Virtual Memory or When RAM is not RAM.
Merriam Webster defines (one way) 'Virtual' thus:
"1 : being such in essence or effect though not formally recognized or admitted".
VM (the settings for which are located in System > Performance tab > Virtual Memory is an allocation of hard drive space to a file known as the Swap File (Search for 'swp'). In effect it acts as a RAM supplement. When Windows stretches for memory in periods of high demand it can call on the swap file to serve its needs.
For the 'basic' user Microsoft urges that we allow Windows to manage this process for us. One less thing to think about. But the fact of those settings offering the option of allowing us to do the managing is an option we may wonder about. If so we will read up on the matter - using a search engine.
This is a bit of a shaggy dog story - this business of swap file management. It tends to go on and on. Windows Millennium being ancient is no longer of much interest to the illuminati. But their writings still exist. The curious amongst us will by now have reached something like a conclusion. What follows is mine.
I have 384MB of RAM installed. I have two hard disks (the original 15GB and the newer 40GB). Both partitioned.
The original HDD has two drives. The first is 501MB in size is home to the swap file (WIN386.SWP), the second, occupying the rest of the HDD, I use for back-ups.
In the system.ini file (using a right-click and click Notepad) under the heading [386Enh] I have added this line ConservativeSwapfileUsage=1
It is located thus:
WPSLPT1=0
ConservativeSwapfileUsage=1
PageBuffers=4
PagingDrive=D:
and under the heading [vcache] this line is added MaxFileCache=275456 (A figure in KBs which represents 70% of the total installed RAM).
It looks like:
[vcache]
MaxFileCache=275456
If you only have one HDD the next time you partition that drive allocating a drive (partition) to the swap file is worthwhile.
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Active Scripting and Its Disablement in Internet Explorer 6.
As a user of Yahoo's free website creation tool known as GeoCities PageBuilder I maintain (edit) two sites. The frustration of having those ads opening up on the preview of every edit made lead me to this article which has changed my outlook - here
http://netsecurity.about.com/cs/tuto...t/ht032203.htm
and see here
http://forums.techguy.org/720579-post3.html
and this attached GIF #1
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DirectX
I admit to having little idea of the function of this but when I ran the command which allows one to check out its correct functioning you will understand I know I must have it. The check indicated I had a missing registry key.
This is the command. In Start > Run type dxdiag
An install over of the latest version failed to remedy the problem. Searching led me here:
http://www.techweb.com/winmag/column...in/2001/03.htm
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Startup Items.
How many items must appear in msconfig (or Mike Lin's StartupCPL
http://www.mlin.net/StartupCPL.shtml)
for your computer to boot up into Windows Millennium?
Answer. None. (See attached GIF#2 "msconfig" but also see this attached GIF#3 - "Process Explorer".
Here are my actual startup items (the ones over which I have control):
Under HKLM / Run
LoadPowerProfile (and yes it is needed - don't ask me why.)
Run StartupMonitor (another great tool by Mike Lin)
ScanRegistry
SystemTray
Under Startup (user)
Resource Meter (A System Tool and one I like keeping an eye on)
Under Services
*StateMgr
LoadPowerProfile (needed)
Those are mine. 7 in all. As reflected in the R04 group in a HijackThis.log
You will have in addition:
Anti-Virus entries
Firewall "
possibly entries reflecting your ISP
but all others are, by no means, essential (read
flavallee's posts in the WinME forum).
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Maintenance.
Two WinME users and Forum members 'conspired' to produce an article each last year. One in the Software forum and the other in the Hardware one:
Software
http://forums.techguy.org/all-other-...-routines.html
Harware
http://forums.techguy.org/hardware/3...intenance.html
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Some Quick Tweaks.
In
Display Properties under the Effects tab
Uncheck ALL but the one concerning Icon colors (and that's optional).
In
Control Panel > System > Performance tab > Advanced Settings > File System tab - Hard Disk Settings 'Typical role of this computer' select 'Network Server' from the drop-down menu.
In
System Tools - Scheduled Tasks Click on PCHealth Scheduler for Data Collection un-check Enabled. Do the same in Tune-up Application Start. The former is not required and the latter is best undertaken manually by you.
See attached GIF
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How Much Security is Enough?
These two posts may be of interest:
http://forums.techguy.org/3323665-post46.html http://forums.techguy.org/3326066-post51.html
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And some
links:
http://aumha.org/win4/a/memmgmt.htm http://www.jmu.edu/computing/security/info/ie/ie.shtml http://members.fortunecity.com/pcmuseum/windows.htm
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Cheers.
Ben.