I know that os 9 w/o VM on can be a memory hog, but i just checked memory usage, running Word 2001, Excel 2001, outlook 8.2.2, IE 5 (I know, a lot of MS stuff...) as well as a telnet client, and the OS alone was sucking down 110MB! throw in 25MB for the various apps and my 256MB PB500 was almost tapped.

Isn't 110MB a bit much? i was thinking that 50-60MB is more standard.

[Bockie]

OMG That is abnormally high! Is VM turned off? My Rev B iMac's OS 9.0.4 will use between 39-51M with VM turned off. When I have it turned on it will use about 23M.

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Life cannot be contained...Life finds a way."
-Ian Malcom, Jurassic Park (movie version)

[ethan79]

Ermm ... how do i check how much memory i am using to run the particular application ???

Thank you very much, from a new mac user. )

[kingturd]

Go to your Apple menu in the upper left and select About This Macintosh (this only works when you're in the Finder). It will display your memory usage.

Now about the 110M system, yes, that can be normal, especially when you're running applications. The more RAM you have, the more memory your OS will take up; and that number increases exponentially when you have VM turned off. I have 448M on my machine, and the OS will take up 60M on startup. After performing a simple task such as launching a web browser, the OS already jumps to 80-90M. I would definitly recommend turning VM on, even if you only turn it to 257M (the speed reduction is minimal, if not noticable at all) or possibly using RAM Doubler 9 to plug the memory leak (I don't remember what the cut off for memory is RAM Doubler.. it's been too long). Whatever you do, DO NOT run your OS without VM on if you have more than 128M of RAM. Even if you have less, it's not recommended. One meg of VM can make a world of difference.

The session that indicated 110MB in OS memory usage crashed oddly. The trash lost it's text name at the bottom. When I clicked on it to see what was going on the system crashed hard and rebooted.
Trash was fine on reboot.
Same apps up and the OS is using about 75MB....

[spicyjeff]

This also depend on how many extensions and control panels and third party modifcations you are running since they will increase the total amount of memory used.

On my G4 using a moderate amount of third party extension/control panels my MacOS uses about 72MB usually with VM turned off.

[ethan79]

kingturd ... thank you ... now i will know which application is taking up most of my memory ... )

[Richard Pinneau]

As long as we're talking memory usage...
It used to be that an application would not expand beyond the allotted memory (let's assume we keep VM on or keep it off). But expanding tasks (windows, etc), esp with a browser, expand it to way beyond what is allotted (as well as expand what the OS uses. I thought Mac memory was not this dynamic (as of 9.0.4)?
Explanations?

Also, with 192 physical RAM in Pismo, I try to get by without VM because it causes click-interruptions when playing music CD -- as whenever I access a menu or control strip function. In my Wallstreet (maybe before 9.0) I don't remember that VM led to any disruptions in CD audio. Any workarounds?

Sometimes it seems like the less memory you have, the less you need.

I have 40MB of physical ram and VM set at 100MB. My 9.04 usually takes up 13-20MB. Of course I did not install some stuff, like speech. My impression is that VM is the key to keeping it under control.

[ethan79]

hi ... i am a new machintosh user ...

ibook 466 with only 64 mb base RAM ... set my VM at 128 mb ...
it works just like as if the VM is at 65 mb ... and increase memory significantly to allow me to play games that sucks memory like hell
When VM was set at 65 ... the memory was not even halfway of what was required ...

Well ... leaving the VM at the settings till i purchase my RAM ..
difference is not really felt ... or maybe negligent at the moment with the applications i am using. )

[Richard Pinneau]

TomBlueSky...
I can't imagine how you cut out enough extensions to surf the web or anything and could get Sys so low. With VM off i never see mine below 25, despite major paring-down.
Of course, I consider FileSaver and Virus protection to be essentials.

[Cipher13]

ekoelbel, that crash was caused by a lack of free memory.
If your icons or file names start disappearing, and the desktop pattern/picture redraws slowly and clunkily, quit something or prepare to crash.
110 Megs isn't a surprise, if you have VM off. Turn it on and there will be a massive drop.
OS9 is pretty terrible at memory management, that issue doesn't seem to be apparent in OS 9.1 though, and the memory leak issues seem to have been fixed at an early stage in 9.1...


Cipher13

[Cipher13]

PowerMac 5500/250, 32 megs phys RAM, 64 megs virtual.
My semi-optimised OS9.04 uses 15.5 megs of RAM at the moment, and thats with things like remote access still enabled, and File Sharing on and all that stuff...
I'm gonna go through the system now, and see if I can break 12 megs

Cipher13

[Richard Pinneau]

yeah, Cipher...
on a 5500.
What about on your G4 tower... you're still down in the mid-teens for the OS?
How much difference does the hardware make?

[Bugs Bunny]

Yea, and if I wanna stare at my Mac, 'cause I can't do nothing with it, with half of the GD extensions turned off, but wait, the OS is only using 25MB ram, I guess that's OK. I keep going from VM on to VM off. My Mac obviously uses less ram with it on, but it feels somewhat sluggish. So with 256MB ram, I guess I'll be leaving it OFF, and watch as the OS expands like a balloon in a microwave.

[bradoesch]

My iMac DV with 192MB is now grabbing 70MB for the MacOS alone (9.04). Now, from what others have said, this sounds pretty standard. But when I first got the machine, about a year ago, it never took that much memory. I have added 128MB RAM, but why would it want more RAM?

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Why 1984, won't be
like "1984"

[bezoar]

i'm not sure about the advice of "always use VM, even if only a little bit." one major reason why i never use it is because some of the apps that i use (Cubase, one example) will NOT function with VM turned on...but then again, this thread is about keeping memory usage down, not running apps properly, so never mind.

[This message has been edited by bezoar (edited 12-26-2000).]

I can't wait for OSX...OS 9 has such lame memory management. There is no hard, fast rule for VM--some apps are faster with it on, some with it off. Quake runs faster on my G4 with VM off...but I get an extra 0.9 FPS in UT with VM on. And everytime I wan't to turn VM on or off, I have to reboot the whole damn system! What a nightmare...if the role was reversed and it was windows that had the bad memory management, Mac users would be skewering windows for it. I've got two applescript aliases on my apple menu--one turns VM on, the other turns it off, then they both reboot the system. It's still a pain in the arse to reset VM.

[Richard Pinneau]

Bradoesch...
The usual reasons are: you have added more applications (many of which quietly added extensions to your system folder), and you probably try to run more apps simultaneously....
You may also have moved from Explorer 4.5 to 5.0. That's a whole new app-- with increased appetite.
Even after quitting apps, the system seems still to be occupying more memory.
I find it useful to *restart* after several hours with one collection of apps before going to another set: reduces the system's *gas* distension before its next multi-course meal.

[Cipher13]

MY G4 is currently using 45 megs... I could cut that down though. Thats with a lot of apps open too...
VM on, at about 230-300 megs.
Whoever said that their system seems sluggish with VM on: rubbish.
Its all in your head, it is no slower

Cipher13

[Richard Pinneau]

No, I've never experienced ANY speed difference.
But...
On my PB Pismo, my DVD player disrupts Audio CD's with certain desktop actions when VM is on?
Is this unique to PBs?
Might anything besides cutting off VM work around this?

[ 9.0.4; 400MHz; 192MB ]

Finder quitter is a good piece of shareware for freeing up memory without rebooting.
http://ragesoftware.virtualave.net/products/

I use it all the time...after working with 4-5 different apps., I quit all of them and sometimes the memory is still fragmented because of background finder processes. Just quit and restart the finder and you get a nice big block of unused memory.

[zoopsia215]

I had been using File Buddy which is a great utility as I can restart the finder with it and not only that, but it is also a great utility to do many things the OS does not like find empty folders, duplicates, find hidden files, make files and folders invisable. etc.

Now that I just bought 256mb of ram resulting in 640mb all day I am quite happy and the operations are more responsive. Many of my applications are not VM friendly like Photoshop and FCP. It is just a tempoary and inadequate solution to what is really needed, just plain more ram.

[Jsnuff1]

ive never seen my finder take up more then 70MB of ram no matter howmany programs are open

[zoopsia215]

My finder floats between 60 to 90mb's, ouch! Well, good thing I have 640mb's of physical memory, hehe!