hi, ok i have a AMD 950, 256 RAM, winME and i find that system resources is eaten away by programs as simple as outlook express etc. I think i need a memory refresh program? I have adsl installed and virus scanner etc..when i first boot up with everything starting up i get something like 70-74% resources... then when i open different files or use outlook my resources can dip as low as 48% this is where my mouse starts to jutter and i have to close serveral windows and programs to get some more system resources! this shouldn't be happening right? not with 256Mb ram! (btw if a program takes 8% resources, then when closed i don't get 8% back! whats going on?) also when i play games like UT and then i shut down my PC an error msg pops up telling me that windows has halted and asked to be rebooted! I guess this is another mem. problem right? I thought it might be the m/b but i upgraded the bios to the latest... not much luck there! OR should i upgrade to win2K??? PLEASE HELP!!!!

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Have you done the routine windows maintenance tasks like delete temp internet files, scandisk and disk defragmentation. Then check how many programs are automatically starting at startup. You can disable all the unnecessary programs in startup by using start>>run>msconfig. You need the following programs: system tray, scan registry, load power profile, firewall, antivirus and the scheduling agent if you have scheduled tasks scheduled. All the other programs will still work when you need them, but will not automatically start at startup, if you diasble them. Some antivirus programs can use a lot of resources. The antivirus programs that I have found with the smallest system requirements are ESET's NOD32, Computer Associates' eTrust and Grisoft's AVG(free) and Trend Micro's PC-cillian. I use Norton 2002 on my XP with a P4 and 512 ram. I use eTrust on my 98se pentium pro 128 ram, because Norton will cause resource problems and lockups. All the best!

and RAM and resources have nothing to do with each other. OK?

Hi Chi, Being the control freak that I am, I always insist on taking charge of what applications start, and when. I would never, i mean NEVER settle for anything less than 90% system resources on a clean boot. So, first port of call is what applications start on boot up. Your running WinME (urrrggghhh)! Im not sure if ME supports the system configuration utility so fire up the registry and navigate yourself to HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Currentversion\Run, Run-, Run Once and every other Run key. Here, study the strings and decide what apps you want to start on boot. Personally, i only have Systray starting and everything else goes in the bit bucket. Virus programs have a lot to answer for when it comes to eating your resources, so get rid of all startup scans. So lets recap. You dont need power profiles if your the sole user of your machine, you dont need scanreg. The only thing you want to see is the systray and if you have a fancy keyboard or intellimouse, those drivers too. Just before I wrap up, a quick point about the 8% resources not being returned after closing the program which took 8% in the first place. Its normal for system resources to be freed up gradually, not immediately, upon ending of tasks. vito@supanet.com

First -- NOTHING adverse happens until your system resources are exhausted (zero), so if your mouse starts stuttering at 48% it's either psychological or caused by something other than "low" resources. (I run with 30 - 50% all the time with no effects.) Second, that bit about virus programs isn't correct. For example, I just closed my McAfee VirusScan and gained all of 2% in system resources! Bottom line is, you don't need to be concerned about system resources unless you regularly get dragged down below 20% -- and you only worry about them then because if you open many more things, you WILL run out. Frankly, when that happens I don;t break into a cold sweat or start a major analysis, I just reboot. And finally, as was said above the amount of RAM (or swap file) that you have has NOTHING to do with system resources.

Vito: Contrary to your sage advice, ScanRegistry is a key component at boot time. It performs 2 basic functions and then goes away, tbus not consuming resources. It does a basic integrity check of the registry and more importantly on the first boot of the day it takes a backup that can subsequently be restored using scanreg/restore. Not running scanreg is like skydiving without a parachute. Not advisable.