736mb memory used up with no programs open

I agree, memory usage looks normal. You have to understand that the memory usage of the system and startup processes is highly dynamic and is by no means a fixed quantity. The memory manager will always try to assign memory where it will do the most good to maintain good overall system performance. When memory demand is light, as it will be at startup, the memory manager will let startup process use pretty much whatever memory they want. Memory is meant to be used and it isn't needed for anything else. Unused memory is wasted memory. But when a large application is loaded the memory usage of inactive processes will be trimmed back, drastically if necessary. If a process is really doing nothing it's usage can be trimmed back to almost nothing. If that trimmed process starts to do something it will be given more memory. You can see this happen by watching memory usage of processes with Task Manager.

This dynamic usage of memory is why adding memory to a system improves performance.

my msi laptop uses about 2 gb with no apps running. I have an older toshiba a205 and I put w7 on it and completely stripped it down to nothing and it ony has 1 gb ddr2 and the best I can do is 400-500mb idle. so you are right there. I use clean mem mini monitor and you can clean the memory by double clicking and itll lower the usage to the minium. I can get it to 450+-mb using the mini monitor, you can also flush the cache using it too. it usually takes it from about 700-800mb used down to 500-550mb area. and ram is pretty cheap nowadays so upgrading isn't as crazy as it once was

chrisl2366 said:

....I use clean mem mini monitor and you can clean the memory by double clicking and itll lower the usage to the minium. I can get it to 450+-mb using the mini monitor, you can also flush the cache using it too. it usually takes it from about 700-800mb used down to 500-550mb area. and ram is pretty cheap nowadays so upgrading isn't as crazy as it once was

It takes an app a bit longer to load the first time it is started after booting a computer. Subsequent loadings of that same app might not take as long to load because the of the way that the memory management works. It sounds like your mini monitor tool is forcing the OS memory management system to clear stuff out that it normally would keep - thus making apps start up as slow as they did when you first booted.

I could be wrong about that - but some benchmarking might be in order before you decide that you are really helping your system's performance by using that mini monitor tool.

Im not saying mini monitor will help performance. Im just telling him the mini monitor will help him get his memory usage down a little more by its cleaning ability. that's all, no performance adjustment at all. thanks

As I mentioned previously, there is nothing wrong with the memory usage as it is. Windows 7 has excellent memory management and there is no need or benefit in any add-on memory cleaners, optimizers, boosters, etc. They will not benefit performance and will almost always impair it.

Modern operating systems are fully capable of managing memory on their own without the need of any help. The problem is that most computer users have a hopelessly outdated (1980's and older) concept of how memory is managed in a modern OS. Modern operating systems are designed with the concept that memory should be used to the fullest possible extent and free memory is evil. The basic concepts have been in use on large computers since the 1960's and have been fully validated. They were introduced to smaller systems in the 1990's when the hardware became capable.

I will say only one more thing regarding this: In the Microsoft publication "Windows Internals", 5th edition, the authors mentioned these memory cleaners and described how they worked. The comments were not very complimentary, quite the contrary. One of the authors is Mark Russinovich who holds a PHD in computer science and is a well known Windows expert.

logicearth said:

I see nothing wrong with the screen shot posted. So what if its is using 736MBs or RAM. RAM is meant to be used! I've ran Windows 7 on 2GBs (50% memory usage on average) for years without a single issue, and I was heavy on it.

Running on 1 GB RAM here LOL, she runs very smoothly too

the thread starter wants to know how to use less memory. he doesn't want your opinion about what he should and shouldn't do with his memory. if he wants to use the bare minimum of ram that's his right to do so. if you do not agree that's your right. start a thread about how people should use their ram. and if he wants free ram that's not used then let him. do you want to go to his house and use his computer? if not then lets just answer his question. not name drop a phd to prove your right about memory cleaners. you might be right but so what? you feel good? good day and to the thread starter do what you want with your ram. and you don't have to explain why you want free ram. I have 16gb and im always wanting to use the least amount as possible at idle.

Please note that swr1986 at no time in this thread asked for how to reduce memory consumption. He asked only for an explanation for what he was seeing in Task Manager. I provided it.