A frequent problem for all those who do not have a new or powerful computer is the excessive slowdowns that occur when too many programs are open at the same time or after a few hours of intense use of the PC. Every program and every process that is started in fact occupies a more or less large portion of memory and, when it runs out, the PC slows down because it has to load everything via disk.
Fast temporary memory is called RAM, the one in which data is read quickly by the computer without using the disk which is much slower.
Put very roughly, when you open a file, it is read on the hard disk and loaded into memory so there is no need to reread it.
There are some tools for Windows that allow you to recover memory on your computer so that it becomes immediately available for other programs.
In fact, often Windows, when a process is terminated and closed, cannot immediately free up the RAM to make it available for other uses.
In other pages of this blog I had already reported programs to free RAM on Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7 and to optimize memory.
Making an overall summary, we can say that there are 4 different programs, very similar to each other, to recover memory automatically when there is little free RAM :
1) Minimem
2) CleanMEM
3) Memory Cleaner
4) RAMRush
If the first three have been described and commented on in the other two articles, we see here RAMRush that does its job with decision.
This program can be downloaded for free both in the version to be installed and in the portable version and acts in the background.
After starting it, it is noticed by an icon in the taskbar near the clock.
Without clicking but moving the cursor over the icon, a window appears showing real-time memory and CPU usage, with maximum peaks.
Pressing where " Start Optimize " is written starts the process that recovers memory by freeing up the unused RAM .
For example, if you have been using a browser such as Internet Explorer, Firefox or Google Chrome for some time, perhaps together with some other program such as Word or Excel, it may happen that the PC starts to slow down or, worse, to freeze.
Instead, starting the RAMRush memory optimization procedure, you should recover efficiency and speed in the uploads .
For example, on my old computer, just using Chrome with a few tabs open gives me 100 MB of free memory.
Using RAMRush I managed to recover memory up to having 280 MB free and available.
From the same window that shows the use of CPU and Memory, you can press the Options button where you can configure some options.
The most important is the one that allows you to automatically recover RAM in case it was used at 92% and therefore only 8% of free memory remains.
Other options allow you to set RAMRush to start automatically when you turn on your computer and to show a notification if automatic memory recovery starts.
As a corollary of this article, I would also like to say that on Windows 7 and Vista you can access the Task Manager to monitor resources that shows the use of memory in detail, the one reserved for the hardware, the one in use, the modified one, the one in standby and free.
The SysInternals RAMMap tool shows files that use RAM memory and allows you to see how memory is used on the computer .
It is a detailed analysis tool for the use of physical memory.
With this tool you can check which processes and files are using the most RAM and understand how Windows manages it.
It then becomes very interesting to use RAMMap together with RAMRush and actually check how much memory you can recover and which processes use more than you need.
On Windows 7 you can recover memory using a USB stick and the ReadyBoost function to be activated.
Finally, I remember that the best way to restore speed to an old PC is to buy and install a GB of RAM at the maximum cost of 40 Euros.
