Best Free Memory Optimizer
Windows XP has excellent memory management and for the most part you don't need a third party memory management product. I've tried a few free memory managers but none has impressed me enough to allow recommendation. Until now that is.
FreeRAM XP is a memory manager that not only works but also doesn't seem to cause problems; a rare combination. It ticks away in the background, consumes few resources, and does genuinely free up a bit of memory when you ask it to. It can also be configured to automatically free up memory.
Does freeing up memory improve performance? On both my test system and personal laptop it certainly did release some more memory, but it didn't make much difference to performance. Still, all my systems are XP and have 1GB plus. Maybe on older PCs with less memory, or when using applications like PhotoShop that eat up a lot of memory it may make a difference, I can't say. What I can say is that FreeRAM XP caused no problems other than a 10-30 second freeze of my PC when FreeRAM is in the actual process of releasing memory.
Is it worth it the effort? Clearly the answer depends on your system so try it and see if it helps. The vendor's website was down when I tried but you can get it from the download link shown below:
CleanMem I've got to talk about this little program that another category editor told me about. I've been running it now for well over a month and I've got to say that I almost forgot about it. You never notice it other than you eventually notice that your system is running smoother and faster. After installation, you don't even realize that it is working. The program will install and set it to run every 30 min via the windows task scheduler. You can change this to any amount of time you like by simply going to the task scheduler in windows and changing any of the options you like.
Install it and your done! The program doesn't run in the back ground, once it does its job it closes and doesn't run again until the task scheduler runs it. The program is very simple to operate as it will run and clean the memory out of all processes it can, without any user input.
This doesn't work like other memory cleaners that do nothing but force windows to free up memory by using up all the avail. memory. This old trick then causes your system to lag big time!
.Two other alternatives I'll mention because they were recommended by individuals who wrote to me include:
MZ Ram Booster (http://mztweak.bravehost.com/) and RAMBooster 2 (http://www.sci.fi/~borg/rambooster/). Please be advised that MZ Ram Booster requires .Net Framework 2.0 or higher. There are actually 2 videos on CNET TV ( http://www.cnettv.com/) featuring RAMBooster 2 that speak highly of the program. If you are interested, just follow the link and do a search for RAMBooster.
While not solely a Memory Optimizer, I also need to mention CachemanXP. CachemanXP (http://www.outertech.com/index.php?_charisma_page=downloads) is somewhat unique. CachemanXP is a Windows tuneup utility designed to improve the speed and stability of your computer by optimizing several caches, recovering RAM, and fine tuning a number of system settings. Oneclick-Optimization makes it suitable for novice and intermediate users yet it is also powerful and versatile enough for computer experts. Backups of settings ensure that all user modifications can be reversed with a single click. CachemanXP requires Windows 2000/2003 or XP/XP64 to run, uses minimal resources and virtually no CPU time. It does offer a Memory Optimizer as a part of its package.
FreeRAM XP Pro
Website: http://www.yourwaresolutions.com/
Download link: http://www.download.com/FreeRAM-XP-Pro/3000-2086_4-10070530.html
Author: YourWare Solutions
Current version: 1.52
Version date: March 22 2006
License: Freeware
Download File size: 605KB
Operating Systems Supported: Windows 95/98/Me/2000/XP/2003 Server
Additional Software Required: None
64 Bit Capable: No
Portable Version Available: No
Additional Software Required: None
Non-English languages supported: None
CleanMem 1.2
Website: http://www.pcwintech.com/tools/CleanMem.html
Download link: http://www.pcwintech.com/tools/cleanmem_setup.exe
Author: Shane C.
Current version: 1.2
License: Freeware
Download File size: 1.58 MB
Operating Systems Supported: Windows 95/98/Me/2000/XP/2003 Server
Additional Software Required: None
64 Bit Capable: No
Portable Version Available: No
Additional Software Required: None
Additional Software Required: None
This software category is maintained by volunteer editor Kendall Alexander.
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I think you should remove MZ Rambooster as if the person using it has Avast then the uninstaller will come up as a trojan or two (one perhaps false positive... but two ? perhaps not)
I tried on my old machine (laptop with 256 Mb RAM) all sort of programs (freeware and not). But now i don't use nothing anymore so i have no special problems apart for waiting some seconds more from time to time. I thing this sort of programs (I include eBoostr) are genuinely useless.
Bye Giovanni
I have a bit of a problem with all these memory optimizers and this has to do with the fact that I can't choose which processes they release the memory from (and potentially slow down). I personally use Minimem (http://minimem.kerkia.net), which is a very simple program that stays in your tray bar and is completely non-intrusive. This software is free and what it does is allowing you to decide which process you'd like to optimize for memory and how frequently; it will then do just as you asked for, and in a completely transparent way (no freeze at all since it does not need to scan all processes and try and optimize optimally and automatically based on fuzzy criteria such as processor use, paging rate, etc.!). I use it with Firefox all the time and see no performance degradation on Firefox while I can run other apps at the same time, something I just could not do before on my old computer. As far as I'm concerned, I find this solution way better.
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