My computer is not using all installed memory...

Punkster said:

Hi Juan! look, i have a MacBook Pro 15" late 2010! and it's not the best thing that's ever happened to me.. sometimes people get all *happy* because they've got a Mac, and Mac to be honest, ok, it's easy, it's cool, it's good hardware, but i've had a lot of software issues with OSX Snow Leopard, random locks, random reboots, people say Mac is "Virus Free" and that's not entirely true..

I spend way more time in my System Specs PC than in my MacBook Pro (Core i5 2.4GB, 4GB DDR3 Ram) and i'm not a M$ fanboy, neither an Apple fanboy.. few weeks ago, i took my MacBook to an Expo i had to do in the University, and in the middle of the expo, the Presentation i had on iWork hung up, causing me a really big problem, but that is not what we came to argue.

Thing is, 64-bit OS for your toshiba and that's it... easy as that.. you will see approx. 3.5GB as the other 0.5GB is reserved to your Video Card that's integrated..

End of the story.. :) Be happy..

EDIT: iPhone 4G has 512MB Ram and 32GB Flash Drive (Storage), iPhone 3GS has 256MB Ram! iPhone 3G has 128MB Ram!

Punkster,

First, I hope that no one thinks that I am being argumentative with them personally. I am just trying to understand and figure this out. So, if you don't mind, I have a question. My Toshiba has an Intel Video 'card'. Normally, with video cards you see them specc'd with a certain amount of memory. Since mine is integrated is this why it needs to use .5GB of the system RAM? And, if I only had 2GB before, was it using .5GB of that as well?

Does iPhone really have a division between memory types? I mean, at this point are not all of these terms archaic and irrelevant anyhow? For example, RAM -- Random Access Memory -- the 'flash' drive is addressed, it would seem, just as 'randomly' as the RAM, so is there really a difference?

Last, your point is well taken about the Mac. If I am tired of having to always figure out how to make my computer work optimally, then I should probably be on a Mac, but, forewarned, I *may* still have problems. Basically, I just want a computer that works as well or better than iPhone does. I mean, I turn my iPhone on and there is no wait time to use it. I turn it off and there is no wait time to shut off. The apps download and run as expected, unless the programmer of that app has mad some mistakes that cause it to crash, which is then the app's fault, not the OS's.

The reason your iPhone is so fast on and off is down to a streamlined os for the processor, and that 32gb of "ram" used as a disk. It is basically an ssd, so yes - there is a difference between memory chips used as storage and memory chips used as random access memory for the os. As to your other question, yes, video cards with shared memory use that memory regardless of the total amount of RAM in the system (in this case, 2gb vs 4). One last point, if you want a desktop or laptop to boot fast like a phone, use a modern x64 os like win7, and use an ssd for a hard drive.

Okay, I have lived with this one problem for quite some time now. It is that the keyboard delays or loses keystrokes, especially, well almost completely in Webforms. I have tried everything possible to fix this, and it still happens.

Plus, I just went to delete some files and Windows with only Google Talk and IE running was bogging down in the Windows Exporer file selection. Then, when it finally started to delete the files, it gave me a long wait for that.

AND, then I went to Empty Recycle Bin, and it lagged at that.

So, I am ready to start anew. I know that Office comes in 32 bit and 64 bit flavors, but as for other programs, I have not seem them offer *both*. Does this mean that the program just works in 32 and 64 bit OS's? Am I going to have any programs that don't work in Win 7 64 bit?

Thanks, guys!

~Antonio

Actually, losing keystrokes in IE is something I've seen before as well. It was a combination of McAfee and .NET in my case, and removing McAfee made the problem go away.

OldMX said:

juanantoniod said:

Okay, I have lived with this one problem for quite some time now. It is that the keyboard delays or loses keystrokes, especially, well almost completely in Webforms. I have tried everything possible to fix this, and it still happens.

- open Internet Explorer
- go to Tools -> Internet Options
- go to "Connections" tab
- click on "LAN settings" button
- uncheck "Automatically detect settings"
- ok, ok, close properties, restatr internet explorer and see if it lags again.

I bet your computer is not performing as you wish because the factory software preload (norton crap, toshiba useless utilities, etc), A clean install with your OS @ 64bit should bring performance back.

I am so looking forward to a clean install that runs more efficiently! :)

Is there any thing that I should be aware of, going into the 64bit world? I'm trying to do my research, as I have been so advised by other members of this forum.

I did try what you said above, but in my IE, Automatically detect settings was already UN checked. So, just for your information, I have attached a capture of the LAN settings dialogue box. If you have any more ideas, let me know. But, as I type this, I am not noticing a lag. Now, I am wondering if it was caused all along by Weatherbug, because that is the only last thing I could think of to get rid of.

I previously thought it was McAfee too, so I have already completely uninstalled McAfee and am using Microsoft Security Essentials, per the recommendations on this forum.

Is there a program that will show the temperature in my system tray? That is the only reason I had Weatherbug installed, so I need a different program, one that does not take up much in the way of system resources.

Thanks for all your help! I appreciate any other input you can give me!

I think I forgot this image:

Your comments on this setup are greatly appreciated!

cluberti said:

Actually, losing keystrokes in IE is something I've seen before as well. It was a combination of McAfee and .NET in my case, and removing McAfee made the problem go away.

This is a good suggestion, and I thought it was my culprit as well, in the beginning, but have since resolved to only installing Microsoft Security Essentials, and have started with NO .NETs, and that did not help.

However, as I type this, I do not feel the lag. It is so nice for my keystrokes to keep up with my typing. (I was having to open Notepad, type in there and then copy and paste EVERYTHING!)

So, I got to thinking, what is the only prgram that is common to both of my computers that I always install at the beginning, after the printer and antivrus, and it was Weatherbug. So, maybe that was the problem all along.

Do you have any suggestions for a system tray pgogram, which shows the local temperature? If I am not going to use Weatherbug, I would like a replacement that does not use up much of system resources.

Also, FWIW, I just ordered a new 2 TB USB HD, and I am going to just dump everything that is old into a folder named 2010 on the new HD, reformat the HDD on my Toshiba, and then install the Windows 64 OS, then re-partition it for a separate data partition, and then I should be good to go.

If anyone has any advice for me on doing this, I am open to hearing whatever you have to say.

Thanks!

I guess my question would be, if 32 bit is so bad,

This always gets me. The fact that someone did not pay attention during math class is being blamed on Microsoft. The largest binary number that you can make with 32 bits is 4GB-1. Try it, it's fun.

And if you bought a PC with devices that need address space, it has to come off those 32 bits too. All a matter of mathematics - no hidden agenda and no culprit.

[QUOTE=juanantoniod;1180153]

cluberti said:

Do you have any suggestions for a system tray pgogram, which shows the local temperature? If I am not going to use Weatherbug, I would like a replacement that does not use up much of system resources.

Not a system tray app, but the MSN weather sidebar app is pretty much the only thing I need nowadays. There are some other ones from the Weather Channel, WeatherBug, and a few other 3rd parties, but I've always gone back to the stock sidebar weather applet from MSN. I would at least suggest using that rather than a taskbar applet, as the notification area is a thing of the past (and Microsoft is trying to get developers and users to stop using it as a data storage location and get it back to a *notification* area with Win7).

Well, guys, I went out and got a 2 TB External HDD, so that I could just dump my documents and files onto it, before reformatting and installing the 64 bit Win 7.

I apologize for this wishy-washiness, but it just feels like I am about to cut my arm off or something. Maybe because I spend so much time with my computer, but really, I probably just need a little reinforcement that it will all be worth it in the end...

Also, Cluberti, you have been open about your criticism of Toshiba. Before, when I did a system reinstall, I just inlcluded anything that they had on their Website that was for Windows 7, unless I specifically knew that it was not on my system.

So, could you (or anyone else with an opinion) please comment on the following programs that are currently installed, and tell me if I need to install them on my new, fresh, Windows 7?

Thanks guys!!! :)