I seem to be having some memory problems and some memory problems and so am I.
Anyway; whenever I hit CtrlAltDel (about every six minutes), I get a screen showing me the list of programs that are currently running. Usually one of these programs is ‘Not Responding’ and I have to shut it down myself, typical Windows stuff.
My question is about this long list of programs. What are they doing running in the background and do I really need them? Which ones are essential, and which ones are just sitting there eating up my memory and preventing me from finding the secret level in “Doom 2”?
First of all, you shouldnt be getting a Not responding all that often unless your computer is extremely unstable. Secondly, if your computer is a Dell/Gateway/Compaq, its quite likely that 90% of hte programs on that list are crap that you dont need. If you built it yourself and chucked a clean install of windows on, most of them are neccesary.
Well, which Windows do you have? 95/98? ME? NT? 2000? XP? In the early versions of Windows, there’re only a few that you need running in the background. In XP, there’s a list of well over a dozen… and I can’t really tell which are needed and which aren’t (smss.exe? csrss.exe? lsass.exe?).
There are also many freeware “Startup Manager” programs that allow you to control what programs are run when you start windows. The ones that allow you to disable rather than just delete programs from the registry/startup folder are best so that you can undo changes if you have problems. I’d recommend the particular program I’m using, but the website for it doesn’t seem to exist anymore.
Disclaimer: Some of the below might seem obvious. If so, sorry. I don’t mean to be insulting. But many people don’t know these kinds of things. I’ve found it’s always better to give too much than too little information just in case when it comes to computers.
If you are having problems with your computer being slow, it never hurts to run scandisk and defrag, either. Usually this can be accomplished by going to Start–>Programs–>Accessories–>System Tools and both tools will be right there. Sometimes background programs will make scandisk continually restart if run in certain versions of windows, so you might want to run it in DOS instead. (When you go to shutdown your computer, there’s an option to restart in MS-DOS. Choose this options, and generally you can just type scandisk at the command prompt, or exit to get back to Windows)
Viruses can noticeably degrade performance as well. Antivirus software can slow down a machine slightly, but viruses can do much worse things. Antivirus software is your friend.
You don’t have that option in ME. You can go to DOS on start up by pressing “8,” “shift,” or “delete.” I think it varies by manufacturer, but I’m not sure. By pressing the appropriate key repeatedly (once every second) upon start up, you will get a menu which will give you the option to go to DOS. You can also find MS-DOS on your start up list under Programs - Accessories .
Typically when a computer is booting, pressing delete or F1 (depending on the BIOS) will take you to the BIOS setup screen. This is all while the computer is under BIOS control. The BIOS then starts the operating system.
On windows 9.x operating systems (95, 98, and ME) pressing F8 when it starts will give you a boot menu. At this point the computer is basically running DOS.
If you boot windows, then select MS-DOS prompt from the start menu (which is in different locations under the start menu for different versions of windows) you DO NOT GO TO DOS. You go to a protected mode program that emulates DOS. If you press ALT and ENTER it will be much more obvious what is going on because your DOS screen will end up inside of a window, with your normal windows background and other open windows behind it.
NT versions (NT, 2000, XP) do not have DOS. They only have the DOS window program.
The answer to the question on everyone’s mind — how do I permanently banish these annoying Startup Memory Vampires (SMVs) — is **msconfig. **
In Windows 98, once you’ve identified the SMVs you can safely get rid of (Die, Realplayer! Die!), just do Start -> Run and type msconfig. Click the Startup tab and uncheck the SMVs you don’t want. Restart the computer. Reclaim your memory.
Also, Bullwinkle, what’s happening to your computer that you’re having to do a “three-fingered salute” restart every six minutes? In case you didn’t know, that’s not considered normal, to have to do that.
(The norm is actually closer to 10 minutes.
snerk *)
Is it locking up or what? What version of Windows do you have? What makes you think it’s “memory problems” that’s causing it?
How does this “protected mode program” differ practically from DOS. When I go there, I do get the DOS screen, albeit in a window with normal windows in the background, but I can enter commands just as if it were DOS.
