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View Full Version : Not enough free memory??? (WME)

missourigrl
08-22-2004, 03:02 PM
I have a Dell Dimension 4100 (got it a couple years ago) with Windows ME. Recently it has been acting wierd. Whenever I have several windows open at once (usually only 3 or 4) my computer will kind of freeze up and if I try to go to maximize one of the other windows I get a message that says "Not enough free memory. Please quit one or more programs." What does this mean? The only way I can close them when it does this is to use CTRL+ALT+DELETE and I usually end up having to restart my computer to get it to stop acting up. I have my RAM maxed out to 512mb. I'm only using 19 gigs of my 40 gig harddrive. What is causing this and what can I do to fix it???

Thanks!
Kristen
BertImmenschuh
08-22-2004, 03:12 PM
Right-click My Computer, Properties, and go to the Performance tab. Click the Virtual Memory button at the bottom. You can make some changes to increase the swapfile, lots of recommendations seen on the 'net are for 2.5 times the System RAM. [1.5 for Win2000 and WinXP in their Help file.]

What I do on Win98 with 128MB or more RAM is tell Windows not to use a swapfile, reboot, defrag, reboot and reset the swapfile. This procedure ensures the swapfile is all in one contiguous block on the hard drive instead of bits and pieces being scattered throughout.

<font color=blue>Good judgement comes from experience, and experience comes from bad judgement.</font color=blue> <font color=green>Experience is a wonderful thing. It enables you to recognize a mistake when you make it again.</font color=green>
Elminster
08-22-2004, 09:30 PM
Have you upgraded your RAM recently? If you have to 256 MB or more, you'll have to set your Vcache in your system.ini file...

This is what I do and i have 1024 MB:
[Vcache]
MinFileCache=256000
MaxFileCache=512000

This makes it so that my Cache stays between 256 MB and 512 MB of RAM and that I always have 512 MB free for working programs...

Windows does this at startup if you have alot of RAM...it just goes nuts w/ the cache and takes up almost all of your memory for it...and then you're left w/ just a few MB...Just gotta run some damage control.

If this is O/T or unhelpfull, I'm terribly sorry, just trying to share what I know.

Ho, there, Wanderer, stay thy course and indulge an old man...
missourigrl
08-23-2004, 07:13 PM
Where do I find the system.ini file? I looked in C:\Windows and looked for the system.ini file but couldn't find it. Once I find it, how exactly do I set the Vcache?

Thanks!
Kristen
BertImmenschuh
08-24-2004, 05:05 AM
Go to Start, Run and type in sysedit, will bring up a window with several files that can be edited, system.ini will be one.

Find the [386Enh] section and at the end of the last line in it press Enter twice and type these lines at the cursor:
[Vcache]
MinFileCache=xxxxx
MaxFileCache=xxxxx

Then exit out saving when prompted and reboot. The xxx's represent the numbers you wish to use.

Win9x/ME have problems with more the 512MB RAM installed, documented at <a target="_blank" href=http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q253912>http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q253912</a>.

<font color=blue>Good judgement comes from experience, and experience comes from bad judgement.</font color=blue> <font color=green>Experience is a wonderful thing. It enables you to recognize a mistake when you make it again.</font color=green>