Solved What are himem.sys and mem.exe on an XP computer for?

jay_nar2012 June 9, 2012 at 19:26:00

What are the specs of the computer?

RMT2 June 9, 2012 at 19:29:18

According to this page: http://www.computerhope.com/jargon/... Looks like himem.sys is only included in up to Windows 98. I don't get why it would be in Windows XP. According to this page: http://www.computerhope.com/memhlp.htm Mem.exe looks like it is supposed to be in Windows XP. It is a MS-DOS command though. You've been helped by a 14 year old.

jay_nar2012 June 9, 2012 at 19:34:04

Those aren't meant to make your computer slow, What are the computers specs ( CPU, RAM.etc). MS DOS is similar to the command prompt in windows XP. mem is an external command used to check available, used RAM. like in task manager.

LMiller7 June 9, 2012 at 20:02:01

✔ Best Answer

himem.sys does nothing on an XP system. Nothing at all. mem.exe is used to display memory information for the DOS subsystem. This has nothing to do with memory usage in Windows.

jay_nar2012 June 9, 2012 at 20:09:38

Well then there is something else using alot of resources which is causing it to be slow (Viruses, antivirus software .etc) or he needs to upgrade parts in his computer.

riider June 9, 2012 at 20:31:47

"My XP computer is running awfully slow" It would help to know the specs. If it's a Pentium 2 with 256MB RAM, of course it's slow!

jay_nar2012 June 10, 2012 at 03:54:56

Asked him twice unless he forgot about this post?

Derek June 10, 2012 at 17:19:01

Both those files are on my XP Home in C:\Windows\System32. Their "created dates" coincide with XP's first install. Possibly they are for DOS program compatibility. Are they showing in Task Manager, if not what makes you think that they are causing trouble? Always pop back and let us know the outcome - thanks

jefro June 11, 2012 at 13:06:35

You may still need those programs to run old applications in XP's command processor. If a system ran fine and then slowed down suspect hardware or software. Personally I tend to suspect software and I reload the OS. You can easily try a few tests like memtest or hard drive diags to see if memory reports as correct size and passes tests. Hang up and live.

jay_nar2012 June 12, 2012 at 08:36:16

It could be specs as i,ve seen a computer with an celeron d 2.93 GHz 512mb ram with windows xp on performance mode (no special visuals) and it was slower than my oldest computer that had windows xp on it and it had a celeron at 400 MHz and 288mb ram so post the specs and then the answer will start becoming clear.