Help with pc system performance/cache

[rhh7]

I have been noticing that my cpu usage is at or near 100% most of the time.

I should have said this happens when I have been paging through 10 or 12 pages of tdpri. This is what made me think it might have had something to do with memory or cache. As you can tell, I don't understand computers very well!

I have 1 mb of ram, and the system cache is 500kb, is this too much?

How do I set this parameter?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Slow Reflexes]

Are you referring to the virtual memory (page file/swap file)? 500K is certainly not too much, and likely not nearly enough.

I'm thinking it's much more likely that you have a Gigabyte of RAM rather than a Megabyte - and maybe 500MB for the cache file? If so, that's still kinda smallish.

If you really only have 1MB of RAM, that's probably a really old computer, and you probably have more problems than just your swap file. Regardless, you set the file size in Windows XP by going to System Properties > Advanced > Performance Settings > Advanced.

As to the amount you want to set aside there, it really depends a lot on what you're running and how much hard drive space you have available. I usually create a 2GB or 4GB partition and set the swapfile to use that rather than the main drive.

[ddewerd]

I would set the cache at double the physcial memory, so assuming you meant you have 1 GB memory, then set the cache at 2 GB.

I'd also look at Task Manager (select from right click on bottom start menu bar or from Ctrl-Alt-Del menu). Look at the Processes tab, and then click on the CPU and/or Mem Usage to sort from highest to lowest. This might give you an idea of what processes are using most memory and CPU.

Cheers,
Doug

[Parma_TeleMon]

With that kind of CPU utilization, you've probably got a runaway process or a trojan. PM me if you've got real problems.

[rhh7]

Okay, thanks for all the help. Here's the scoop:

I do have an older computer, running Windows 2000.

I have 982,512KB Ram.

My cache file is set at 1440MB.

The processes which are running the most resources are Symantec, and Firefox. This makes sense, as my computer tech set up a firewall and a continuous virus scan when he built my system.

The cpu usage indicator goes to 100% when I have been a long time on tdpri, and my computer sort of freezes up.

I don't think I have any trojans or viruses, but some of you may be able to tell something from these numbers.

Thanks!

[ddewerd]

Well, it's obvious.....

spend less time on TDPRI and more time practicing

It might be some kind of memory leak. Does shutting down your browser and restarting it help? Do you have a lot of browser windows/tabs open at the same time? Do you run any streaming stuff like RSS feeds or real time weather updates? These guys can also cause problems.

I hate to say it, but Symantec can also be a problem. I used to use Norton for anti-virus (now owned by Symantec) and my system got dog slow. I removed Norton and replaced it with freeware (PC Tools Anti-virus) and it was much better.

Cheers,
Doug

[rhh7]

Well, the problem has definitely been tdpri specific.

So today, as an experiment, I went to tools...page info...permissions...block pop-up windows.

Fingers crossed, but it looks like problem solved!