Number 213 - February 2001

Monitoring System Performance
by Bob Thomson
There are freeware applications you can run on your Windows 9.x machine to monitor how various system components are performing. One, which we have mentioned before1, is part of the Windows package. It is called the Resource Meter and is invoked by clicking Start/Programs/System Tools and selecting ResourceMeter in the drop down list. If it isn't there you may have to load it from your Windows CD. After you find it on the list you can drag the icon onto your desktop if your want an easy way to run it from time to time. When you do run it, it places a small box in the System Tray displaying three green bars. As System Resources are used up the number of bars is reduced. When resources become dangerously low the color changes from green to yellow then red, warning you that you have too much running in the background	and should shut something down. Move the mouse over the box to see percentage usage.     Another freeware application that does a similar task is FreeMeter v 2.4.1 which can be downloaded from ZDNet or SoftSeek, for example. It also places an icon in the System Tray but its onscreen display is much larger taking up about half the screen. However, its red, yellow and green bar displays have the opposite meaning, namely: red is good 95% or better, yellow is 90% or better, and green is less than 90%. Go figure!     Personally, I prefer the less obtrusive System Resources box.     1 "Hang On to Those Resources" - p. 3, July 2000 TOGGLE
Number 213 - February 2001