Ubuntu – Where has all the RAM gone

11.04memory usageprocessramunity

I have 1GB of RAM, and when I run NetBeans and Firefox, they get about 300MB of RAM. At some point, the system becomes very slow, probably 100 times slower than normal, switching windows (Alt+Tab) becomes a huge task and the computer is practically useless. This is probably the moment when it starts to swap.

Two questions:

  1. According to images provided, where has all the RAM gone? When I calculate all the processes memory, it is far smaller then 1GB.
  2. Is it normal for system to become 100 times slower when the RAM is full and using swap space?

On another computer with 4GB of RAM I have no problems.

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Update: I added 2GB of RAM, now I have 3GB. Anyone who wants to use heavy apps with 1GB on Unity, I don't think it's going to work. Works fine on an empty desktop 🙂

Best Answer

  1. Under View make sure you have selected All Processes :

    enter image description here

  2. Yes, that's normal. Swap space on a hard drive is muuuuuch slower than RAM.

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