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Using too much RAM

H

hogpen

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 13, 2008
19
0
Okay, so I don't have a macbook but this is the main forum where I know I can trust people.
Hope this is the right place to post.

I have an HP dv2910us that I bought 2 years ago. I haven't had too many problems with it so far. When I turned it on today, it was really, really slow. I noticed that the RAM usage is around 85% now when it used to be around 35%-40%. Is there anything I can do besides installing new RAM? I uninstalled a few programs but I don't think that did anything. I'm just wondering why it suddenly doubled recently. When I opened it up today, the screen was blank but the computer was on so I did a hard shutdown. When I started it back up, it was super slow.
Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance.
 
Can you see, what application did use that RAM?

Btw, uninstalling applications will not really free RAM, unless these applications are background processes and need to run all the time.

And what Windows version do you use and how much RAM does that PC have?
 
I'm not sure how to see what application used the RAM.

I'm 100% positive that my computer has 3 GB of RAM but I just went to check the other specifications and it now says 1 GB of RAM.

I'm running Windows Vista 32-bit. Intel Core 2 DUO T5550 1.83GHz with what it currently says as 1 GB of RAM but I know it is 3 GB of RAM and it used to say that.
Can 2 GB of RAM just disappear like that? I restarted it and nothing happened. It took like 5 minutes for the computer to shut down. Extremely slow. I'm really worried because I have all my school stuff on here and I need this computer now more than ever with finals coming up.
 
hogpen said:
Is that an easy fix? I know RAM is really cheap, do you think I should take it to Geek Squad or something I could do?
Click to expand...

If there is a Microcenter or Fry's around go there to buy the RAM. If you can wait a couple days save some money and gas through Newegg.com or Crucial.com. The installation is quite easy. All HP laptops I have seen have a RAM door on the bottom with one or two philips screws holding it closed.

Unless things have changed RAM prices at Best Buy are ridiculous and Geeksquad is expensive.
 
Go to Task Manager and open the Resource Monitor.

Most likely, you're having an issue with a Windows Media Player process using a lot of RAM.

Post a screenshot (and sort the table by highest RAM usage.)
 
Try this:

Go to start, command prompt (not sure what it may be called in 7 I don't have a 7 machine right by me, it may be "Start -> Run" and type in the box: msconfig

Once it opens, click on the "startup items" tab, disable ALL of them (really, none are necessary to run windows and will start if they need to). Once you do that, save the changes if it asks you to and restart the machine.

When it reboots check your ram usage.

EDIT: Ok, click "Start" and then in the "Search programs and Files" box type in "msconfig" and hit "enter", then click on the "Startup" tab, click "Disable All", then click "Apply", then click "OK", and restart the machine when it asks you to.
 
Last edited:
imaketouchtheme said:
Go to Task Manager and open the Resource Monitor.

Most likely, you're having an issue with a Windows Media Player process using a lot of RAM.

Post a screenshot (and sort the table by highest RAM usage.)
Click to expand...

Hope this is what you were talking about.
Looks like Chrome is taking up a lot.

Capture.jpg
 
you might want to test your ram before you go buy more.

like someone said, you might want to test the physical before you go deep into software. i dont know if you have any software to test ram so just open the machine up and make sure the ram is seated properly. after that, remove a module and then run the system. if the system starts, that ram is good. replace that ram another module and redo the test.

do this will all 3 modules. i only assume you have 3 modules or a mismatched pair(do they make 1.5?). not that thats a bad thing. its just curious they would sell it that way.

obviously if at any time your system fails to start then you can be sure that your ram is bad. once you isolate the problem only then should you spend money. of course if you enjoy spending money please nevermind my advice.

edit:

looking at your task manager and the load on your ram it would appear something is unseated or your module is faulty.
 
Thanks for the help everyone, I really appreciate it.

Sounds like I should take a look at the RAM. I'm just worried about messing something up because I've never done it before. I guess the best place to learn how to do that stuff is youtube.

Thanks again!
 
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