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A modern operating system should be able to keep track
of everything that's happening. After all, that's
its job. But Windows doesn't know how to.
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technofile
Al Fasoldt's reviews and
commentaries, continuously available online since
1983
Why Windows misbehaves, Part 1:
It runs out of one kind of memory at 64 kilobytes
March 12, 2000
By Al Fasoldt
Copyright ©2000, Al Fasoldt
Copyright ©2000, The Syracuse Newspapers
Every now and then I get a desperate
letter from someone asking why Windows still runs out of
resources (an area of memory) even after a big memory
upgrade. How can a PC with tons of RAM run out of memory so
frequently?
The answer might surprise you. Get ready
to be disappointed.
Windows runs out of resources when all
64 kilobytes of resource memory are used up.
Play the tape backwards. Rewind the
movie. Read this part again.
Windows runs out of resources when all
64 kilobytes of resource memory are used up.
You read it right. That's all the
memory Windows can handle when it is keeping track of
things. It's less than 1/100th of the memory of even
the cheapest modern PC.
Windows is supposed to keep track of
what fonts you're using, what program windows you have
open, what shapes and objects you're moving around and
what operations you are performing. All these things are
"resources." A modern operating system should be
able to keep track of everything that's happening.
After all, that's its job.
But Windows can't. It doesn't
know how to.
You say your computer has 32 or 64 or
128 megabytes of memory? Not according to the way Windows
deals with the vital area of resource memory. All it knows
about is 64 kilobytes.
When that tiny 64-kilobyte area of
memory is full, Windows does something a real operating
system is not supposed to do. It locks up.
I find this the most annoying thing
about Windows, mostly because it's so ridiculous and
unnecessary. The inane way Windows handles memory has
remained unchanged and unimproved from the dawning of
Windows 3.1 until now. Microsoft fixed this problem, at
last, in Windows 2000, which was introduced last month.
Microsoft also fixed it in Windows NT, the cantankerous and
expensive big brother of Windows 95 and Windows 98.
But the problem of resources remains in
every new PC sold with Windows 98 installed. That seems
astonishing. Even though Microsoft knows how to fix the
problem of computer lockups and crashes caused by the
inadequate 64 kilobytes of total resource memory, it
continues to sell Windows 98 with that flaw.
Hold on. There's more. Grab your
aspirin bottle.
You'd think Microsoft would fix this
in the grand new version of Windows it's introducing
for consumers later this year. That version is going to be
called "Windows Me," meaning Windows
"Millennium." (And meaning "the personal
Windows version for all consumers," I suppose.)
But the latest and greatest version of
Windows has no changes at all in resource handing, no
changes in the way memory is handled.
Is there a way around this? Can you do
something to reduce resource errors?
Unfortunately, this problem has no real
solution as long as Microsoft thinks it can get away with
shoddy design. All you can do is rely on what software
troubleshooters call "workarounds."
Here are three such workarounds for the
resource problems in Windows:
Reboot often.
Restarting Windows (not the entire
computer) is enough. To restart Windows, hold down the
Shift key while clicking the "Restart the
computer" button in the Start Menu. I know some users
who do this every hour or so, but once every two or three
hours is probably enough. Rebooting or restarting Windows
clears out the area where resources are stored.
Stop running old software. 1 can
mess up the way Windows 95 and Windows 98 deal with
resources. It's bad enough as it is, so don't make
it worse. All you have to do is run ONE older program to
cause a problem. Typical large programs in this category
are Microsoft Word 6 and old versions of Quicken. There are
thousands of other Windows 3.1 programs that can cause
resource problems.
Get rid of the junk programs your PC
is running all the time.
Unless you're a pro at this kind of
pruning, your Widows PC probably has a dozen hidden or
half-hidden programs that insinuate themselves into the
startup sequence and rob Windows of resource memory. You
probably don't need to have most of them running.
Use the System Information program (in
the System Tools section of the Accessories menu) if you
have Windows 98, or install System Suite from Ontrack and
use the user customization function if you have Windows 95,
98 or Me to take control of what's running. Uncheck
(disable) all programs you don't need from the startup
process.
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