Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2011 October 19

= October 19 =

High Memory Usage by IE
Over the past week, I have been getting message stating the there is high memory usage by IE and that it is recommended to close IE and re-start it. Can anyone tell me what this is all about and how to fix it if necessary?

99.250.117.26 (talk) 09:39, 19 October 2011 (UTC)
 * Sounds like a virus attempting to sell you a "fix". What specific version of IE(Under help-> about internet explorer) and windows do you use? i kan reed (talk) 15:26, 19 October 2011 (UTC)

See memory leak for background. When this question was asked on the Microsoft support site, the answer was a pointer to this page. Your best bet might be to increase the amount of memory in your computer, if that is possible, or to upgrade to a more recent version of IE, if that is possible. Looie496 (talk) 16:07, 19 October 2011 (UTC)
 * The message he's referring to is not any standard windows error message I'm aware of since at least windows 2000 onwards. Even remotely recent versions of windows use a swap-file to page large chunks of low-use virtual memory, freeing that space from physical memory.  Very few applications outside of video games directly access physical memory on windows.  On an even remotely modern computer, there is not really such a thing as "running out" of RAM.  It seems likely that this is bogus to me.  Again we might be able to tell more with the precise versions of the software he's using.  The exact text of the error message would be really handy for verifying whether this is a legitimate message as well.  i kan reed (talk) 16:34, 19 October 2011 (UTC)
 * A little Googling suggests that the message might be coming from Norton Internet Security, which includes a performance monitor. Agree that it would be nice to have more specific information about the error message. Looie496 (talk) 19:53, 19 October 2011 (UTC)


 * Note there is a message that appears in both Vista and Windows 7 that warns about memory running low and suggests to close certain programs (those with high usage). However it doesn't sound like what the OP is referring to since it doesn't suggest to restart the programs. There is another message which suggests to close and restart programs, but not specific programs. See for an example of both these messages (note that although the person who's webpage it is disabled the page file the warning doesn't depend on that). There is evidentally another message for when virtual memory is running low  (see Imminent problem) although it's not something I've personally seen. Nil Einne (talk) 21:34, 22 October 2011 (UTC)

Thanks Everyone. If and when it shows up, I will try to get the exact wording before it fades away. I am using IE 8. 99.250.117.26 (talk) 07:35, 20 October 2011 (UTC)

If you're using the free version of AVG antivirus you will sometimes get this message, but you can turn it off in the AVG options page

What is a Reasonable Contention Ratio from My ISP?
I am being marketed at by a few high pressure ISPs notably BT. They all try to sell based on the speed of their internet connections, and some offer unlimited downloads in their price. But it seems to me that a high speed doesn't mean much if there is a massively high contention ratio and I'd love to be able to ask them what their ratio is. The problem is that I have no idea what a low, reasonable, or high ratio would be. Can anyone help please? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Gurumaister (talk • contribs) 10:57, 19 October 2011 (UTC)
 * It's too bad you're in the UK. In the US, our Federal Communication Commission just completed a massive scale analysis of performance on a variety of different factors.  this website will at least give you some numbers for comparison in your search, though overall U.S. bandwidth is generally a little worse than the UK, meaning you should expect more.  i kan reed (talk) 14:45, 19 October 2011 (UTC)
 * BT's contention ratios on ADSL were 20:1 for business and 50:1 for domestic customers. (From experience, I can tell you that neither theoretical speed nor contention ratios mean much if you are connected to your exchange by a long low-quality copper wire!)    D b f i r s   17:19, 19 October 2011 (UTC)
 * This site used to the be place to go to for comparisons of various UK ISPs. Personally, I think the quality of their reviews and comparisons has worsened over the years (it used to list contention ratios, but I can't find that info now), but there might still be some useful information there for you.  I also agree with Dbfirs' point that if you are at the end of a long copper wire, you won't get anything like the advertised speed.  At least my ISP (Plusnet) was honest about this, saying "up to ..."; the speed I actually get isn't such a surprise.  Trouble is, too many people just look over the headlines in the advert and then sign up without ever reading the terms.  Astronaut (talk) 17:50, 19 October 2011 (UTC)

Google's storage
Dear Wikipedians:

I am really confused as to how Google's storage works. They say that if you shell out extra for their storage, the storage you purchase is shared between Gmail, Picasa and Google Docs. However, right now (as a free user), I can clearly see that I can't use the 7GB+ of Gmail storage towards Google Docs purposes. What gives?

Thanks,

L33th4x0r (talk) 13:44, 19 October 2011 (UTC)
 * That's exactly as intended. It's supposed to be a selling point for google's services.  If people pay google once, they don't have to worry about any of their services running dry.  If you want to share storage, you pay them,  it's called an incentive.  i kan reed (talk) 14:40, 19 October 2011 (UTC)
 * Just to clarify each service has a free allowance. If you buy additional storage then this is used by any application that exceeds the free allowance. -- Q Chris (talk) 14:46, 19 October 2011 (UTC)
 * But each service's free allowance is only applicable to that service and cannot be transferred to another service (like using my unused Gmail space for Google Docs?) Wow, this doesn't make a lot of sense. L33th4x0r (talk) 18:30, 19 October 2011 (UTC)
 * They give you some space for each product, but if you want more, you have to pay for it (and as a bonus that space can be used across ALL the services). It's not in their interest to let an free user share the space because then a lot less people would actually buy it.  ZX81    talk  19:06, 19 October 2011 (UTC)

They're basically banking on being able to boast 7GB or whatever of Gmail space while knowing the average user won't even get anywhere near that limit, whereas many users could store 7GB of photos. 192.84.79.2 (talk) 09:14, 20 October 2011 (UTC)


 * Oh well, what can I say, Google is cheap in this regard. No wonder Gmail bans you if you upload a massive amount of files to it in a short period of time (I was trying to use Gmail as a file storage device by splitting up big files into these floppy-disk sized packages using WinRAR and uploading them 10 at a time to Gmail in order not to exceed the attachment limit. And when I'm up to the 180th file Gmail banned me for an hour). Anyways, I guess it's back to Dropbox for me. L33th4x0r (talk) 13:40, 20 October 2011 (UTC)

Internet troubles on gf's computer
So my gf's comp, which runs Windows 7 64-bit Ultimate, is not connecting to the internet. It displays the connectivity issue icon (yellow box with exclamation point) and when she attempts to connect to any wireless network, it does not go through). She has tried restarting, resetting the wireless, running diagnostics, disabling her Comodo Anti-Virus. This is a new problem that she has had in the last two days. Any way Ref Desk can help? Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie &#124; Say Shalom! 21 Tishrei 5772 15:04, 19 October 2011 (UTC)
 * Diagnosing network difficulties is not exactly easy. How do you know the wireless network in question is connected to the Internet?  If you can be certain of that, is it possible the password has changed?  What physical hardware are you using to connect with(Built in laptop radio, dongle, etc)?  i kan reed (talk) 15:25, 19 October 2011 (UTC)


 * Not me, her. I assume it is built in to the laptop given that it is new, and as I have said, she has tried multiple networks, which she would of course have access to (she is not an idiot). Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie &#124; Say Shalom! 21 Tishrei 5772 15:57, 19 October 2011 (UTC)


 * I assume that the networks she has tried are ones that she has previously connected to without difficulty. Windows 7 diagnostics usually sorts the problem if it is software-related, so perhaps there is a hardware problem with the wireless transmitter or receiver (the wireless router status will record bytes sent and received -- are both shown as zero?).  Does the computer connect successfully with a wired connection?    D b f i r s   17:07, 19 October 2011 (UTC)


 * Yep, from the sound of it it was both her home networks and also in her base. She lives and works in Israel as an Air Force Officer, so I can't actually assist her in person atm. She is currently busy, but I will ask her to try a hardwire connection at home (I'm not sure what she can do at her base, if she has her own office). I'll also talk to her about accessing her router, though she seemed to be having trouble with the old http://{IP address} approach. Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie &#124; Say Shalom! 21 Tishrei 5772 17:58, 19 October 2011 (UTC)


 * She tried a direct hookup, but nothing happened. Apparently it is a problem with her IPv4 and 6 and it also says her DNS might not be available. Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie &#124; Say Shalom! 22 Tishrei 5772 04:58, 20 October 2011 (UTC)


 * Anyone? Not sure where else to ask. Everyone in Israel is on holiday atm so she can't take it to her base techies. Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie &#124; Say Shalom! 22 Tishrei 5772 20:28, 20 October 2011 (UTC)
 * If your girlfriend is an officer in the armed forces in Israel, perhaps she could ask a fellow officer (or regular soldier) who is knowledgeable on network setups and computer issues? General "won't connect" problems are extremely hard to diagnose without access to the actual equipment. Franamax (talk) 21:23, 20 October 2011 (UTC)


 * She's kind of at the start of the second day of a three day weekend, and is not anywhere near her base, sadly. :( Ya I know what you mean about that. Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie &#124; Say Shalom! 23 Tishrei 5772 00:07, 21 October 2011 (UTC)


 * And when I think about it, she might not be allowed to do that. Her comp contains confidential items. She was able to connect on her comp last night though, but the connexion cut out every now and then however. Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie &#124; Say Shalom! 23 Tishrei 5772 16:50, 21 October 2011 (UTC)

Why you have to waggle in sports games
I have never encountered an explanation about why you have to waggle in sports games, but I have a theory about it. In contrast to platform games, which test your dexterity, or puzzle games, which test your cleverness, sports games are suppose to test your physical strength. But physical strength is inherently a real-world attribute and cannot be transmitted via a computer controller. It would be all too easy to win every single event just by keeping the controller held in one direction continuously. So to actually present a challenge, sports games require the player to waggle their controller from one direction to another. Am I correct here? J I P &#124; Talk 19:36, 19 October 2011 (UTC)
 * Isn't it more likely to be about reflexes, which can be tested on a computer, than strength, which cannot? Bielle (talk) 19:40, 19 October 2011 (UTC)
 * I haven't noticed anything different when it comes to playing a sports game versus other action video games. What do you mean by "waggle their controller"? &mdash;Akrabbimtalk 20:47, 19 October 2011 (UTC)


 * I can't speak for modern sports games, but the running simulation of ancient games like Hyper Sports was something of a simple rhythm game - one pushed the left button for the left foot, the right for the right foot, and had to do this repeatedly in order (LRLRLR) to run. If one missed the rhythm, or missed a footfall (LRLRLLR) the running figure stumbled a little and slowed down. As the player picked up speed, the required cadence increased. In combination with the action button (for events like javelin) there was some skill involved, and a good run-up and throw "felt" rhythmically correct.  When these arcade (button) games were ported to home computers the left/right action was often implemented using the (digital) joystick, where the player waggled the stick back and forward. This all remained an exercise of rhythm and coordination (and Hyper Sports on the C64 was just as playable as its arcade equivalent had been). Other games tried to extend this control scheme to longer running events - Summer Games had a fairly lengthy swimming section, and Daley Thompson's Decathlon has the 1500m. That last one was more an endurance challenge than anything, as maintaining the high cadence needed to win over the several minutes it took to run was tiring (and rough both on the palms and the joystick). -- Finlay McWalterჷTalk 21:28, 19 October 2011 (UTC)


 * The most extreme (and entirely ridiculous) example of this is QWOP, where getting the rhythm needed to run a single footstep is quite an achievement. -- Finlay McWalterჷTalk 21:30, 19 October 2011 (UTC)


 * Waggle certainly isn't unique to sports games. A lot of Wii and PS3 games have waggle elements. Even somewhat serious games like Resident Evil. It's an easy to detect motion gesture, so it gets used a lot. APL (talk) 00:09, 20 October 2011 (UTC)


 * I don't actually know what JIP means by "waggle" &mdash; does this mean the motion detection of Sixaxis and Wii controllers where the player actually tilts the entire controller left and right rapidly? In any case, I don't agree with the original claim that sports games are "supposed to" test physical strength; this is obviously untrue; and just as in almost every other category of computer game, dexterity (especially getting the timing of a jump or a juke right) is a proxy for the physical strength of the character.  Comet Tuttle (talk) 17:59, 20 October 2011 (UTC)
 * By "waggle" I mean repeatedly moving the controller (usually a joystick) left and right. Various sports games mentioned in this very section have been known to break joysticks because of extensive waggling. In a platform game, to move your character right, all you have to do is hold the controller to the right. But in sports games, that won't do, instead you have to waggle the controller between left and right all the time. Your comment about timing a jump or a juke right is of course true for such events, but what about events that only consist of running? If it weren't for the "waggle", wouldn't they just consist of keeping your controller held right all the time? J I P  &#124; Talk 22:21, 20 October 2011 (UTC)