Cache?

[Fezz]

Ok...I fully admit to being a computer IDIOT!

My work computer just displayed somethaing about running low on CACHE!

I screamed....no *--bleeped--* I know I am low on CASH!

Then I realized that arguing was not helping!

What can I do!
Thanks!

:cheers::cheers::cheers:

[icare]

I've built a dozen or so PCs but am no expert. I'd start swapping out system memory sticks now and see if the situation improves or a fault is repeatable. If you get an audible beep, there is actually a code to the number of beeps and the type of fault. That is normally part of the startup routine, however.

It's worth a shot. Good luck.

[barryh66]

I am going to assume your running some form of windows and in windows the hard drive is used to cache running programs. If you check you are must likely runing low on Harddisk space but this is a % of acual size of ram I think it's 8X your ram. So you need to clean old files and ie cache. This should help and make your system run faster.

[Fezz]

Ok guys......slow down a bit/byte!

I AM NOT UNDERSTANDING WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT.

My thinking leads me to believe that:

I have used up the short term memory and I need to tidy or clean things up. I would think that I probably have a bunch of website garbage, cookies, and junk taking up a lot of space. How can I *Safely* discard/clean and tidy up the memory without ******ing up everything?

Again...talk in simpleton terms people.

Thanks all for helping!

[icare]

1. Go through your Start Menu, find Disk Cleanup and click on it.
2. On the upper tabs, click on the right one that says More Options.
3. On the lower right in the System Restore area, click Clean Up and agree to clean up all but the most recent restore points.
4. Wait a moment for it to complete the task.
5. Then click the upper left tab and select Disk Cleanup.
6. Review the check list for the items you wish to remove and click OK.

That will free up as much space as you can get from your system without removing programs and data.

barryh66 makes good points and your hard drive may simply be too small. Do you know how to check the drive's usage?

Do yourself a favor and don't run the Disk Defragmenter as some might suggest. Disk Defragmenter is an old utility that is poorly designed and can juggle your operating system irreparably.

If the memory tests I suggested above are beyond you, you may want to find a techie to scout it out for you.

[fjpod]

Again, assuming you are running windows xp or vista, go to ADD/REMOVE PROGRAMS. Get rid of anything significant that you absolutely don't need.

If this doesn't work, there is another function in windows that may help. I am in my Linux system right now, so I am doing this from memory. Go to Control Panel, then System. In one of the tabs, I think it is Advanced, there is a setting for either "system managed memory or cache". Make sure everything is set on "Let Windows decide" or automatic.

[pixels]

Or try, Internet Properties-Delete Browsing History-Delete All-OK

[wombat]

Sometimes you get that message because one program has gone rogue and eaten much more than its fair share of memory. Do the control-alt-delete and bring up Task Manager, and click on the Performance tab. Physical Memory is how much real memory there is in your computer, Commit Charge is how much memory Windows is actually using. If Windows needs more memory than is available from the "real" memory, it will start swapping stuff from memory to a swap file on the hard drive. When this happens you'll see a lot of hard drive activity. If the default swap file is too small, or you're low on disk space, some error message may pop up.

Also in Task Manager, you can click on the Processes tab, then click on Mem Usage, and that'll show which programs and processes are consuming the most memory; CPU shows which are using the most processor activity. Sometimes you'll see programs you've previously shut down, still running somehow as ghosts. Right-clicking on them and selecting "End Process" may allow you to close them. This can also be useful if a program has locked up. Or you can do the same from the Applications tab, and "End Task" button.

Processes can also help you find spyware... when I had an infection, the bad programs nearly all had names that just looked "wrong" and stood out from the normal stuff. Googling for the name of a process should help you understand what it is. If no hits come up at all, it may be a randomly generated filename due to spyware or some other infection. Time to do a thorough check of the system.

Finally, if you see some error message and don't understand the significance, the best thing is to copy a portion of it down exactly, then google for that exact phrase, then see which results apply to your situation.

[Fezz]

Thanks all for the help. I have removed some of the browsing history, etc. I haven't ruined the system yet!

I really appreciate the advice folks! Thanks again!

:cheers::cheers::cheers::cheers::cheers: