wrote in message
... Yeah, Gary gave me those procedures to follow, but I was hoping for a simpler answer. I hope Gary doesn't think I'm ungrateful. :-) BTW, why is everyone so sure that my little utilities, like Icon Corral, are causing the problem? I've been using Icon Corral (and all my other regular utilities) for several years but I've only had this Resources drain in the last few weeks. Larry 1) Have you made ANY changes to your system? This includes new hardware, new drivers, new software, ANYTHING. 2) Did you upgrade any existing programs? 3) What NAME BRAND of antivirus software do you use, and when is the last time you paid actual money for another year's subscription? 4) When's the last time you did a full system scan of ALL FILES? 5) When's the last time you checked your system with anti-spyware software, like AdAware and Spybot? |
#9
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System resources leaking away
Larry wrote:
Yeah, Gary gave me those procedures to follow, but I was hoping for a simpler answer. I hope Gary doesn't think I'm ungrateful. :-) BTW, why is everyone so sure that my little utilities, like Icon Corral, are causing the problem? I've been using Icon Corral (and all my other regular utilities) for several years but I've only had this Resources drain in the last few weeks. Larry Hi, I'm fairly certain that Gary understands your desire to find a different method, but I don't know if he considers that to be ungrateful. I'm not certain it's one of your utilities causing the problem, but the only way to be certain is to go through the laborious process of elimination. Unless, as the other poster suggested, you can link the resource drain to a change to your system, hardware, programs, etc. to include updating products already installed. I know some programs auto-update when you connect to the web, or at least try to, so it might not have even been an obvious change to you. Perhaps you ran an anti-spyware/adware program that removed something? Just firing off possibilities. Well, keep us posted on what you find. mm |
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