Using Windows Task Manager
lordOfTime
Posts: 22,367 Forum Member
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I have a netbook with Windows 7 with 1GB of memory. So it's quite a slow system as I have a few programs I need for my web design work and various other things on it.
The browser I use the most is Firefox. The thing about browsers is the longer you use them, the more RAM packet space they take up.And with Firefox it doesn't always release the RAM space instantly so I've ended up putting Task Manager on my task Bar so I can instantly removeFirefox from RAM list. But does this have an abject affect on the system as a whole?
For instance, I'm typing this message into Firefox and I only see the first couple of lines as I'm doing so because the response is so slow. Do I need to redownload Firefox and stop relying on the Task manager so much?
Thanks.
The browser I use the most is Firefox. The thing about browsers is the longer you use them, the more RAM packet space they take up.And with Firefox it doesn't always release the RAM space instantly so I've ended up putting Task Manager on my task Bar so I can instantly removeFirefox from RAM list. But does this have an abject affect on the system as a whole?
For instance, I'm typing this message into Firefox and I only see the first couple of lines as I'm doing so because the response is so slow. Do I need to redownload Firefox and stop relying on the Task manager so much?
Thanks.
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Comments
I wouldn't think a netbook with 1 GB RAM is capable of your web design work never mind anything else on top. Closing firefox.exe will I suppose free up some RAM for other programs but you don't really have enough to start with.
Stopping programs from running at startup will use less RAM. Firefox on this P4 with 2GB RAM is currently using 307MB, it is high but runs OK.
I should clarify that I don't use Photoshop or the Adobe Suite programs on it but code updates, blogging, writing,uploading files, keeping up with email... things I can do when I'm not at my desktop.
Using Task manager has become a habit, because the instance of Firefox is invariably still open and using RAM even if it is not visible on the screen.
I have Firefox 26, the latest version.
Oh I see what you mean now, yes Firefox does that but usually for maybe 5-10 seconds after its closed, it seems to be improved for me, it certainly doesn't do it everytime I close it down (I'd guess 20% of the time) it was worse (longer and more frequent) and I woud have to resort to task manager to end process but that stopped a few updates ago.
Make sure you buy a drive that can be used for this purpose and I've read an online techy discussion where some contributors thought it would considerably shorten the life of the drive, although no data to back this claim up, so perhaps only use it with Firefox and see how you get on.
All the details on this MS W7 page: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows/using-memory-storage-device-speed-computer#1TC=windows-7
Edit: Sorry 'this' I didn't see your post about Ready Boost when I posted. It wasn't there when I first looked at the thread and then I was away researching and then composing my post.
Also the endless plugin handlers and flash instances and be responsible for causing as much RAM upheaval as Firefox itself. Constant headache.
Cheers for that
I have 16th and 32gb drive so I pack all the stuff I can into that?
Anyway will look in the morning
https://www.piriform.com/ccleaner/download
CCleaner is our system optimization, privacy and cleaning tool. It removes unused files from your system - allowing Windows to run faster and freeing up valuable hard disk space.
It also cleans traces of your online activities such as your Internet history. Additionally it contains a fully featured registry cleaner. But the best part is that it's fast (normally taking less than a second to run) and contains NO Spyware or Adware!
Hi Tiexen,
I have Cccleaner and did a round of scans and registry cleanup last night. But I couldn't find anything that cleaned up Firefox cache or files, only internet explorer.
The registry does not need cleaning or 'optimizing'. At best deleting registry entries will do nothing. At worst it will stop your pc from booting. A registry 'cleaner' cannot possibly make a pc run faster, but it can break it.
Also re : CCleaner removing traces of online activities - IE used to use index.dat to store online info, and CCleaner could delete that file. Since IE10 it now uses a file called WebCacheV01.dat which CCleaner cannot erase.
Look for the "Applications" tab for Firefox settings
What happened was yesterday when I saw the Applications tab nothing sowed up in the space, so I moved on.
Sadly it doesn't seem to have made any difference so far to the text responsiveness. I've done CCleaner, a virus scan and redownloaded Firefox.
Firefox has just had a mega hissy fit over going through all the downloading it takes just to make this posting page.. I'm hoping the improvements are yet to come because there;s been no difference yet.
Clearly.
It froze several times and took and age to clear from task manager when I tried to quit.
But my question.... Is there anything inherently wrong that causes system instability when you try and close programs using task manager?
Anyway, I use this Memory Restart plugin that shows you how much memory is being used and lets you easily restart Firefox. This recovers any unused memory that is being hogged from closed tabs etc.