system resources in 2k?

something i've wondered for a while, but never asked...

is there any way to look up your system resources in win2k pro?

the first thing i check when someone calls me for help with a computer is to find out what their system resources % is at (all consumers, using win9x kernel based os'es). from what i understand, the system resources is actually an indicator of the small chunk of memory that programs reside in (could be way off).

now, i know 2k is nt based, and thought that perhaps the system resources in 9x based os is actually similar to upper or higher memory in dos, since the 9x os'es are based on dos.

so... does 2k even work the same way when it comes to dos/9x? if it does, is there a way to look at the status of it?

thnx

Task Manager, Performance tab.

I don't see it in the Task Manager...

You can also use Sisoft Sandra and its one of the memory options.

unfortunately taskmanager will only show your physical memory, kernel memory, commit charge, and totals (handles, threads, processes), cpu useage and mem usage.

also looks like (in my version of sandra) all i see is % of free memory (total). not the system resources.

am i even correct in saying that the system resources are like the old dos higher memory (upper memory?). i remember it had a base memory of 512k (or was it 640?) and everything else was considered extended memory. the proggies you ran had to all fit in the base memory, but would use extended memory once the program was up and running.

i'm fairly certain that it's a relatively small chunk of memory. due to the fact that you can take a computer with 32 megs of ram (win9x) and have it reporting 80% free system resources, then add another 128 to it and still have the same resources.

system resources tend to be based on the # of programs you have running (in win9x, everything you see when you ctrl+alt+del is using a bit of your resources up). i find that 3/4 of the calls i take for tech support are resolved by having the person run msconfig and turning off all the crap that loads automatically at startup, thus bringing them from 75% or lower resources, up to 80% or more. (from my experiences, below 80% windows start to bug out).

I'ts not presented in the same manner as 98, it's in real-time in the form of the 4 boxes at the bottom.

If you want a percentage in the same manner of Win98 then take the total physical memory amount, subtract it by the available amount and then divide that by the total amount again.

Total Amount - Available amount/Total Amount=%Free Resources.

sorry, i edited my post right after, then you posted while i was editing... does the extra few paragraphs i added make sense?

let's see if i can slip this edit in before someone posts, heh...

also i noted that when running win9x, using the system monitor (or whatever that proggie is that monitors your memory/cpu/etc useage) that when ctrl+alt+del and endtasking all the extra proggies that dont need to be used... the memory itself stays almost the same, but the system resources go up.

Think you might be referring to the kernel memory commitment in your comparison to 98...sounds the closest to where I think you're getting at.

Memory management is handled entirely different in Win2K than it was in 98 and I wouldn't even know where to begin to explain what those differences are. Win2K runs most all programs in its own memory space where 98 ran it all in the same "chunk" as you put it. This is one of the single largest reasons for Win2K's stability over 98. Win2K starts its kernel and then each and every service required to run in its own memory space as well. When one of these craps out (considering it's not a fatal error) it simply kills itself and restarts in another memory space...all others go unaffected (other than any dependant services). Win98 could not do this. You either got a BSOD or the system would hang.

It's really hard to explain. I'll see if I can find some technical documents that might help make sense of it all. I do know what you're saying though.

hey, thnx for the insight.

i knew a small bit about the nt os having/releaseing it's memory separately. and that could very well be the difference i'm wondering about.

if you ever get a chance to look into a *ugh* win9x machine. just hold the windows key and press pause. if you go to the last tab (performance, i think?) it shows the system resources. and windows literally craps out when it doesn't have 70% or more (altho usually gets fidgety at under 80%).

i agree with 2k being much more stable, i use 2k on my home system and several at work. just thought it'd be interesting to know if 2k had anything similar to give a good indicator that it may be too "crowded" with proggies. however, i haven't really had any complaints or problems with stability with 2k that were fixed by closing down all the extra programs, so it's probably not relavant like you said.

thnx again