RAM use creeps up over time

[Ryedan]

I notice RAM use going up day by day until my system slows down noticeably and I have to reboot. Usually takes about 3-4 days. Otherwise all is well.

Win 7 Pro 64 bit, SP1
Dual core Intel E6700 @ 3.2 GHz
3 GB ram

Any ideas?

 

[Vapoor eyes er]

Hi Ryedan. It may be a memory leak. Have you installed any new progs lately? You could try running:
Free Online Virus Scan - Antivirus Software - Trend Micro USA have used it for 10? yrs and they have the freebie so they can do timely updates for customers.
Here's a great anti spyware prog- serious techies use it and I have it installed. Use the free edition.
SUPERAntiSpyware | Remove Malware | Remove Spyware - AntiMalware, AntiSpyware, AntiAdware!
Here's a free RAM test utility to make sure your RAM is working properly:
PassMark MemTest86 - Memory Diagnostic Tool
Sounds crazy but have you defragged lately with a good prog?
Other ideas:
Clear the cache. If the Windows cache is too large, it can stop Windows from accessing RAM in an optimal manner.
The 2 places I buy all my PC stuff are:
NCIX - Buy Computers, Computer Parts, Laptops, World's Leading Discount Computer Store wait for sales
Canada Computers | Computers, Computer Parts, Laptops, Hard Drives, PC Hardware & Accessories Sales if I need something immediately
Best of Luck.

 

[Ryedan]

Thanks Vapoor eyes er! I'm doing all the right things with antivirus software, spyware, etc. I'll check out the software you linked to anyways and do the maintenance later today. The only things loaded on this system lately are Windows updates. I'll let you know how it goes

 

[Vapoor eyes er]

You're welcome. Realize the MemTest takes awhile. Here's a great free registry cleaner I use:
SlimCleaner 4.0 Free - Community-Powered PC Maintenance
I'm still using WinXP on 2 diff PCs as I also had issues with Win 7.

 

[dirtdevil]

Subscribed!! So many useful hints!! Thank you!


DD

 

[Ryedan]

Well, I defraged my 'C' and 'D' (where my swap file lives) drives using the Windows defrag program and emptied my temp files. About 200 MB worth!! Re-booted to about 1.6 GB in ram. It went up to about 2 GB after 12 hours and I thought that obviously did not do it. Just checked and running at 1.8 GB. I'll see where it goes next.

Downloaded the memory check program but haven't made the CD yet. I'll do this in the next day or two and run it. I'm curious to see the results.

I bought this computer with Win 7 on it about a year ago. I was also running XP before that. 7 has been great so far! Very stable until this.

 

[zapped]

update and reinstall drivers for your USB port and other peripherals. I was getting a BSOD a couple of weeks ago and the HUB was the cause.

Malwarebytes is also a great anti-virus program thats free of charge.

In addition to the great advice here you might consider doing a clean boot of your entire system.You'll have to redownload or save any programs that werent included with your version of windows but experts recommend doing it twice a year to keep your system running smoothly.

 

[Vapoor eyes er]

update and reinstall drivers for your USB port and other peripherals. I was getting a BSOD a couple of weeks ago and the HUB was the cause.

Malwarebytes is also a great anti-virus program thats free of charge.

In addition to the great advice here you might consider doing a clean boot of your entire system.You'll have to redownload or save any programs that werent included with your version of windows but experts recommend doing it twice a year to keep your system running smoothly.

Agree. I also use Malwarebytes and is another great prog and agree with zapped's recommendations. As for a defrag prog I use PerfectDisk. Last defrag was Jan. 21- just defragged and drive performance went from 68% to 99.8%. Yes I also do a fresh install at least once per year.

 

[Ryedan]

Thanks for all the suggestions guys! So far so good. RAM use is at 1.79 GB right now so it's not going up yet. I suspect it was the 200 MB of temp files that was the issue. I knew it was bad to let that happen, but I just forgot to check on it for a while. Now I wish I had not defraged at the same time so I would know for sure which one made the improvement, but I'll take it

Yes, reinstalling Windows is a great way to bring everything back to new again. I've run 95, NT 4, 2000 and XP at home. 95 was terrible. After that experience I went to NT for it's stability which I knew about from work. Used to have to reinstall those OS's about every year. I got Win 7 about a year ago and have found it solid for me so far. Curious to see how long it will last.

 

[Vapoor eyes er]

Good to hear things have improved and thanks for the update...surprising who else will find this info helpful

 

[ImThatGuy]

Uh...Have you checked programs running in the background? Like: auto updates from programs like realplayer, apple, adobe, etc. Usually a dropoff of available ram is a sign of more programs active in the background. I suggest disabling non-essential programs from startup that have their option of "start when windows start" active. (msconfig from "Search programs and files" bar from the Start menu). Also, you mentioned usage of RAM goes up day by day, it is also possible that those programs you've used throughout the days are still running in the background even though you closed the application. Closing the application/program does not necessarily mean it ended. It may still be running in the background.

(just rambling since I'm getting ready to go to church...don't mind me...)

 

[Ryedan]

Thanks again to everyone for all the great suggestions. This has turned into quite the general computer security and maintenance thread . Really, all I was wondering when I first posted was if anyone else had seen this with the F@H software.

Final update: It's solved. RAM use goes up when I load something but then drops down again after a while. It must have been the accumulation of temp files. I'm going to be deleting them and defraging monthly from now on, instead of waiting until I have issues.

For anyone who is not familiar with deleting temporary files, the easiest way I know to do this in Win 7 is to use 'Disk Cleanup'.

Open Windows Explorer and find your 'C' drive. Alternatively, you can click 'Start', click 'Computer' and you will see your 'C' drive.
Right click on the 'C' drive.
Left click on 'Properties'.
Click on 'Disk Cleanup'. The Cleanup widow will open. Wait for it to do its calculations. It takes about a minute on my machine.
Scroll down the 'Files to Delete' window and make sure 'Temporary Files' is check marked. Un-check all others unless you know for sure you want to delete those files as well.
Click 'OK', then 'Delete Files' and it will be done.

I think Disk Cleanup is in all current Windows versions. Mouse clicks will probably be slightly different getting to it and maybe using it, but Google and Window's 'Help' system are your friends here. I do not consider this a risky process.

Defrag is accessed pretty much the same way. I always assume something could go wrong with the drive when defraging, so I back up my data first. I also have the operating system backed up, so I can reinstall Windows if necessary. If you do not do this you could lose everything on the drive with no way to restore it if the defrag goes bad.

Find the 'C' drive again and right click on it.
Left click on Properties.
Click on 'Tools' at the top'.
Click on 'Derfagment Now'.
Highlight the 'C' drive and click 'Defragment Disk'. It takes a few minutes to go through the process.
If you have more local drives, work through the others one at a time. If these drives don't see much use, they will defrag very quickly.

Again, don't defrag if you are uncomfortable with the risk. A power failure or an underlying problem with the disk could make your computer un-bootable until it's fixed and everything not backed up will be gone.

 

[Vapoor eyes er]

Great tutorial. That's the reason I use SlimCleaner- cleans all the surfing garbage out. Used to use CCleaner but Slim does a far better job IMO. Thanks again for the update.

Thanks again to everyone for all the great suggestions. This has turned into quite the general computer security and maintenance thread . Really, all I was wondering when I first posted was if anyone else had seen this with the F@H software.

Final update: It's solved. RAM use goes up when I load something but then drops down again after a while. It must have been the accumulation of temp files. I'm going to be deleting them and defraging monthly from now on, instead of waiting until I have issues.

For anyone who is not familiar with deleting temporary files, the easiest way I know to do this in Win 7 is to use 'Disk Cleanup'.

Open Windows Explorer and find your 'C' drive. Alternatively, you can click 'Start', click 'Computer' and you will see your 'C' drive.
Right click on the 'C' drive.
Left click on 'Properties'.
Click on 'Disk Cleanup'. The Cleanup widow will open. Wait for it to do its calculations. It takes about a minute on my machine.
Scroll down the 'Files to Delete' window and make sure 'Temporary Files' is check marked. Un-check all others unless you know for sure you want to delete those files as well.
Click 'OK', then 'Delete Files' and it will be done.

I think Disk Cleanup is in all current Windows versions. Mouse clicks will probably be slightly different getting to it and maybe using it, but Google and Window's 'Help' system are your friends here. I do not consider this a risky process.

Defrag is accessed pretty much the same way. I always assume something could go wrong with the drive when defraging, so I back up my data first. I also have the operating system backed up, so I can reinstall Windows if necessary. If you do not do this you could lose everything on the drive with no way to restore it if the defrag goes bad.

Find the 'C' drive again and right click on it.
Left click on Properties.
Click on 'Tools' at the top'.
Click on 'Derfagment Now'.
Highlight the 'C' drive and click 'Defragment Disk'. It takes a few minutes to go through the process.
If you have more local drives, work through the others one at a time. If these drives don't see much use, they will defrag very quickly.

Again, don't defrag if you are uncomfortable with the risk. A power failure or an underlying problem with the disk could make your computer un-bootable until it's fixed and everything not backed up will be gone.