Running out of Memory

[Grundle86]

Hey i'm new to this site, idk if this is the right place to be posting this but considering I know people here I thought this is where I would start. For some reason recently while i'm using iexplorer to watch netflix movies after a while; meaning about an hour into the movie it starts to lag, even with good bandwith and then gives me an error. The error said something about not having enough memory. I never use to have this problem at all whether watching a short 20 min show or like a 3 hour movie, and all of a sudden i've been getting them all the time if i've watched atleast 45 mins worth of programming. I went into task manager to exit out of IE because sometimes with would freeze on screen as well, and it would show that the memory usage of iexplorer was somewhere in the 550,000 range...meanwhile I only had that one window open, even now with this one page open it is at 253,***. Does anyone know what's going on?

[gunny]

It sounds as if your temporary internet files are getting full. I don't know if you are already using a cleaner. If not I would recommend a product called CCleaner. It is a freeware application and is very good. Another thing you may elect to do is to go through your control panel, to System, to Advanced, to Performance (settings), to Advanced, to Virtual Memory. Increase your virtual memory by at least half of what it already is. Here is a link to CCleaner download from File Hippo ( which is a reputable site ).

http://www.filehippo.com/download_ccleaner

Good luck to you. Hope this was helpful.

[Grundle86]

Thanks, it helped a bit, i've noticed that it isn't climbing as fast as it was before...i'm still getting the same problem though, it's just taking longer to get there which is definately better cause i can almost finish the movie now.

[caperjack]

try going into ie internet settings and up the amount of space to use for temp internet files

[gunny]

If you go to your task bar and right click on it a pop down menu will appear. Choose the "Start Task Manager" option. When the Task Manager pops up click on the Processes tab. This will show you the running processes of your system. Now go to the column that reads Memory and click it. (you may need to click it a couple of times) This will place the memory usage in descending order. Now you can post the list of processes here so we can see just exactly what is running in the background and how much memory it is eating up. Also start CCleaner and click on Tools/Startup. Please list everything that is there as well.

Another possibility is that there is some sort of malware running in the background and is not only using up system resources but also your internet bandwidth. You can download and run a Freeware utility called MalwareBytes. It is very very effective.

[Grundle86]

iexplorer.exe
sidebar.exe
dwm.exe
iexplorer.exe
explorer.exe
CCC.exe (Catalyst Control Centre: Host application)
MSASCui.exe (Windows Defender User interface)
taskmgr.exe
ipoint.exe (ipoint.exe)
taskeng.exe
FlashUtil10a.exe (Adobe Flash Player Helper 10.0r12)
Ati2evxx.exe
csrss.exe
SynTPEnh.exe (Synaptics Touchpad Enhancements)
MOM.exe (Catalyst Control Center: Monitoring program)
GoogleUpdater.exe (Google Installer)
unsecapp.exe (Sink to receive asynchronous callbacks for WMI client application)
ituneshelper.exe
taskeng.exe
daemon.exe
MaxMenuMgrBasics.exe (Maxtor Status Icon)
ehtray.exe (Media Center Tray Applet)
realsched.exe (RealNetworks Scheduler)
ONENOTEM.exe
winlogon.exe
dpupdchk.exe (dpupdchk.exe)
ehmsas.exe (Media Center Media Status Aggregator Service)

[Grundle86]

those were only the ones that come up before you hit all users, but in total it said there were about 67 proccess running at the time

[Grundle86]

by the way i cleared out my cookies and temp internet files, i also increased the amount of virtual memory and stuff like that as well

[gunny]

And the memory usage values were what?? First of all 67 is a lot of running processes. I'm really interested in knowing what CCleaner shows in your start up menu. Also, Are you using a third party anti-virus/anti-malware program. Such as Norton/Symantec, MacAfee, Avira, etc.. The reason that I ask is that I see Windows Defender alone as part of the running processes. There should be an AVP.exe there somewhere. And now for the cold harsh reality of the thing that is Microsoft. They would have you believe that you should only run Genuine Microsoft software and nothing else. This is totally not the case. Windows Firewall and Windows Defender (along with Windows Malicious software removal tool) are the weakest pieces of crap out there. Relying on them to protect your computer is like riding your bicycle the wrong way on the expressway during rush hour with a blind fold on. Please, Please, before we go any further. Run Malwarebytes and see how many infections you have. You will have to turn Windows Defender off in order to do so.
1.
Open Windows Defender by clicking the Start button Picture of the Start button, clicking All Programs, and then clicking Windows Defender.
2.
Click Tools, and then click Options.
3.
Under Administrator options, select or clear the Use Windows Defender check box, and then click Save. Administrator permission required If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.

Here is the CNet link for MalwareBytes.
http://download.cnet.com/Malwarebytes-Anti-Malware/3000-8022_4-10804572.html
Also Please post the Start up items list from CCleaner.

[Grundle86]

Unfortunately i dont have a third party anti-virus/anti-malware program. when i ran the ccleaner it came up with 934mb worth of stuff that it deleted. Other than that i really haven't done anything else with it.

[Grundle86]

I ran the malware software and it found one infected object, i had the trojan removed and rescanned to find zero objects infected

[gunny]

Sorry for the delayed response. I've been super busy. Have you downloaded and run MalwareBytes yet? I'm sure you have gotten infected/infested by malware. How about the startup list? Quite often there are many utilities and update schedulers, etc. that are all starting as soon as your computer boots. The general idea was to have the most often used things already running so when you wanted them they came up quicker. The problem is that they all try to start at once (slowing down your boot up time) and they stay running (eating up your memory).

[kaninelupus]

The problem is that they all try to start at once (slowing down your boot up time) and they stay running (eating up your memory).

In XP and earlier this was the case, but not so much in Vista or Win7, which tend to prevent that. They randomised the process start-up order for security purposes, but had a kick-on effect of reducing the bottleneck.

The easiest way to minimise the start-up processes via MSConfig. Contrary to the belief of Adobe, Acrobat does not need to start on load-up, nor Apple's Quicktime processes, nor does Java. MSN Messenger also really doesn't require to be there the instant you boot PC.

Also, if you are running the "pro" builds of Vista or Win7, another handy utility is the Services snap-in (for quick-lauch, hit WinKey+R, and enter "services.msc"). You have the option of delaying the load of those services you want at start-up, but are happy to wait for till the main system processes are up and running.

As to a 3rd party AV suite, have a look at Comodo - had to tame the System Protection as found a lil verbose for my liking, but actually a very good anti-malware app - very easy to take control of and make work the way I want it to. Just be aware that it is a good idea to switch off Windows' own security processes if being replaced with a 3rd party option so as to avoid conflicts.

At the end of the day, having you considered transitioning to x64. Although the browser itself will be limited primarily to x86 usage till Adobe pulls its finger out with Flash Player support, you will have far greater RAM capabilities, allowing you to far increase your system's memory capabilities :)

[jbennet]

Also, if you are running the "pro" builds of Vista or Win7, another handy utility is the Services snap-in (for quick-lauch, hit WinKey+R, and enter "services.msc"

Thats in all versions actually.

P.S, how much RAM do you have, what are your swap settings, and have you tried firefox? also make sure you have an up to date version of flash.

[kaninelupus]

Thats in all versions actually.

P.S, how much RAM do you have, what are your swap settings, and have you tried firefox? also make sure you have an up to date version of flash.

You sure is in all versions?? I don't remember any of the Admin Tools being included in Vista HP. I very much remember frustrations over the absence of the Policy Editor, but then again, upgraded all machines to Ultimate some time ago, so maybe memory is playing tricks :-/

As much as I'm a true fan of FF, given that we're still seeing a few memory leaks even in 3.5, that might not help in this case... but always worth a try (just remember FF needs a different flash player install) - find it here (this is the direct link from the Adobe FTP server ;) )

Have a look here for a little advice on swap files (virtual memory settings)... I know you mentioned earlier you've tinkered with the settings, but may well not have pushed high enough (remember a static /fixed size is preferable, but keep the size high enough so as it NEVER maxes out. Also, if moving page-file to another drive, it needs to be another PHYSICAL drive, not just another partition.

By the way, are you running a decent video card?? This will essentially hand much off the actual rendering that no or a low-grade GPU will leave your CPU handling much of the weight, which then sucks up more memory.

If you are making the move to FF, you may want to make a few tweaks to FF to boost performance, via the about:config settings pane. (don't hesitate to ask Q's if you get stuck.)

Open a new tab in FF and enter about:config... you'll get a "there be dragons within" type warning... just hit OK. Now some of these values will pre-exist; others you will need to right-click on a blank area and create new String or Integer (integer being a numeric value, String being anything else listed... not going into indepth details at this time of night).

"network.http.pipelining" as "true"
"network.http.pipelining.maxrequests" to "10"
"network.http.max-connections" to "60" or more
"network.http.max-connections-per-server" to anywhere btwn 20-30
"network.http.pipelining.ssl" as "true"
"network.http.proxy.pipelining" as "true"
"nglayout.initialpaint.delay" to "0" (you will need to create new integer for this one)

and a few other settings that should speed things up even more if on a broadband or cable connection:

“network.dns.disableIPv6“: as "false"
“content.notify.backoffcount”: to "5"
“plugin.expose_full_path”: as "true"
“ui.submenuDelay”: to “0“

May sound like a little work, and for those running a decent whack of RAM and a good graphics card not so needed these days (although never hurts). But if your machine is a little starved of memory, this will simply help ensure FF doesn't add to the problem, but rather comes to the rescue :)

[jbennet]

You sure is in all versions?? I don't remember any of the Admin Tools being included in Vista HP

Services is definately, i think the only things missing are Auditing, Users/Groups and Group/Domain Policy.

Services.msc exists on both vista HP and XP home.

[kaninelupus]

You got Fax, lol

[jbennet]

You got Fax, lol

Fax aint in Vista home but its in XP