Releasing Memory

[pgwolfe]

Throughout the day, I am constantly opening and closing programs (just like everyone else). Is there a good program that details the programs that are loaded into my PCs memory, and just as importantly, and will allow me to release the unneeded program(s) from memory?

A freeware or shareware program would be great, but I am willing to pay for a program if it is worthwhile.

Thanks.

[Zachery]

You should really just invest in more ram if your having memory problems.

[TallCool1]

Throughout the day, I am constantly opening and closing programs (just like everyone else). Is there a good program that details the programs that are loaded into my PCs memory, and just as importantly, and will allow me to release the unneeded program(s) from memory?

Faranth, please remember that Win98/Me users are limited to 512 MB RAM. It gets allocated and sucked up fast by things like CD burner software, which don't always release it properly.

The two memory utilities that I use (together) are TinyResMeter and GoodMem. They are both freeware.

I use TinyResMeter as a monitor. It can be configured to show RAM usage and, just as importantly for a Win98/Me user, GDI, System, and User memory -- the most precious commodities of all, since each is limited to 512 K, no matter how much RAM you install. It has saved me from crashes a number of times.

GoodMem is a good program to force garbage collection (scavenging unused memory to return it to the free pool). Even with 512 MB, I still need to run it from time to time. I don't run it all the time (it tends to cause hiccups in video or games), just when TinyResMeter tells me I'm running low. It sits in the System Tray -- double-clicking on it sweeps the memory as needed. If it's really low, you might have to double-click it a few times.

[pgwolfe]

Great recommendations! This is exactly what I was looking for.

[crunchie]

I use cacheman & would recommend it to all. It has quite a lot of good tweaks as well as recovering memory.