Microsoft Admits WinME Memory Problems
Blatent rip from the Langalist newsletter...
Reader Jim Barrett sent this along:
Hi Fred, I spotted this today and thought it may be of use to
you. By the way, if you're not already a visitor to the
Extremetech website, it looks like something that would be
right up your alley.
"ExtremeTech Readers Uncover a Major Flaw in Microsoft's
Windows ME Operating System Memory Leak Could Potentially Put
Millions of Computers at Risk of Frequent Crashes; Microsoft
Support Confirms They Are Investigating the Problem (
http://www.extremetech.com ), Ziff Davis Internet's site for
hardcore technologists, reported today that its readers have
uncovered a significant flaw in Windows Millennium Edition
(Windows ME), the consumer version of Microsoft's flagship
operating system. The flaw -- a memory leak -- could put
millions of users at risk of frequent crashes. The full story
can be found online in the site's news section at
http://www.extremetech.com/article/0...53D8748,00.asp ..."
"According to the report, Microsoft support has confirmed that
the problem exists and that they are currently researching a
solution. The memory leak occurs when users open large
programs or files in Windows ME and then later close them. By
design Windows is supposed to "recover" the amount of free
memory available to the system for other tasks. However, due
to this leak, Windows ME never actually manages its free
memory properly, thereby leaving a system unstable and highly
vulnerable to freezes, crashes and "blue screens of death."
The problem does not affect any other version of the operating
system."
Thanks, Jim.
There are several errors in the Ziff story. First, WinME isn't
Microsoft's "flagship" OS by a long shot; it's a stopgap OS designed to
generate some extra revenue for Microsoft until the Win9X and NT/2K-
based OS cores merge in the forthcoming XP operating system.
Second, all Win9X operating systems suffer from memory leak problems of
one kind or another; memory leaks in general are not unique to WinME.
However, with this particular OS-level leak, it appears that WinME
actually has regressed to a point where it's worse than earlier versions
of Windows. ("Flagship." Hmmph!) In this area, as in so many others,
Win98SE is a much better home/end-user choice; and Win2K a much better
business-oriented choice.
Core-level memory leaks are hard to fix--- it takes a very low-level
fix, usually from the OS maker, to do the trick. But other memory leaks
can be plugged: See, for example
http://content.techweb.com/winmag/co...er/2000/14.htm .
And there are a number of other things you can do to work around WinME's
many other limitations (see
http://content.techweb.com/winmag/wi...er/default.htm ).
But my best advice still remains: Avoid WinME if you can. It's a dog.
Hi Fred, I spotted this today and thought it may be of use to
you. By the way, if you're not already a visitor to the
Extremetech website, it looks like something that would be
right up your alley.
"ExtremeTech Readers Uncover a Major Flaw in Microsoft's
Windows ME Operating System Memory Leak Could Potentially Put
Millions of Computers at Risk of Frequent Crashes; Microsoft
Support Confirms They Are Investigating the Problem (
http://www.extremetech.com ), Ziff Davis Internet's site for
hardcore technologists, reported today that its readers have
uncovered a significant flaw in Windows Millennium Edition
(Windows ME), the consumer version of Microsoft's flagship
operating system. The flaw -- a memory leak -- could put
millions of users at risk of frequent crashes. The full story
can be found online in the site's news section at
http://www.extremetech.com/article/0...53D8748,00.asp ..."
"According to the report, Microsoft support has confirmed that
the problem exists and that they are currently researching a
solution. The memory leak occurs when users open large
programs or files in Windows ME and then later close them. By
design Windows is supposed to "recover" the amount of free
memory available to the system for other tasks. However, due
to this leak, Windows ME never actually manages its free
memory properly, thereby leaving a system unstable and highly
vulnerable to freezes, crashes and "blue screens of death."
The problem does not affect any other version of the operating
system."
Thanks, Jim.
There are several errors in the Ziff story. First, WinME isn't
Microsoft's "flagship" OS by a long shot; it's a stopgap OS designed to
generate some extra revenue for Microsoft until the Win9X and NT/2K-
based OS cores merge in the forthcoming XP operating system.
Second, all Win9X operating systems suffer from memory leak problems of
one kind or another; memory leaks in general are not unique to WinME.
However, with this particular OS-level leak, it appears that WinME
actually has regressed to a point where it's worse than earlier versions
of Windows. ("Flagship." Hmmph!) In this area, as in so many others,
Win98SE is a much better home/end-user choice; and Win2K a much better
business-oriented choice.
Core-level memory leaks are hard to fix--- it takes a very low-level
fix, usually from the OS maker, to do the trick. But other memory leaks
can be plugged: See, for example
http://content.techweb.com/winmag/co...er/2000/14.htm .
And there are a number of other things you can do to work around WinME's
many other limitations (see
http://content.techweb.com/winmag/wi...er/default.htm ).
But my best advice still remains: Avoid WinME if you can. It's a dog.
stopped working properly... I put Win98SE back on in Febuary and I haven't had to reinstall yet... (6 months is almost a new record for this machine... maybe because I hardly play on it anymore... 
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