19-21LESSON 2 USING THE PERFORMANCE CONSOLEIF YOU DISCOVER A BOTTLENEC...
19
-
21Lesson 2
Using the Performance Console
If you discover a bottleneck on your computer, here are some basic suggestions to helpyou solve the problem:■
If paging values are high (meaning that Windows is transferring pages of informa-tion from physical memory to disk more than you would expect), identify pro-cesses that are using the most memory. To do this, use the Processes tab of TaskManager and sort by the Mem Usage column. Stop any unnecessary applicationsor processes, and consider disabling the underlying service. For example, if a pro-gram running in the background uses a lot of memory and it is a program you donot really need, disable the program from starting with Windows.■
If you see high processor utilization, see if you can determine which applicationsare consuming the most processor time. To do this, use the Processes tab of TaskManager and sort by the CPU column. If you do not need an application that isconsuming processor time, close the application. If an application seems to beconsuming too much processor time for a long period (in other words, not justwhen the program is starting up or performing an intensive process), there mightbe a problem with the application. Stop the application and start it again, or restartthe computer and then restart the application. If the application continues to con-sume excessive amounts of processor time, there might be a problem with theapplication.■
If you continue to see high processor utilization, and the programs consuming themost processor time are programs you use regularly, you should consider upgrad-ing to a faster processor.■
If you have programs consuming processor time that are multithreaded programs,consider installing a second processor. You can often gain more effective speedwith a dual processor configuration than with a faster single processor.■
If you see high processor utilization, but do not discover that programs are con-suming too much processor time, you should use System Monitor to check the %Interrupts value. It is possible that a malfunctioning piece of hardware is trying toooften to interrupt the processor.■
If you see a high disk queue value, but do not see high paging file use, the bot-tleneck is more likely a slow hard disk than low memory. Consider adding a fasterdisk.■
Never make more than one change at a time when trying to resolve a bottleneck,and always repeat monitoring to verify that the change you made actuallyimproved the situation.