Re: NT/2k/XP are still very limited in the max number of simultaneous applications

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From: Cyber-Hun (th54_at_hotmail.com)
Date: 01/03/05 

Date: Mon, 03 Jan 2005 03:02:19 GMT

Anyone who even attempts to have 30 instances of an application open is
using something in a way that it wasn't supposed to used (one app can have
30 documents open, but, for instance, having 30 instances of MS word open is
ludicrous). How can you not expect trouble having 30 applications open, and
then trying to open more?!?

"Marco Venturi" <marco@venturi.com> wrote in message
news:41d5a98a$1_4@127.0.0.1...
> Hi all!
>
> I am a Windows power user and I always had, even with different PC and RAM
> quantity, a problem recurring atleast one time a day: when I have opened
> more than 20-30 programs, the opening of new windows/programs doesn't have
> effect or gives progressively strange effects (i.e. windows without menu
> and
> buttons) till it doesn't do anything anymore.
>
> In this precise moment it's happening on my XP.
> My strong suspect is that this has always been an internal software
> limitation (connected to the limited size of resource heaps) of Windows
> NT/2K/XP, as when in Windows 3.x/9x/ME one got the "insufficient memory"
> error.
>
> My Task Manager is showing the following data and I can't open even little
> applications without closing some application before:
>
> Totals:
> Handles: 23194
> Threads: 1249
> Processes: 74
>
> Physical Memory (K):
> Total: 752016
> Available: 154048
> System Cache: 230176
>
> Commit Charge (K):
> Total: 1367024
> Limit: 1871520
> Peak: 1448860
>
> Kernel Memory (K):
> Total: 182012
> Paged: 158696
> Nonpaged: 23316
>
> Anyway I don't think there's a strict relation of this problem with the
> total physical memory or the total physical+virtual memory. I think more
> that it's an intrinsic Windows limitation. I think that it's a matter of
> system resources/resource heaps instead of memory, as this article
> describes
> well: http://aumha.org/win4/a/resource.php (System Resources FAQ).
>
> In the case I try to launch a graphic Win16 application I get the explicit
> error: "The Win 16 Subsystem has insufficient resources to continue
> running.
> Click on OK, close your applications, and restart your machine."
> Fortunately
> it's normally sufficient to close some application, without restarting, to
> come back to use the program.
> Setting this application to "Run in separate memory space" or setting it
> in
> Compatibility Mode 9x doesn't solve.
>
> I'ld like to find a document with the "ultimate" explanation of how is
> this
> limitation in Windows XP (NOT an old document regarding 3.x/9x/ME nor NT)
> and to find the way to increase the number of application I can open
> simultaneously or, if this is not possible, how and how much in the future
> this limitation will be enhanced by Microsoft in future versions of
> Windows.
> Does someone know something about all this?
>
> I found this software that could help for win 16 programs but it's too
> old:
> http://www.qualitas.com/tech/max/goahead.htm.
> and I found this opinion on the net: "Ron M. replies: RAM Defrag programs
> are totally useless and cannot perform any beneficial function for any
> computer. Period. All RAM addresses are equally accessible and there is
> zero
> difference in the time required to access addresses at the opposite ends
> of
> the RAM address range as compared to adjacent addresses. Both are
> virtually
> instantaneous.
> Also "system resources" as the term was used in Windows 95/98/Me are
> totally
> irrelevant in Windows XP because XP uses 32 bit resource heaps
> exclusively."
>
> Marco Venturi
>
>
>
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