XP Fixes Myth#2: RAM Optomizers

Bill Castner · 2007/01/06

An irregular series of notes about XP speedup, optomization and reliability enhancements. Next Up: Optomizing the Pagefile.

Memory Optomizers -- The answer is NO

As you've surfed the Web, you've probably seen browser pop-ups such as "Defragment your memory and improve performance" and "Minimize application and system failures and free unused memory." The links lead you to utilities that promise to do all that and more for a mere $9.95, $14.95, or $29.95. Sound too good to be true? It is. These utilities appear to do useful work, but at best, RAM optimizers have no effect, and at worst, they seriously degrade performance.

Mark Russinovich, Microsoft, http://www.windowsitpro.com/Articles/Index.cfm?ArticleID=41095&pg=1
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But it shows little graphs and memory moving around so it is doing something, right?

It is doing something. The core question is whether it is helping.

RAM Optimizers have no effect, and at worst, they seriously degrade performance. Although gaining more available memory might seem beneficial, it isn't. As RAM Optimizers force the available-memory counter up, they force other processes' data and code out of memory. Say that you're running Word, for example. As the optimizer forces the available-memory counter up, the text of open documents and the program code that was part of Word's working set before the optimization (and was therefore present in physical memory) must be reread from disk as you continue to edit your document. The act of allocating, then freeing a large amount of virtual memory might, as a conceivable side effect, lead to blocks of contiguous available memory. However, because virtual memory masks the layout of physical memory from processes, processes can't directly benefit from having virtual memory backed by contiguous physical memory. As processes execute and undergo working-set trimming and growth, their virtual-memory-to-physical-memory mappings will become fragmented despite the availability of contiguous memory.
op.cite
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These programs are pure snake oil.

But I go it free... What should I do?

Uninstall it, free or paid.

retiredlearner · 2007/01/06

Memory Optomizers

Hi Bill, You've answered a question that has concerned me for some time. When surfing the web, you are beseiged with these programs trying to tell you that it can speed up your computer and so far common sense has prevailed. My background as an Automotive Technician tells me that a good tune up (scheduled tasks, defrags etc.) will do more to speed up the comp at no extra cost other than time to do it. A very timely bit of advice Thank you. Neil.

mflynn · 2007/01/06

I agree 100%.

Mike

Steve R Jones · 2007/01/07

"Unused Ram is Wasted Ram. "

Admin. · 2007/01/07

Steve R Jones said:

"Unused Ram is Wasted Ram. "
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He Steve, I believe that was always my answer to people who claimed success with RAM 'optimizers'

charlesvar · 2007/01/08

These RAM enhancers touch on a basic fact of life for many users - which is the constant gratuitous startup entries added by software vendors and OEM vendors, not to mention bloat. This puts the user on the hardware treadmill - more, bigger, faster. If I have a neuralgia point, this is it. Looking at HJT logs, I see so much of that.

So I can understand the lure to many of RAM boosters, problem of course, its trying to deal with the symptoms and uselessly at that, and not the cause.

This thread http://www.windowsbbs.com/showthread.php?t=39425 links to process and application data bases indicating what can be on demand and what should legitimately be a startup and ways to stop startups.

Regards - Charles

Christer · 2007/01/08

I agree with Charles.

I was helping a friend a few days ago. I installed his system a year ago, now he had run out of space on C: and wanted some of D: shifted over. (I accomplished this without any partitioning tool. I used Ghost 2003 from DOS to create a Disk-to-Image which was restored Disk-from-Image during which partition sizes can be altered. Not the scope of this thread but worth mentioning.)

Anyway, a year ago, his computer was more or less identical to mine in terms of setup and what was running from startup: 32 processes and 180 MB used. I was quite astonished when I had a look in Task Manager and found almost 70 processes running from startup with almost ½ of his 1GB RAM used.

You guessed right if you anticipated a "RAM freeing tool" to be running. My friend admitted that it only took seconds for the RAM to become depleted again after being "freed ".

He asked me to clean up the mess but my immediate answer was: Oh no ... ... you installed all that **** ... ... now you deal with it and learn something in the process.

Christer

TonyT · 2007/01/08

I read the entire artice shortly after he first published it. Unfortunatelt, that site requires you register to be able to read the entire article. I used to have a bookmark to Mark's entire article at sysinternals.com but it's a dead link now. It's a great read and explains a whole lot more than just memory-optimizers.

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XP Fixes Myth#2: RAM Optomizers

Bill Castner Inactive Thread Starter

retiredlearner SuperGeek WindowsBBS Team Member

mflynn Inactive

Steve R Jones SuperGeek Staff

Admin. Administrator Administrator Staff

charlesvar Inactive Alumni

Christer Geek Member Staff

TonyT SuperGeek Staff

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XP Fixes Myth#2: RAM Optomizers

Bill Castner Inactive Thread Starter

retiredlearner SuperGeek WindowsBBS Team Member

mflynn Inactive

Steve R Jones SuperGeek Staff

Admin. Administrator Administrator Staff

charlesvar Inactive Alumni

Christer Geek Member Staff

TonyT SuperGeek Staff

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