any tips to reduce vista ram usage?

i have a laptop with vista business and 3 gig of ram and the side bar says that my ram usage is like 40% when i just do normal stuff(browsing with firefox and chattin on msn at the same time),i know vista is a resource hog so does anyone have tips to reduce that?like turning of aero and stuff…thanks
Answer #1
40% isnt using much really, but you can get a program which helps reduce memory usage, also manage startup programs and make sure nothing is loading that shouldnt be, becuase it will be using extra ram
Answer #2
Nothing wrong, seems normal its the same case here
Answer #3
One of the best most non intrusive ways of sorting this problem out is to follow this guide:
http://members.rushmore.com/~jsky/id31.html
lost count how many times ive recommended that place lol.
basically read through it, it describes how to disable Vista services that you might not ever need (such as a fax service you never use, a printer that you dont have).
Also, a point here is that Vista runs a feature called “Superfetch” where it preloads data into available ram, based on what it thinks you might want to do next.
This can be quite beneficial, but disabling it would take a big chunk off the ram usage – but its not recommended to take it off.
Read the guide n good luck
Answer #4
Yeh as said 40% isnt alot of ram usage as you have firefox and msn running aswell, seems normal to me.
Answer #5
Another one to add to my list thanks.
Answer #6
Plus u can use Aero with Firefox and MSN!it is normal level of RAM!
Answer #7
Vista is quite clever in the fact that it learns what programmes you use the most over a period of time and “prcaches” important parts of them into memory on boot up for quicker loading times.
It’s completely normal for vista to suck up a lot of unused RAM when on idle.
If it come to you needing the additional RAM for a certain programme, Vista will release some of the “precache” for you, then reload it when you finished what you doing (gaming/editing whatever)
When I jumped from 2 to 4 gig of RAM the average usage stayed the same on idle, around the 40% mark. In fact as of now it is on 42%,
If I where you I would not bother trying to use any programme to “free” up you RAM as will will only slow your system as a whole because Vista will start to precache again what you released. Make sense?