memory usage in task manager

S

satch4684

New Member
I had 1GB of memory in my laptop, and pulled a stick from a non-working sony laptop, and it seemed to work fine as it reads 2GB. I just want to see if there is a memory leak somewhere, either caused by using this odd memory stick or something else. I don't know if something is eating up memory or not, but I don't have the extra $50 or so to upgrade this laptop to max amount, and its not worth it to me. I'd rather save the 1 or 2 hundred I will need to repair/replace the mobo on a much better model. Also, would it be better to get rid of my stock ram, and use both 1GB sticks from the sony so they would be a 'matching set'?

in task manager, total physical memory 2096492 and available is half that. I don't know if that helps any, or what other info I can get from TM to give an idea if I am having less ram available than I should...
 
Memory "leak"? No. 1 GB of RAM hasn't been a lot since the very early days of XP, so your problem was probably just a case of not having more of it. Even 2GB is comparatively little these days, though moving from 2GB from 1GB is a 100% increase so you're bound to see a noticeable change. Provided the laptop utilizes dual channel RAM, your absolute best bet is to use both Sony 1 GB sticks. If one of them turns out to be faulty, mixing same-size from different brands won't hurt. It's not like you're trying to mate a Ford engine to a Chevy wiring harness ;)

Just because you have 2 GB now doesn't mean you're going to have access to the full amount. The OS will always pull some of the total amount for it's own usage (background services, video display) and leave the rest for you. The amount you see as available is the stuff it left.
 
imsati said:
Memory "leak"? No. 1 GB of RAM hasn't been a lot since the very early days of XP, so your problem was probably just a case of not having more of it.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I know, I'm running XP on an old laptop, it isn't anything I expect a lot out of. I'm trying to cover all bases because I can't really go beyond what I'm using currently for a while. Just trying to see if there is possibly something unnecessary using up some memory.

there's a game that's been crashing because of my memory. thought there should be something I can do to stop that, I do have the minimum required of 2GB, but maybe I can't without 3 or 4.
 
XP should run perfectly fine on 2gb of ram. You shouldn't be gaming on a laptop especially if the specs don't allow it. With it running XP, you just may need to do some general cleanup of the laptop. Run some malware scans, run Ccleaner.

If you think you have memory issues then download and create a memtest cd and boot to it, it will test your ram for errors.

http://www.memtest86.com/download.htm
 
johnb35 said:
XP should run perfectly fine on 2gb of ram. You shouldn't be gaming on a laptop especially if the specs don't allow it. With it running XP, you just may need to do some general cleanup of the laptop. Run some malware scans, run Ccleaner.

If you think you have memory issues then download and create a memtest cd and boot to it, it will test your ram for errors.

http://www.memtest86.com/download.htm
Click to expand...

sorry for the late reply, if anyone's listening, I forgot I posted here

alright well thanks, I play older games or low graphics quality that handle fine on the machine. actually someone had been doing this for a couple years before I got my hands on it, and knowing them, probably a LOT. I threw a new HDD in it, cleaned out the inside of dust, and it still runs like a champ. Its almost like most people gravitate towards saying you shouldn't play any games if you don't have a gaming rig. You know, I get it, but you have to work with what you got when your stuck with it for a while. I'll get something better in the future, but I once did shell out the bucks for a custom built PC with all the bells and whistles, wasn't worth it for me. My last desktop was an asus with an i5, and i just threw a good, low power requirement affordable card in it and was perfect, never needed anything else.

It's basically this one game is teasing me, because it plays 100% perfect for a lot of the time, there is no hint of slowdown or anything, but apparently crashes due to ram at the "huge open environment" section and stopped my progress. I can probably only alleviate it with maxing out my memory, if I feel its worth doing or just waiting until I repair the gaming laptop I have, but that will take a new MOBO.
 
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