# My computer uses so much of my Ram, why?



## Crazypete3 (Apr 5, 2009)

Ever sense about a month ago my computer is getting slammed with so much Ram. I have a program that tells me how much % of my Ram is being used. Right now while im on the internet typing this in its at 52%. What are some issues that may cause this, I play a lot of online games and I have never seen it be so high in my life. 

Operating System
MS Windows XP Professional 32-bit SP3
CPU
Intel Core 2 Duo E4500 @ 2.20GHz	30 °C
Conroe 65nm Technology
RAM
1.00 GB Dual-Channel DDR2 @ 332MHz (5-5-5-15)
Motherboard
Dell Inc. 0RY007 (Socket 775)	40 °C
Graphics
DELL S199WFP ([email protected])
256MB ATI Radeon HD 2400 PRO (Dell)	55 °C
Hard Drives
313GB Seagate ST3320620AS (SATA)	37 °C
Optical Drives
HL-DT-ST DVD+-RW GSA-H73N
Audio
Webcam 500


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## Poyol (Nov 4, 2009)

Well - XP has a minimum requirement of 64Mb to run, this is 6.4% - However as you have more than that it will use more of your Memory!

You will also have other applications running in the background for example antivirus software etc.

If you are still worried about this please; Press *Start/Run*, type in *CMD*, once you have done this a black screen will appear please type into this box *tasklist>c:\list.txt* , once you have done this press *ENTER*. After this has run please browse to C:\ and find the text document called list, once this has been found please attach this to your next post.

Poyol


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## pip22 (Aug 22, 2004)

Some antivirus/firewall packages can use as much 256MB so you need to choose wisely when you only have 1GB installed. You'll be surprised how all your different background utilities can quickly consume a big chunk of that when added together.


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## LMiller7 (Jun 21, 2010)

Post a screenshot of Task Manager - Performance tab. I am really more interested in what Task Manager shows than some unknown program. This will provide much needed information.


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

Managing your running processes result in some improvement. One GB of RAM is sufficient to run XP but, as you see, it's not enough to run it efficiently. 
Adding some RAM would be highly beneficial. Adding RAM is best done in matched pairs (2X2GB-2X2GB etc,) to avoid compatibility problems. Crucial brand is the best option for OEM PC's.
RAM Memory Upgrade: Dell, Mac, Apple, HP, Compaq. USB drives, SSD at Crucial.com


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## Crazypete3 (Apr 5, 2009)

Sorry for the long reply, so this is what is running and poyol the cmd list does not work for me for some reason.
This is a picture of my process's/performance tab

Bull.jpg picture by Crazypete3 - Photobucket


Bulls.jpg picture by Crazypete3 - Photobucket


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## Poyol (Nov 4, 2009)

I've just looked at both of those images that you have posted - Neither one looks like your computer is using an unreasonable amount of RAM... It looks like your computer is running fine! It could be that the software you are using to report how much RAM is in use isn't working correctly, which software are you using?_ (However you are using around 50+% which isn't unreasonable!)_

Thanks

Poyol


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## LMiller7 (Jun 21, 2010)

I agree with Poyol. I really don't see anything unusual or abnormal in the Task manager display. You have to understand that memory usage in Windows is HIGHLY dynamic. Memory usage of applications is dependent on what they are doing now, what they were doing recently, how much memory is available, and more. The memory manager always attempts to assign memory where it will do the most good to improve performance.

Memory usage may seem high, but that is only because there is currently no better use for it. If a newly started application need memory the memory manager will reassign it as necessary. I have seen this occur many times. 

A guiding principle is always to maximize (yes maximize) memory usage. Unused memory is wasted memory. The ultimate goal is 100% memory usage all the time but OS design hasn't reached that level yet. XP is very good at managing memory and Windows 7 is even better. Unfortunately, Task Manager tends more to hiding than revealing this.

Memory management in a modern OS is not simple but is in fact extremely complex - and highly sophisticated. But most computer users have concepts of memory management that have been outdated for a very long time.


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