Memory Usage

[Pell Mell]

Trying to figure out what's happening recently. my computer sounds like the fan is really speeding up when I go to certain websites.
I checked the task manager and it shows 150,000k of memory being used and cpu at 80-90. This happens when I go to a site like TV Guide or the home page of a baseball team, etc. No problem when I go to most news sites or PA.

Do I all of a sudden not have enough memory?

windows xp, ie8, 1024mb memory

:confused:

[LottaKash]

Pell Mell, it has been my experience that when going to certain websites, there is this possibility that they are very graphics intensive, and as a result, when the video card is asked to do more work because of all the graphics work, the fan will come on automatically to keep the heat down. in the process...This may be especially so with a graphics card that is not up to the task of modern day graphics intensity...

Also, how long has it been since you cleaned the inside of your computer ?....Often enough when the fan is called on for more cooling it sometimes is, because the Air-intakes may be blocked a bit, or the exhaust ports may be clogged also...

Other than that can't say...I am not a computer guru, at all...

best,

[Pell Mell]

Ran into that at one time but now keep the computer clean...just cleaned the inside but still have that problem.

Thanks for your input.

[Dave Schwartz]

The primary machine in my NOC runs hot. Always has. And it eats power supplies - have to replace it about every 9 months or so. (It is an old AMD machine - 2200+.)

It has 2 front fans, a side fan, a massive rear fan, and a huge, honking CPU fan. Each of these are also needs replacement about every 2 years.

This machine is used as print server, music server, scanner, fax center, etc.

Whenever you scan something, instantly the fans rev up as the temperature goes up. (It has a temperature app that shows a graph all the time.) Just a few seconds after the scan is over, the temps drop and the fans go back to normal.

My best guess is that the CPU fan needs replacement but finding a fan for - what? - 10-year old machine is just about impossible.

I would say that you are experiencing something like that: As Kashy said, the intensity of the graphics runs the CPU and the fans go on.

BTW, that is not our oldest machine. We actually have two web servers - both running Linux on old AMD-550 processors!

My guess would be that the best place to start to address this problem would be to check on a CPU fan/cooler of some type.

As always, I would defer to the resident expert, Just Ralph, to make the final call.


Regards,
Dave Schwartz

[Marshall Bennett]

This may be a dumb question, but it there some site or program that lets you monitor the temperature? Would be a help in knowing when it's time to clean.

[headhawg]

Try SpeedFan. Download from here (http://www.almico.com/sfdownload.php)

As a bonus, it will read the SMART data from your drive(s) and let you know if have drive errors that may lead to failure. (You need to read the info about how to interpret the info. There is a link on the SMART Screenshot page.)

People should clean their 'puters on a regular basis anyway, kind of like changing oil on a car.

[bigmack]

This may be a dumb question, but it there some site or program that lets you monitor the temperature? Would be a help in knowing when it's time to clean.
http://www.techpowerup.com/realtemp/

[Marshall Bennett]

Thank you !!

[tupper]

Try disabling Javascript in your browser when you visit that site.

I usually keep Javascript (and cookies) disabled for general browsing, and I click it back on when necessary. Browsing is much faster and less resource intensive that way.

[Pell Mell]

Another question about this memory usage. When on certain websites and my computer fan seems to be racing and it's taking a long time to load the page, I checked the Task Manager.

It shows ...iexplore.exe using 146,000K of memory

...iexplore.exe using 160,000K of memory

Question; is this normal usage and why are there 2 processes with the same ID? :confused:

[tupper]

Another question about this memory usage. When on certain websites and my computer fan seems to be racing and it's taking a long time to load the page...
JAVASCRIPT -- TURN IT OFF!

[Pell Mell]

JAVASCRIPT -- TURN IT OFF!

As far as I know I don't have Java Script...if I do, how do I turn it off?

[wilderness]

As far as I know I don't have Java Script...if I do, how do I turn it off?

Depends what browser your using.

[Pell Mell]

Depends what browser your using.

IE8

[tupper]

As far as I know I don't have Java Script...if I do, how do I turn it off?This page (http://answers.vt.edu/kb/entry/2083) shows how to enable/disable javascript in Internet Explorer 8.

[Pell Mell]

This page (http://answers.vt.edu/kb/entry/2083) shows how to enable/disable javascript in Internet Explorer 8.

Well, I turned it off and could no longer get a lot of web pages, ESPECIALLY Twin Spires, so was forced to turn it back on. Now what?

[JustRalph]

Now you know why steve jobs hates flash

I suspect heavy flash files on the pages that are firing up the fan

Do routine maintenance. I also suspect an older computer?

If you don't have enough processor it will do this also. You just may be reaching the limit of the box

Install chrome right away and see how it runs.

Does your original post say you only have 1gig of ram?

[Pell Mell]

Now you know why steve jobs hates flash

I suspect heavy flash files on the pages that are firing up the fan

Do routine maintenance. I also suspect an older computer?

If you don't have enough processor it will do this also. You just may be reaching the limit of the box

Install chrome right away and see how it runs.

Does your original post say you only have 1gig of ram?

Yeah, 1 g ram....computer is 6 yrs old...I was thinking of installing more ram, do you think that would help?...otherwise I guess i need a new machine.

[Pell Mell]

Now you know why steve jobs hates flash

I suspect heavy flash files on the pages that are firing up the fan

Do routine maintenance. I also suspect an older computer?

If you don't have enough processor it will do this also. You just may be reaching the limit of the box

Install chrome right away and see how it runs.

Does your original post say you only have 1gig of ram?

It runs better with chrome, although I don't like chrome...I've tried it in the past and could never get the hang of it.

What is MSMPENG.EXE? that seems to use more memory than the chrome.

Thanks a lot for your help everyone.

[tupper]

Well, I turned it off and could no longer get a lot of web pages, ESPECIALLY Twin Spires, so was forced to turn it back on. Now what?As mentioned in my earlier post, the trick is to keep javascript disabled, until you absolutely need it. Try it for a while, and you will find that our browsing will be much faster.

However, exactly what are you not getting on Twinspires? I visited the site with my javascript disabled, and the only thing missing from the front page was some complex, multi-paned advertisement, and some flash window down at the bottom. I wouldn't shed too many tears about missing a few ads (by the way, are you using Adblock? -- you should be).

Of course, I didn't go beyond the first page. If you are using the site to wager or log-in, they will require you to have everything turned on (not that having everything turned on is technically necessary for a wagering/log-in site).

Again, the trick is to keep javascript disabled, clicking it on only when necessary. Makes life so much more pleasant.

[headhawg]

What is MSMPENG.EXE? that seems to use more memory than the chrome.Are you using Windows Defender? One of two things is happening, I think. It's running a scan or there is a conflict with another program, likely an anti-virus program or some other malware scanner (although it could be something else). If I recall, there is some fix for this on the M$ site. If you do have Defender I would uninstall it and use Microsoft Security Essentials instead. If you have both already, there's your issue.

[JustRalph]

There is no trick,,,,,,,,,, it's a 6 yr old computer with only one gig of ram.

That is windows defender.........turn it off.......it will help. right after that start shopping. 1 gig of ram is not enough for anything today......and don't throw good money after bad. A ram upgrade won't be enough.

[Canarsie]

Just a hunch but with 1 gig of ram the swap file is working overtime but even harder with graphics. That would slow it to a crawl.

[HUSKER55]

More ram may not solve your problem. I have a co processer and between the two of them I barely had enough memory to run the video card, which is why stream line video and tv is always blurry on my computer and the fan is constantly on. Signal was good, processing ability was not. Neighbor girl says something about the cache memory inside the chip. I have 256m on each and today systems requires a gig on each. That is why I had one built by my repair man.

One of you computer gurus can explain it better than me.

more ram did not solve the problem for me. My computer was 8 years old.

Also, if you are using Norton get rid of it. does not play well with anybody including itself. (just my opinion)

Also, you can not have two security programs on a computer. I could never get them to work together and neither could my repairman. I got AVG and I set it and forgot it.:D

GL

[Pell Mell]

Thanks guys....I don't have Defender, only MSE.

I guess it's a combo of not enough ram and an older graphics card..guess I'll get a new one. :ThmbUp:

[headhawg]

Yes, getting a new computer will resolve many issues but some will eventually recur. Why? Most problems are user error or lack of information about what to do and the proper way to do things. That said -- depending on my much stuff is running in the background -- a one GB XP machine should still work fine for basic needs. You can't play resource-intensive games and run a lot of things simultaneously, but for basic surfing, word processing, etc. it should still work ok.

When you have time just do one thing to see if this works: fire up MSE and run a full scan and see if the CPU usage goes down after the scan completes.

[tupper]

There is no trick,,,,,,,,,, it's a 6 yr old computer with only one gig of ramOne gig of ram is way more than enough for HTML. I have an old Pentium II with 96 megs of ram running Slitaz Linux and it can render HTML fine. Likewise with my netbook that has 512 megs.

@Pell Mell
You probably don't need more ram nor a new graphics card. Something else is the problem. You never said how fast your browser worked after you turned off javascript.

[Pell Mell]

Accidently found out that IE is not compatible with Canon Easy-Web print. I had reinstalled my printer about a month ago and had always removed this feature because I never used it but this time I didn't remove it.

Took it out and computer is almost back to normal...still some fan noise when watching races on TS TV but the video runs smooth.

Thanks again for all the help guys.