Do Ram Boosters Really Work?

Hi, I am new here so please excuse me if this question has been addressed. I tried a Search and found one older thread but am really in a bit of bind and would like to get others' opinions.

First, I believe I have a memory leak and would love to be able to find it. However, at this point my RAM gets used up very fast. Computer slows to a crawl or freezes.

I've been reading about software like Ram Booster, PC Booster etc. and really wonder if they work. One person once wrote: just buy more RAM, which is probably the best solution (have 256 and most of the time the utilizations is over 85%).

Running: Windows 98se, IE and Firefox, various spyware/adware programs, anti-virus, Sygate Firewall etc. Also X-Cleaner. I'm paranoid so check for bad guys frequently, and keep coming up clear.

Any more info you need, please ask. I did run HijackThis but for some reason couldn't print out the log.

Thank you in advance for any suggestions. I would like to buy more RAM but right now we are in a legal battle and you know how much $$$ lawyers want!


Sharon

 

Not sure if she edited after you posted, or if you just didn't read her entire post, or if you were responding to another post that got deleted, but she says she's running Windows 98 SEalong with various spyware removal tools, anti virus, etc.

Gorey Girl, we may want to figure out how many processes you have running in the background. See if there are things that start up automatically when you turn on the computer. See if there are options in some of the programs that check for updates, and disable those so they aren't just running all the time, using resources.

I believe that 256 is plenty of RAM for Windows 98, what processor are you running, and how big is yoiur hard drive?

BTW, Welcome to Major Geeks!!

 

Hi Gorey G. and a welcome to the zoo Cacheman (not the XP version) works well with 9X platforms,click here to look at it as does FreeRam click here. Take a look, give 'em a try. Might help.
Bill

 

Hi everybody,

Yes, as stated I am running Windows 98se, Athlon AMD 875mhz, 40G Hard Drive, I.E. 6.0 and Firefox plus the aforementioned utilities.

Some boards want the writer to run Hijack This and post the log so that they can see what it turns up.

I'm checking items that load on startup and some do have the auto check for updates on. I'm going to be unchecking that option to see if it helps.

If you need to know anything else, just ask. What I wanted to know is if these RAM booster programs really do anything or are they all hot air. Seriously need to do something about the huge amount of RAM in use at any given time. Pretty much housebound so my PC is the major source of entertainment/social contact ets. I enjoy gaming and sometimes all the fun is taken out of it when the game slows or even comes to a halt.

Thanks and it's nice to know there's a place where questions can be asked. Please bear with me; I'm mostly learning on my own and also trying to use some resourse books but the going is painfully slow.

Sharon

 

Sorry I haven't replied to the posts people have kindly put here--physically not doing too well.

My PC will not let me start or re-boot in safe mode in order to carry out some of the suggestions here (among many other Windows problems). I'm working on it when I can as my pc is my link to the world as must use it for shopping, banking etc.

BTW, all of a sudden X-Cleaner malware scan is starting to show coolwebsearch making a return appearance, although the other scanners aren't showing it. I hit "remove" but it reappears again after a reboot or start as I have X-Cleaner do a fast look see upon every new boot. Looks like its re-installing itself and I know it makes for a difficult manual remove, if indeed it is there.

Just wanted to let you folks know I"m still here and not ignoring your great help, just have some other problems needing my own very limited physical resources (too bad I can't install some RAM into my brain .

Sharon