FOR COMPUTER OPTIMIZER/RELEASE RAM

Welcome New Users
Introduction
What Uses Memory
Features

The Release RAM Screens - If you need help on a particular screen, these may help
Release RAM
Automatic
Time Intervals
Startup / Others
Launcher
Cache Settings
Optimize Swapfile
About

Other Stuff
How do I Questions
Config Launcher
Miscellaneous

Installation Questions
"An error has occurred. The following info may help debug. Available RAM: 796.01 VM: -9 ..."
"Failed to load control 'SSTab' from TABCTL32 OCX..." (or any *.ocx file) message.
File Not Found : PDH.DLL - Error Message
My computer runs slower, freezes up, and the CPU usage is always at 100%
I have a lot of free RAM but resources are low - System 23%, User 46%, GDI 23%
I Get a 'System Resources May Be Low' Message
I Have Ordered But Haven't Received My Key
I Received My Key But It Won't Work
Comments That Users Have Said About Release RAM.
My computer crashed and I lost my key as I had to reformat my hard disk.
How to make floppy setup disks to install on other computers.
Return Policy

Contact Us

Welcome New Users

Thank you for using Release RAM. After taking a few moments to setup the automated functions you will be on your way.

Each screen in Release RAM has its own separate help topic. If you are on a screen and you need some tips or some more information then you can click on the Lightbulb button to display its appropriate help topic.

We have left the Automatic free up function disabled on purpose to show you how inefficient Windows really is. To activate it simply ensure the "Auto Detection Active" checkbox on the Automatic tab is checked.

You can see how much RAM is available in real-time in the title bar as it is constantly updated. On machines running 64 MB or less it is very common to almost run out of RAM after just starting Windows.

Whenever you run a program, the RAM area in your PC is loaded with the data needed to run the program. When this RAM is fully utilized (which is very common), Windows will move some of the data from RAM not currently being used, into an area on your hard disk known as the swapfile. It then resumes loading your program. This significantly slows down the performance of your computer, because the hard disk is much slower in operation than physical RAM.

Introduction

Release RAM allows your computer to run faster and uses your computer's RAM more efficiently. You can free up a specific amount of RAM to the CPU at any time allowing your system to have more memory available, so making program execution faster because as free memory it is ready and waiting. It can automatically Free-UP RAM if a critical amount of Free RAM is reached preventing your system's performance from being degraded. RAM can be recovered at regular time intervals. Defragments RAM, recovers RAM from the operating system and applications, recovers memory leaks, and runs in the background keeping your system in peak condition.

Release RAM Professional version has come a long way since the original Release RAM. It now allows you to configure your computer and optimize your system memory to the way that you use your computer.

You can also optimize your virtual memory (swapfile) settings, this alone can make a noticeable difference as it can reduce virtual memory re-sizing, disk swapping, disk defragmentation, and constant hard disk access. (Win95/98/ME version)

What Uses Memory

- Large Libraries (DLL's)
- File Caching
- Program Errors/Bugs
- Starting and Closing Programs

Large Libraries :
Many programs use libraries, some which can be quite large and take up a considerable amount of RAM.
These libraries can contain many functions that a program must use. Unfortunately, if a program you are running needs only a few of those functions, the program will still use up your RAM as if required for all the functions.
Sometimes a large library is loaded to use only 1 or 2 of its functions - a huge waste of RAM.

File Caching :
Windows holds part of your hard disk in RAM. However, as your PC's physical memory is obviously much too small to contain the entire contents of your hard disk. Windows therefore decides which files to store. This process is called file caching and is intended to help speed up your PC. It retains in RAM the files that have recently been used and which it thinks are likely to be used again. (Without file caching a PC would be very slow)
Yet again, this process uses up RAM and some of the files it stores might not be required again until the next day.

Program Errors/Bugs :
It is rare for a program to be 100% error free. The larger and more complex a program is, the more likely it is to contain errors. Many of these are not a major problem and thus go undetected. However, they can sometime cause a memory leak and Windows will conclude that the area in memory is still in use when in fact it is not - therefore yet again wasting RAM.

Starting and Closing Programs :
When you run a program it loads data into memory. After you close the program, not all the RAM that is required is immediately cleared to again become available for use. This can be for one or more of the reasons explained above in the File Caching of Large Libraries, and Program Errors sections.

Features

1 - Free Up RAM Now
Free up any amount of RAM on demand.

2 - Auto Detection
Computer Optimizer/R-RAM can free up RAM when the amount of Free RAM drops below a predefined level.

3 - Time Interval Releases
Free up RAM every X number of minutes or hours ranging from 5 minutes to 24 hours.

4 - Freeup at Startup
Free up memory at startup after all those memory hungry programs in your system tray have loaded.

5 - Configure Virtual Cache Settings - (Win95/98/ME)
Optimize your system memory to the way that you use your computer.

6 - Optimize Your Virtual Memory (Swapfile) - (Win95/98/ME)
Can decrease the amount of virtual memory re-sizing, disk swapping, and constant hard disk access.

7 - Program Launcher
Free up some RAM and launch your favorite memory hungry applications from a program menu in the Computer Optimizer/R-RAM Tray Icon.

8 - CPU Usage Monitor
The CPU meter shows the current processor usage and there is the option to limit automatic freeups to times of low usage.

9 - Displays of Other Information :

- CPU Speed in MHz display
- Percentage Bars displaying available RAM and swapfile usage.
- A counter of the number of times an automatic freeup has taken place.
- Displays how long the computer has been running.

10 - Button to run the Disk Defragmenter

Release RAM (Screen)

You can free up a specific amount of RAM at any time, allowing your system to have memory available.

Components of the Release RAM Tab :

The selected value in the listbox lets you specify how much memory you want to recover. We suggest selecting a value between 1/4 to 1/2 of your system RAM here.

The "Free Up RAM Now" button manually starts a Release RAM memory recovery process up to the level you have selected. You can also right click on the Release RAM icon in the System Tray and select the "Free Up X MB Now" item from the popup menu to perform the same process.

The CPU Monitor graph simply shows how busy the Processor is. Each time the chart is updated, a reading of the current CPU usage is taken and the average reading over the previous few readings is used.
You can speed up or slow down the CPU graph from the "CPU Usage" button.

The CPU Speed is displayed just between the listbox and "Free Up RAM Now" button. CPU speed is measured when Release RAM first starts up. This reading is most accurate on Intel processors.
Note : Some computers with certain CPU types other than Intel based may not display the CPU speed.

Automatic (Screen)

The Automatic function is probably the most powerful feature of Release RAM. With this feature active the amount of available RAM is constantly monitored. Once this figure drops below the minimum level that you have specified, it then performs an automatic free-up of RAM preventing your system's performance from being degraded.

To allow automatic free ups to occur you must ensure the "Auto Detection Active" box is checked.

You should not set your minimum level of RAM too high. We suggest that for every 32MB of RAM your system contains, the minimum RAM should 1MB. If you have 64MB RAM, a 2MB minimum of Ram should be set. 128MB RAM, a 4 MB minimum should be set.

The Amount of RAM to Release should be set somewhere between 1/4 and 1/2 of your system RAM.

The option to prevent an automatic freeup is by default set to 80% of CPU usage. Sometimes if a freeup process takes place when your computer is busy your computer may appear to temporarily freeze up or lag. By limiting a free up to periods of low processor usage you can avoid these situations.

You should take note that there are some programs that may run in the background and also monitor the CPU usage so they can run their tasks in periods of low CPU usage. Programs such virus scanners running real time scans will run their tasks in low CPU periods and as a result keep the CPU percentage up high. In situations such as this you should not set your limit too low.

The time interval at which you check for the minimum level of RAM is not too important, however setting it between 10 and 30 seconds is ideal. You wouldn't want this setting too high as you may find yourself have already run out of RAM before the next check.

Some people make the mistake of trying to free up too much memory and setting the minimum level to high. The key to good memory management is to be able to make use of as much RAM as possible, but to never run out.

Time Intervals (Screen)

You can set Release RAM to do regular free-ups at intervals between 5 minutes and 24 hours.

To allow Time Interval Releases to occur you must ensure the "Time Releases Active" box is checked.

The selected value in the listbox lets you specify how much memory you want to recover at each time interval release.
If you use the Automatic function then the Time Releases function may not be very important, however some people choose to use this function to free up a little bit more RAM than they do in with the Automatic feature using a large interval.

You can set the time interval between every 5 minutes and every 24 hours.
To set the interval anything under 1 hour you must have the minute's option selected, otherwise to set the interval between 1 and 24 hours you must have the hours option selected. The values in the interval listbox will change its values between hours and minutes when the Hour/Minutes options are changed.

The option to prevent an automatic freeup is by default set to 80% of CPU usage. Sometimes when it is time for a freeup process your computer may be busy and a RAM free up at this time may pause your computer for a moment. This feature can delay a timed free up for a few moments until the CPU is less busy as it will monitor the CPU usage every 10 seconds while the Timed Release is due.

Startup / Other (Screen)

1 - Display at Startup :
You can define the way Release RAM is displayed each time it is started i.e. when you start Windows if you have it set to load automatically.

Fully Displayed - The Release RAM window will be displayed in the center of your desktop screen with the last tab screen you were in the previous time.

Minimized in Taskbar - The Release RAM window is minimized from view but contains an item in the taskbar displaying the Computer Optimizer/R-RAM icon and a real-time display of your available RAM.

Hidden - With this option, Release RAM is hidden from view and is left to run in the background without getting in your way. All that remains in view is the Computer Optimizer/R-RAM icon in the system tray. You can point your mouse pointer over the Computer Optimizer/R-RAM icon to show the available RAM, and at any time double mouse click the icon to fully display the Release RAM window.

2 - CPU Graph Update Interval :
The CPU graph in the Release RAM tab window can be set to update more or less frequently here.

3 - When I Start My Computer :
The "Automatically launch Computer Optimizer/R-RAM" checkbox needs to be checked to allow Release RAM to start each time Windows starts.
This is one of the key functions (apart from the Automatic function) that needs to be active to allow Release RAM to keep your system running smoothly.

4 - Startup Options
When you launch with Windows you can set Release RAM to wait up to 240 seconds for all those nasty little Terminate and Stay Resident programs load before performing a free up of RAM.
To determine a reasonable time period to wait you should try starting up your computer and time how long it takes to finish loading up Windows once Release RAM has opened up, then add on a few seconds. A suggested amount to free up is around half your system RAM if you have 64MB or less, otherwise you could set it at a higher portion if your system contains more.
If you don't want to use this feature you could set the time to its highest, and RAM to free up at its lowest value.

5 - Number of Retrys
Sometimes when Release RAM is performing a RAM free up it may not always reach its target the first time around. Having a setting higher than 1 will allow Release RAM to try again to reach your required target.
This function applies to free ups in using the Automatic, Time Intervals, Startup Options, and the manual Release RAM functions.

It is strongly recommended that that a setting of 1 should be made here, 2 at the most!
Any more and your system could slow down as too much RAM may be recovered when your system requires it. On the first try if your desired RAM target is not reached it usually means that your RAM which was not recovered is being used by your system and if you tried to free it up it may result in the opposite to what you are trying to achieve, a faster and more efficient system.

6 - Disable Low Level Resources Warning
Whenever a free up is in progress, Release RAM checks that you have enough resources available to complete the process. Release RAM requires you to have hard disk space available (or swapfile space available) of at least the size of RAM you are trying to free. If your computer is low on hard disk space (or you have a rediculiouly high RAM target) when doing a free up, a low level warning message will display. You can disable this message in cases where you do not want this message to display.

7 - Create shortcut Icon on Desktop :
This button puts the Release RAM icon onto your computer's desktop to allow you to start Release RAM manually.

Launcher (Screen)

The Release RAM Launcher function allows you to run your favorite memory hungry applications from a program menu in the Computer Optimizer/R-RAM tray icon. This works differently from the standard "Windows Start Menu" where it will free up some memory just before it launches your applications enabling it to start more efficiently.

The listbox in the Launcher configuration screen can contain up to 25 applications. You can configure this list from the "Configure Program List" button which opens a separate configuration window.
See Config Launcher section of this help for more information.

You are given the option of how much RAM you want to free up when using the launcher. You have a choice of 50%, 50%, 66%, or no free up of RAM.
I would suggest 50% or 50% on systems containing 64MB or less.

The Memory Retry Freeup Bar.
Sometimes when Release RAM is performing a RAM free up it may not always reach its target the first time around. Having a setting higher than 1 will allow Release RAM to try again to reach your required target.
I would suggest either a setting of 1 or 2 here.

Cache Settings (Screen) - (Win95/98/ME)

Using the Cache Settings feature you can configure your computer to use its RAM to suit the way you use your computer.

Windows allocates a portion of RAM to store its most recently used item once it is used. This process can help your computer when those items are required again, as it will be taken directly from RAM where it was stored rather than from your hard disk. The only problem with this is you have run out of RAM (very common), which results in more hard disk activity and reduced performance.

A computer being used mainly for high graphic games are less likely to need to use the same piece of data more than once as opposed to someone using an application such as a spreadsheet or database where controls and processes are used over and over again.

Typical use of this computer :
By selecting your "Typical use of this computer" option to the way you use your computer, Release RAM will adjust Windows Cache settings to better suit your system's needs.
You may alternatively, manually set your cache settings.

Min Cache Size & Max Cache Size :
These set the minimum/maximum RAM cache size used. The higher you set it, then the more RAM allocated specifically to Windows and the less that will be available to your own software.

Chunk Size :
Chunk size directly affects performance. The disk cache is a single block of memory and this block is divided into chunks. If it is set too small then there are too many chunks to manage, if too large then there is excessive wastage. The optimum value is the one that lies in between. Change the value in multiplies of 256 (512, 1024, 2048, ... )

Name Cache :
Name Cache sets a limit on the amount of files Windows can track.

Directory Cache :
Directory Cache sets a limit on the amount of directories Windows can track. Fixing the values has the advantage of Windows not having to re-allocate memory to increase/decrease the cache.

System Defaults :
You can use this option to set your cache settings back to the Windows default setting.

Save Settings :
In order for any changes in these cache settings to take effect, they need to be saved and then your computer will need to be restarted.

Optimize Swapfile (Screen) - (Win95/98/ME)

Virtual Memory (Swapfile) is part of the hard disk used by Windows 95/98/ME to temporarily store some memory files not currently in use. They are stored on part of the hard disk for easy retrieval when required. This frees some additional space in memory for files currently required, and more/larger programs can be run with a limited quantity of RAM.

It is important to ensure the swapfile is optimized, as the hard disk is many hundreds of times slower than RAM. In systems with a shortage of RAM there is constant swapping of files - a substantial slowing of the system occurs (and the hard disk can be heard working much of the time).

Windows Default ... :
This option setting is Windows default Virtual Memory setting. If you are low on available Hard Disk space then this setting should be used.

Optimize Windows Virtual Memory Swapfile :
To allow Release RAM to configure and optimize your computer's swapfile you need this option active. This will then activate the tools in the "Optimize Swapfile" frame.

Other setup currently configured :
This option is disabled, as it is not intended for use. If this option is active when Release RAM is first activated it indicates that your virtual memory is using neither the system default setting Nor it is optimized using a fixed swapfile size.

Optimize Swapfile :
When you optimize the swapfile using Release RAM, it makes the swapfile a fixed size. This can lead to increased efficiency and less disk fragmentation. This can lessen virtual memory re-sizing, disk swapping, and constant hard disk access.

The Optimize Swapfile frame contains the following items :

1 - Hard Disk
This combo box contains your physical hard disks/partitions and their available space. Network drives, removable drives, RAM disks, and Compressed drives are excluded.
The selected box contains the drive your swapfile is designated on. It is ideal to select your fastest drive, if possible separate from your main hard disk drive.

2 - Swapfile Size
This setting specifies the fixed size the swapfile will be set at. The recommendation is 2.5 to 3 times the amount of installed memory. It is important to ensure Windows never runs short. If you are finding the "Virtual Memory" bar displayed on the Release RAM tab shows over 90% Used then you should consider increasing the swapfile size. The same may apply if you receive a "System Resources may be low" message.

3 - Suggested Configuration :
For beginners, this button is ideal. It automatically determines what hard disk drive can used, and the ideal swapfile size that will suit most users. When selecting a drive it looks for the first available hard disk drive containing a reasonable amount of available disk space. Usually this will be your primary C: hard disk.

4 - Run Defrag :
This button launches Window's Disk Defragmenter program ready to defragment the drive your selected swapfile drive. Running the disk defragmenter before saving your settings and restarting your computer can give your system a slightly extra boost in performance.

5 - Save Changes :
In order for any changes in your settings to take effect, they need to be saved and then your computer will need to be restarted.

Additional Tips for Advanced Users :

- Give your Swapfile it's own small Partition (on another Hard Disk, if available)
- Put your Swapfile on the fastest Hard disk, and point Windows there.
- Try not to use more than 90% space if you place VM on a small partition.

About (Registration Screen)

This screen's primary purpose is for registration and contact information regarding Release RAM.

We generally send out your registration keys within 24 hours of us receiving your order. However should you not receive your key after two days then we would appreciate an email from you, as there can be occasions when emails don't make it to their destinations for various reasons.
How do I Questions

I want to free up 16MB of RAM to my system right now, what do I do?

- Click on the Release RAM Tab.
- Choose 16MB from the list box.
- Click on the Free Up RAM Now button and wait a few seconds.
- Watch the title bar at top of window.
- If the amount of RAM required is not fully recovered the first time, press the Free Up RAM Now button again.

How do I set Computer Optimizer/R-RAM to automatically recover my RAM when it drops below 2 MB?

- Click on the Automatic Tab.
- Click on the Auto Detection Tab from the sub-menu window.
- Choose the amount of RAM from the listbox that you want to release.
- Click on the vertical scroll bar's arrows until 2 appears in the textbox beside it.
- Now tick the Auto Detection Active checkbox.

How do I free-up RAM on an hourly basis?

- Click on the Automatic Tab.
- Click on the Time Interval Releases Tab from the sub-menu window.
- Choose the amount of RAM from the list box that you want to release.
- Click on the Hours option - This changes to contents of the listbox to an hourly rate.
- Select 1 from the listbox.
- Now make sure the Time Releases Option checkbox contains a tick.

How do I set Computer Optimizer/R-RAM to run when I reboot my computer?

- Click on the Startup / Options Tab.
- Check the Automatically launch Computer Optimizer/R-RAM checkbox.

How do I alter the way Computer Optimizer/R-RAM is displayed when first loads up?

- Click on the Startup / Options Tab.
- View the Display at Startup section.
- The Fully Displayed option opens the Computer Optimizer/R-RAM window to the center of the screen
- The Minimized in Taskbar option minimizes the Computer Optimizer/R-RAM window so you can only see the title and the amount of free RAM in the taskbar.
- The Hidden option will only display Computer Optimize/R-RAM as a Tray Icon near the system clock. Moving your mouse over this Computer Optimizer/R-RAM icon will display the amount of RAM available. Double clicking the Computer Optimizer/R-RAM Tray Icon will fully open the Computer Optimizer/R-RAM window.

Config Launcher (Screen)

The Configure Release RAM List can contain up to 25 shortcut items. You can add new items, delete or modify existing items, and can test run them from the Launcher Configuration screen.

Add Program :
This button initially displays an open dialog box, which is by default set at your "Start Menu" folder where most of your program's icons are placed for you Start menu button.
Simply click browse and select a program icon, executable file or another file you want in your launcher menu. Once selecting a file from the Open Dialog window a Configure Button window is displayed.
See - Configure Button below for more info.

Modify :
Any existing item you have in the list may be modified from this button.
You need to select an item from the list then click the Modify button to open it into the Configure Button window.
See - Configure Button below for more info.

Remove from List :
This option clears out a shortcut item from your list.
To delete an item, select the item from the list then click the Remove From List button.

Run Program :
Use this button to test your launcher items. Once you are happy with your shortcut and its saved, you can run it from the Release RAM tray icon under the Programs submenu.

Save and Close :
This button saves your changes to a configuration file ready for Release RAM to use in its launcher feature.

Configure Button :
The configure button screen contains shortcut textboxes similar to Windows shortcut options in their properties screen.

Button Title - This field is the name that will be displayed in the menu title.

Target - This is used to contain the full path of the executable file to run. It can contain command switches etc.

Start In - Here you can specify a folder you want set as the current directory when you execute the contents in your target line.

Miscellaneous

Release RAM Title Bar :
The title bar is constantly updated with the amount of available RAM your computer has.

Pause All Activity :
There are times when you may want the activities of Release RAM to be deactivated. Situations may include when you are running a Scandisk or Defragmentation on your hard disk. These programs may reset themselves when there is some other activity i.e. a RAM Freeup process.

Minimize to Taskbar :
This button will minimize the Release RAM window out of the way from view. You still can see the amount of RAM being constantly displayed in the item displayed in the taskbar.

Hide :
This button is like the Minimize button (as above) except it will not be displayed in the taskbar.
You can still access Release RAM from the tray icon.

Release RAM Tray Icon :
The Computer Optimizer/R-RAM tray icon is a little gray chip image displayed in the tray along side near your system clock. At any time when Release RAM is hidden in the background you can double-click its icon to fully display Release RAM. You may also right-click on the icon to display a menu of options including a manual free up of RAM, the Launcher program items, displaying and closing Release RAM. You can see the amount of available RAM by placing your mouse pointer over the icon. The amount of available RAM will be displayed as a floating ToolTip.

Uninstall :
You may run Release RAM's uninstall feature from the start menu should you want to uninstall Release RAM for any reason.
The uninstall program contains two options;

1 - Clearing Release RAM Settings.
If you have experimented with the Release RAM settings and find they were better before you changed them but are unsure what they were then this option is for you.

2 - Full Un-Install.
If you have a registered version on your computer then your registration information will be retained for you when you re-install or upgrade to a newer version.

Installation Questions

Q - I get the message "Setup cannot continue because some system files are out of date on your system. Click OK if you would like setup to update these files for you now". I do this, then reboot as instructed, only to get the same error message.
A - Close all other Windows programs you have running then try install again, this includes any programs running in the background or running from the tray icon. Pressing CTRL+ALT+DEL will display a list of programs that are currently being run.

Q - If you get the following message during installation : "An error occured while registering the file: C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\TABCTL32.OCX" (or any other *.ocx or *.dll file) "
A - Usually the quickest solution is to register the file manually.
Click on Start/Run then type in:
regsvr32 TABCTL32.OCX (or the filename if different)
If that doesn't fix the problem then you should try the installation process again, this time making sure that ALL OTHER Windows programs are closed first.

An error has occurred. The following info may help debug. ; Available RAM: 796.01 ; VM: -9 ; Total RAM: 1048

This error message has been known to occur on a small number of Windows 2000 and XP machines if you had your virtual memory settings set to over 1000MB. One solution was to set virtual memory to 999MB. We now have an update which allows you to avoid this error message completely with amounts over 1000MB of virtual memory.
Download This Update v2.03 of the main Release RAM program.
Once Downloaded, save it to your RRAM folder, overwriting the existing RRAM.EXE program file. By default, this folder is generally found at "C:\program files\R-RAM\ "
A ZIP file of this update is also available.

Failed to load control 'SSTab' from TABCTL32 OCX. Your version of TABCTL32.OCX may be outdated...

Normally the solution here is to re-install Release RAM. This can occur if you install another program which installs an older version of the file, or if you uninstall another application that used it then it may had removed this shared file.

File Not Found : PDH.DLL - Runtime error 48

This message can occur if you run the incorrect version of Release RAM for your version of Windows. If you receive this error it is quite likely that you are running the Windows XP/2000 version on a Windows 95/98/ME computer. You should uninstall then download and install the correct version.

My computer runs slower, freezes up, and the CPU usage is always at 100%

Release RAM runs well on healthy systems but may not run well on sick systems.
A sure sign that your computer is not running very well is if the CPU Usage graph in Release RAM is constantly at 100% and the amount of available RAM displayed in the title bar is constantly changing. Constant sound of the hard disk can be commonly heard too.

Solutions : Firstly we suggest that you optimize your swapfile and cache settings (Win95/98/ME users) if not already done so. If the problem is still occurring after optimizing and rebooting, often the most common causes to this is some badly behaving software that is running in the background (often which people don't know about or have forgotten about).

Anti-virus scanners actively running in the background all the time can often be a problem for a computer's performance as they can take up a lot of resources as they constantly access files on your computer while scanning. It may be a better idea to run it manually on demand or have it scheduled to run at a certain time rather to have it running constantly.

While we mention anti-virus scanners, it is probably a good idea to run a full virus scan of your computer using an up to date anti-virus program. Some viruses or trojan programs could be the cause of slowing your system resulting in the constantly high CPU usage.

There may be other *junk* programs that run in the background which run when Windows start. We suggest you see what programs are running in the background from the task list when you press the Ctrl + Alt + Del keys together. If you see any programs in that list which you have installed at one time and no longer use you can disable it using the Acceleration Startup Manager (or uninstall it).
One customer was having similar problems so she took her computer to her computer technicial who found a number of programs she installed at one time but never uses. The technicial disabled them from running at startup. As a result her computer's performance improved and Release RAM ran efficiently giving her system additional improvements. - If you find such programs, drop us a line and we may add it here.

The Acceleration Startup Manager which comes bundled with Release RAM in this special McAfee.com offer is ideal for disabling programs from running at startup. We suggest you run Acceleration Startup Manager and disable some of your program that are in the list and then reboot your system to see if your problems still exist. The LoadPowerProfile option can be disabled if you are a home user and does not leave your computer on all the time. If you leave your systems going all the time then you should leave this option active as its the power management system. Disabling this option can return some system resources, memory, and reduce some CPU usage.
Note : SystemTray should be kept active i.e. left checked, as it is part of the Windows task bar.

Its also a good idea to run Scandisk and the Disk Defragmenter. These can be run from your Start menu.
i.e. Start -> Programs -> System Tools -> Scandisk
If you find the Scandisk keeps restarting, you could try running the MS-DOS version. Simple restart your computer in MS-DOS mode and then type at the command prompt scandisk c:
Running a scandisk can fix some common disk errors that can often occur.

If you are still experiencing problems and Release RAM's CPU graph is constantly at 100% and the available RAM value is constantly changing in idle periods when you are doing nothing with your computer then it may be a computer registry problem. One program I suggest trying is Nortons Utilities as it has a very good registry clean up tool. I ran it on my older computer and it found and fixed over 200 problems in the registry. If your C:\ disk has less than about 120 MB hard disk available I would not advise using it though as it is a big program. It has a free 30 day trial (enough time to fix your system).
You can see a review of it at CNET's Download.com
Alternatively could also run Microsoft's SCANREG program from MS-DOS if you are using Windows 98 or ME.' Simply reboot in MS-DOS mode and type SCANREG /FIX at the MS-Dos prompt. This can help fix your system's registry, and compact it into a smaller file so it uses less memory.

I have a lot of free RAM but resources are low - System 23%, User 46%, GDI 23%

Windows Memory & Resources are two entirely different things. Main memory or RAM (Random Access Memory) refers to physical memory that is internal to the computer.

System resources are areas of memory that are used by the input manager (USER.EXE) and the graphic display interface manager (GDI.EXE) for keeping track of all of the windows that are open in a session and for drawing objects on the screen.

If either of these segments becomes full, programs may fail to load and Windows may become unstable - regardless of how much other free memory there is.
Each application that is loaded, and each window and child-window that is open, consumes system resources. Typically an application consumes 2-8% of system resources, and each child-window consumes 1-2%. Certain programs (eg Print Manager and some TCP/IP communication programs are particularly bad culprits) are much more greedy for system resources than this. Closing an application should release its allocated system resources, but some software is not as well behaved as it should be and this release may not happen. If the free resources fall below about 10-15%, serious problems may be encountered and Windows should be restarted as soon as possible.

User Resources : Used for user interface such as window creation and messages. The User component also manages input from the keyboard, mouse, and other input devices. It also manages interaction with the sound driver, timer, and communications ports.

GDI Resources : The GDI is the graphical system that manages what appears on the screen. It also provides graphics support for printers and other output devices.

Both USER and GDI resources are each allocated a maximum of 2MB of RAM, no matter how much RAM you may have.
Free resources are just the amount of memory left in the GDI and USER system heaps.

For more info on this topic, visit http://www.infinisource.com/techfiles/win-resources.html

I Get a 'System Resources May Be Low' Message

Warning - System Resources may be low. Please check your hard disk space and swapfile size.
This message appears when you don't have enough system resources available to perform a RAM free up process. The cause is usually either one of the following :

1 - Your available hard disk space may be too low. You need available space to be at least that of the amount of RAM you are trying to free up.

2 - Your Swapfile Size may be too small. The 'Virtual Memory (Swapfile)' bar graph on the Release RAM tab shows how much swapfile space is in use. If the amount that is not in use (ie available) is less than the amount of RAM you are trying to free up, the free up process cannot then take place. Try increasing your swapfile size in the Optimize Swapfile screen.

You can prevent this message from being displayed by going to the Startup/Other tab and check the 'Disable Low Level Resources Warning' checkbox.

If you are using a version before 2.04 and you receive this error when trying to free up more than 232MB of RAM then you will need to download and update to the newest version.

I Have Ordered But Haven't Received My Key

We process and send out registration keys for our orders usually within a day of the order being completed by the customer. Please allow 2 days for your registration key(s) to arrive after completing your order as delays can occur from time to time for various reasons.
If you haven't received a response after 2 days then please email us providing your name and email address you used when placing your order. If you have your order number, then that would be even better. The most common reasons why you may not have received your key are you either supplied an incorrect, or mispelt your email address (believe it or not, some people do do typos when submitting their email address in their order). Other times the email destination host may be unreachable for some reason. In these cases it is not our fault so please don't send us abusive emails.

Upon completing your order online, you should receive an email containing your order receipt almost immediately. We send the keys a little later once we have processed it.

I Received My Key But It Won't Work

Steps To Registering Your System

There should be two attached files in your Registration Key email, one of them is a registry key file, the other is a zip file containing a backup of the registry file (some people have their email clients set to block registry files)

What you need to do to Register both the Release RAM and Acceleration Startup Manager programs on your computer is to save the file attachment registry file (*.reg) to your hard disk somewhere (suggested in c:\my documents ).

Then you need to double-click and run the *.reg file which you saved. It may ask you if you want to add information into the registry, you must choose YES.

The next time you restart your program it should be registered in your name or company.

Note: You are not required to enter anything into the registration screen in Release RAM. The above method is required for this special bundle deal.

If your registry file (*.reg) was blocked by your email filters you can use the zip file instead. You will need to use a program such as Winzip ( www.winzip.com ) to open zip files. The zip file contains a copy of your registry file.

How to make floppy setup disks to install on other computers.

There may be ocasions where you want to install this on a computer without Internet, and as the file size is slightly larger than a single 1.44MB floppy disk then the following will help.

You will need two blank floppy disks with 1.44MB capacity.
Using Winzip, open the RRAM2bundle.EXE download file.
Save the following files to disk #1 : setup.exe, setup.lst, rram1.cab
Save to disk #2 : rram2.cab
To begin installation on another computer insert disk #1 and run the setup.exe file.

My computer crashed and I lost my key as I had to reformat my hard disk.

If you for some reason lose your registration key for Release RAM, such as from a hard disk crash or a virus on your system etc and you had to reformat your computer, then contact us (don't order again) and we will do what we can to get you up and running again. You will need to provide us with details of your registration such as your order number if you have a record of it, or your name and email which you registered Release RAM with so we can look you up in our sales records.

Return Policy

If you have any difficulty with the software, please contact our technical support department. If we are unable to resolve the problem we will provide a refund on your purchase.

We provide a 30 days return refund on credit card orders if you find Computer Optimizer/Release RAM does not run on your system as it is supposed to, only after we have attempted to help you with your problem, and not if you simply change your mind about the purchase.

There are occasions where certain hardware or software already on your computer can cause conflicts.

We do not issue returns due to failures in the download process or registration key process as we can provide you with alternative methods. The download file is a permanent file which means if there is a problem downloading it, you can download it anytime later once your internet connection problem has been resolved, or from another computer. If the download file becomes corrupted then you need to download it again. We recommend you use a download manager such as GetRight (www.getright.com) or Gozilla (www.gozilla.com). These programs will resume downloads preventing file corruptions.

We can also email you the download file should you are unable to download it. The download filesize for this software bundle is about 1.8MB

If you are experiencing some problems with Release RAM, please read though the items in this page for a solution before contacting us.

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