RAM high, disc space decreasing...

[Luanne]

I've noticed that my free hard disc space is constantly decreasing...

Task manager showed some unusual processes: svchost.exe

So I scanned the disc.....nothing found. I've cleaned the registry errors, temp files and so on with Ccleaner.

There are no more svchost.exe processes going on, and the space on the disc stopped decreasing, BUT, cpu usage jumps up and down like a maniac, and RAM is at 1.4GB with like.... only firefox and media player opened. So my computer is very slow now and I have no idea what's going on.

I use Vista, and I have 2GB RAM.

PLS HELP!

[ninja9578]

Could be media player. Some video formats have to be decoded in software, which takes lots of memory and processing power. What find of giles are you playing?

[Taosaur]

It sounds like Vista is gobbling up space with restore points. http://www.vistax64.com/general-disc...nsumption.html

[Taosaur]

Also, do not kill svchost.exe. It's a generic process windows uses to take care of a variety of OS busywork. You want to at the very least google before you start playing whack-a-mole in task manager.

[Luanne]

Originally Posted by Taosaur

Also, do not kill svchost.exe. It's a generic process windows uses to take care of a variety of OS busywork. You want to at the very least google before you start playing whack-a-mole in task manager.

No, no, I didn't do that manually. It just disappeared after I ran Ccleaner.

Oh and now when I think about it, I did a complete backup a few days ago and deleted the previous ones. Can it mean anything? All that shadow copies and stuff? But like I said, disk space stopped decreasing, now the problem is RAM.

Could be media player. Some video formats have to be decoded in software, which takes lots of memory and processing power. What find of giles are you playing?

Just the regular mp3 and wma.

[Taosaur]

Originally Posted by Luanne

No, no, I didn't do that manually. It just disappeared after I ran Ccleaner.

Oh and now when I think about it, I did a complete backup a few days ago and deleted the previous ones. Can it mean anything? All that shadow copies and stuff? But like I said, disk space stopped decreasing, now the problem is RAM.

My bad, I guess you mean the processes were 'unusual' just because there were a lot of them when you weren't doing anything? At any rate, the thread I linked tells you how to limit the space Vista will use for restore points, if that is the issue--I had to do it on my desktop shortly after I got it.

Honestly, firefox + media player + task manager + bouncing between windows = 1.4GB RAM in Vista doesn't sound that unusual to me. Vista uses half that at an idle.

[Luanne]

Originally Posted by Taosaur

My bad, I guess you mean the processes were 'unusual' just because there were a lot of them when you weren't doing anything? At any rate, the thread I linked tells you how to limit the space Vista will use for restore points, if that is the issue--I had to do it on my desktop shortly after I got it.

Honestly, firefox + media player + task manager + bouncing between windows = 1.4GB RAM in Vista doesn't sound that unusual to me. Vista uses half that at an idle.

Ok, thank you , I am checking restore points right now. I'll update on that.

And about RAM, I don't know, it wasn't like this before. It is annoyingly slow.

So, I opened Resource Monitor.

These are the files (I'm not familiar with) that use a lot of memory:

multiple svchosts.exe
dwm.exe
TCrdMain.exe
wlcomm.exe

I googled them, but I would use some direct assistance since there are so many different information out there...

Btw, had no idea msn eats up that much memory! So, to correct myself, I run firefox, wmp and msn all the time.

[Luanne]

I am checking restore points right now. I'll update on that.

Wow, 5GB gone just like that

Vista sucks doesn't it...

[Taosaur]

Afraid I'm mostly only good for problems I've had to solve myself

Those processes are all legit: Windows, the desktop, your flash card, and MSN, respectively. MSN is a known memory hog for what it does, but wouldn't account for too big a chunk of 1.4GB.

Some Firefox add-ons can hog resources, too. You might try running firefox in safe mode (available from the mozilla firefox folder in Programs) and see how that impacts RAM usage. Likewise, pull out a barebones media player like VLC instead of wmp and see what that does. Just go by process of elimination.

[Luanne]

I've cleaned the registry, deleted previous restore points, uninstalled firefox add-ons and RAM usage fell to 1GB. I can type normally now! CPU usage is still jumping like a maniac but that doesn't concern me much, since everything seems to be working fine.

THANK YOU Taosaur so much!

[Taosaur]

Taosaur and affiliated entities are not responsible for any harm to your PC that may result from this advice

You're welcome

Winky emoticon in no way invalidates this disclaimer

[Demon Parasite]

Originally Posted by Luanne

I've cleaned the registry, deleted previous restore points, uninstalled firefox add-ons and RAM usage fell to 1GB. I can type normally now! CPU usage is still jumping like a maniac but that doesn't concern me much, since everything seems to be working fine.

THANK YOU Taosaur so much!

CPU spikes aren't that unusual, depending on what you're doing. I've noticed, at least with Ubuntu and browsing with Opera, that my CPU usage spikes whenever I go to a different page. It's nothing, really.

[Luanne]

Originally Posted by Demon Parasite

CPU spikes aren't that unusual, depending on what you're doing. I've noticed, at least with Ubuntu and browsing with Opera, that my CPU usage spikes whenever I go to a different page. It's nothing, really.

I sure hope so...thanks.