How to free up some system resources or system memory in XP

[jmet]

Welcome to the Digital Video Forums imike!

How much RAM is in the XP computer and how much RAM is in the 98 computer?

[Kabuchan]

Off the topic, a little bit. I work at home as a call center agent-take orders for all those infomercials. I have to use XP and IE 6. I also have to allow pop-ups. Therefore I am constantly cleaning out cookies, temp files, and the Java cache.

Now I just saw a post at work that says when you clear your java cache, you should also do this...


--When you hit the clear button, the following list comes up ...

c: clear console window
f: finalize objects on finalization queue
g: garbage collect
h: display this help message
l: dump classloader list
m: print memory usage
o: trigger logging
p: reload proxy configuration
q: hide console
r: reload policy configuration
s: dump system and deployment properties
t: dump thread list
v: dump thread stack
x: clear classloader cache
0-5: set trace level to
When I 'clear my cache', I hit 'g' for garbage collect, "l", "t", "v", then "x". I don't do this unless I'm completely out of chat. If my chat is slow while I'm in the VCC, then I just do the "g" and hit the clear button. It frees up lots of virtual memory.

I then go to internet options and delete my temporary files.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
I don't see that when I clear cache. Is this something I am doing wrong? Do I have to do this? Will it help the speed of my PC?

[Chewy]

what version of java do you all use at work?

[Kabuchan]

I have Java(TM) 2 Runtime Environment, Standard Edition 1.4.2
Default Virtual Machine Version 1.4.2-b28
Java Plug-in 1.4.2

[ed klein]

Here is a nice little program that will help you determine if you really need the program at start-up as shown in your msconfig.

http://www.pacs-portal.co.uk/startup_content.php

This program will tell you how to safely remove the msconfig start-up programs in one of three different ways.

1. Within the software program itself on or off
2. Within the start-up folder
3. Within the registry and how to remove it.

[Chewy]

Default Virtual Machine Version 1.4.2-b28

Customers are encouraged to take proactive measures to stay informed about obsolete software and move away from the MSJVM in a timely fashion.

your java needs to be updated

http://www.java.com/en/download/help/5000010400.xml

offline admin installer

[Kabuchan]

Alright, I have the Java updated, cleaned out my registry, virus scanned, got rid of the cookies and temp files...and I still don't see those buttons from my earlier post. Do I really need them, or am I doing okay on my own?

[Chewy]

it's been streamlined, just go into control panel and access there?

[Kabuchan]

I guess I'm good to go. Thanks Chewy and ed klein

[JimS]

...
BlackViper used to be on the net and had some very good advice on what
one might do to improved Windows performance. But now BlackViper is no
more, I think, but here is a site that has most of his work:
http://majorgeeks.com/page.php?id=12
I have used his "safe" settings for some time and have had no problems.
...
I often used a site similair to the one ed klein mentioned above:
http://www.sysinfo.org/startuplist.php
This will take you directly to info about most of what you will find in your startup group.
...

[tonay]

I'm not as computer savy as Chewie but I use: Free Ram XP Pro 1.52. It seems to work well and is highly rated by Cnet.

Take a look.

http://www.download.com/3000-2086-10070530.html

If you see something wrong w/ this - let me know.

[Chewy]

Windows xp does a lot better job of handling memory issues than previous versions of windows, however there's no substitute for real ram and running lean and mean.

tonay, if it works for you, good. Every case is unique.

[jm1647]

I run XP Pro also and MaxMem by AnalogX works for me when I use it but I did not mention XP PRO when I mentioned it here

[Chewy]

jm,
how much ram are you running?

[jm1647]

@Chewy back then only 448MB on that box in November....I haven't tried MaxMem on the other box with a GB of ram yet