hello all. i got this machine for dirt cheap, and it's got pretty good specs. i installed vista on it, and it seems to run pretty well. the only quibble i have is the ram usage. i start the machine, and for a second it seems to be finished loading. i go to task manager, and see that free ram is 240mb or so. then it goes down gradually to 200mb, then shoots up to 472mb, then gradually climbs down to 27mb or so, and stays there. two questions: why is it doing this? how can i stop it, or at least make it use less ram? Do not try. Do, or do not. There is no try.

*bump* nobody knows? Do not try. Do, or do not. There is no try.

What the task manager is showing is not the memory of the system, but the used memory for the swap file. Since your system has 1GB the swap file size is usually set automatically. What you are seeing is normal as the system is working and programs are running and accessing memory. What is the concern you are having? Richard

ah, i see what you mean. i'm looking in resourse monitor, and it says that 38% of the ram is actually used. does this mean that cached ram isn't used, but is instead ready to be used? Do not try. Do, or do not. There is no try.