Run away memory usage

Questions about applications and software
Forum rules
Before you post read how to get help. Topics in this forum are automatically closed 6 months after creation.
Locked
quaestor

Run away memory usage

Post by quaestor »

Hi all,

I'm a long time Ubuntu user but I've just installed Mint 13 xfce. I've run into a strange memory usage situation that I'm hoping someone can help me diagnose.

Some background info first:
System ram is 1GB
Swap is 1GB
Idle ram usage hovers around 250-350MB

I'll open an application (in this case a small video game called FTL) and the system will grind to a halt from all the swapping going on.

Using top, I can see the application is only using 8-10% of the system ram. However, total ram usage grows until all system ram is used plus 200-300MB of swap is used.

I'd suspect a memory leak or something except for the fact that the application memory usage remains 8-10%.

This same application had no difficulty on the same hardware running Ubuntu 10.04.

Any thoughts on what I can do to get to the bottom of this problem?

Thanks in advance!
Last edited by LockBot on Wed Dec 28, 2022 7:16 am, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Topic automatically closed 6 months after creation. New replies are no longer allowed.
jaythespacehound

Re: Run away memory usage

Post by jaythespacehound »

Looking at top what processes are using the rest of the RAM?
You can sort by memory usage by hitting F (capital) and then n (usually).
User avatar
xenopeek
Level 25
Level 25
Posts: 29459
Joined: Wed Jul 06, 2011 3:58 am

Re: Run away memory usage

Post by xenopeek »

You can reduce swappiness setting, and this will delay the usage of swap till just before it is really needed. By default swappiness is set to keep a large of pool of memory readily available, and so starts swapping much earlier than strictly needed. See here: http://community.linuxmint.com/tutorial/view/998

Also, did you install 32 bit or 64 bit edition? I hope you will answer 32 bit. The 64 bit edition can use up to 30% more memory per application. That is as expected and as designed, and not a problem for users with some more RAM (from 4 GiB up I'd say) but with only 1 GiB RAM it's not very handy.
Image
quaestor

Re: Run away memory usage

Post by quaestor »

Jay,

Thanks for the suggestion. That's what I was doing to find what was going on but FTL is the only application that appears to be using extra memory.

Here is the output from top while FTL is running:

Code: Select all

top - 11:10:47 up 9 min,  2 users,  load average: 1.62, 1.76, 0.95
Tasks: 141 total,   1 running, 140 sleeping,   0 stopped,   0 zombie
Cpu(s): 15.6%us,  6.8%sy,  0.0%ni, 77.6%id,  0.0%wa,  0.0%hi,  0.0%si,  0.0%st
Mem:   1015896k total,   913268k used,   102628k free,     9656k buffers
Swap:  1037308k total,   439624k used,   597684k free,   643880k cached

  PID USER      PR  NI  VIRT  RES  SHR S %CPU %MEM    TIME+  COMMAND            
 2083 quaestor  20   0 1200m  81m  12m S   27  8.3   0:50.29 FTL                
 2134 quaestor  20   0  153m  16m  12m S    0  1.7   0:02.29 gedit              
 1622 quaestor  20   0 57900  11m 2452 S    0  1.1   0:00.42 mintUpdate         
 1633 quaestor  20   0 36476  10m 2444 S    0  1.0   0:00.27 wicd-client        
 1233 root      20   0 53480 9972 4052 S    6  1.0   0:17.68 Xorg               
 1635 quaestor  20   0 42556 9716 2120 S    0  1.0   0:00.28 applet.py          
 2124 quaestor  20   0 24664 9344 7560 S    0  0.9   0:00.46 xfwm4              
 1997 quaestor  20   0  144m 8700 5512 S    4  0.9   0:01.99 gnome-terminal     
 1597 quaestor  20   0  120m 8544 5392 S    0  0.8   0:01.60 xfce4-panel        
 1599 quaestor  20   0  120m 8304 5452 S    0  0.8   0:00.58 Thunar             
 1601 quaestor  20   0  121m 7124 4580 S    0  0.7   0:03.12 xfdesktop          
 1191 root      20   0 25900 6568 1420 S    0  0.6   0:01.09 wicd               
 1631 quaestor  20   0  214m 5416 2896 S    0  0.5   0:00.18 nm-applet          
 1264 root      20   0 15264 4852  936 S    0  0.5   0:00.36 wicd-monitor       
 1706 quaestor  20   0  133m 4440 2540 S    0  0.4   0:00.15 xfce4-indicator    
 1711 quaestor  20   0 22620 4220 2928 S    0  0.4   0:00.06 panel-5-datetim    
 1638 quaestor   9 -11  162m 4060 2564 S    9  0.4   0:14.75 pulseaudio         
 1625 quaestor  20   0  115m 4052 2488 S    0  0.4   0:00.12 xfce4-power-man    
 1674 quaestor  20   0  106m 4044 2512 S    0  0.4   0:00.08 xfce4-places-pl    
 1710 quaestor  20   0 21572 3360 2224 S    0  0.3   0:00.07 panel-6-systray    
 1507 quaestor  20   0 31492 3212 2108 S    0  0.3   0:00.10 x-session-manag    
 1726 quaestor  20   0 40264 2884  300 S    0  0.3   0:00.14 tumblerd           
 1659 quaestor  20   0 23736 2860 1488 S    0  0.3   0:00.10 xfsettingsd        
 1662 quaestor  20   0 40188 2440 1288 S    0  0.2   0:00.04 notify-osd         
  853 root      20   0 32240 2336 1512 S    0  0.2   0:00.25 NetworkManager     
 2140 quaestor  20   0 33516 2244 1888 S    0  0.2   0:00.02 dconf-service      
 1605 quaestor  20   0 30304 2180 1088 S    0  0.2   0:00.05 polkit-gnome-au    
 2003 quaestor  20   0  8512 2072    0 S    0  0.2   0:00.41 bash               
 1613 quaestor  20   0 12084 2056  344 S    0  0.2   0:00.02 mintupdate-laun    
 1863 quaestor  20   0  124m 1940  848 S    0  0.2   0:00.10 indicator-sound    
  860 root      20   0 25380 1692  684 S    0  0.2   0:00.17 polkitd            
 1135 whoopsie  20   0 25836 1676  728 S    0  0.2   0:00.03 whoopsie           
 1587 quaestor  20   0  4864 1588  392 S    0  0.2   0:00.31 dbus-daemon        
 1642 quaestor  20   0 10652 1540  416 S    0  0.2   0:00.06 gconfd-2           
 1671 root      20   0 28428 1352  668 S    0  0.1   0:00.08 upowerd            
 1434 root      20   0 30148 1324  700 S    0  0.1   0:00.06 console-kit-dae    
 1227 root      20   0 21448 1268  268 S    0  0.1   0:00.09 mdm  
And after FTL is closed:

Code: Select all

top - 11:11:44 up 10 min,  2 users,  load average: 1.08, 1.59, 0.94
Tasks: 138 total,   1 running, 137 sleeping,   0 stopped,   0 zombie
Cpu(s):  4.8%us,  2.4%sy,  0.0%ni, 92.7%id,  0.0%wa,  0.0%hi,  0.0%si,  0.0%st
Mem:   1015896k total,   307504k used,   708392k free,     9672k buffers
Swap:  1037308k total,     8484k used,  1028824k free,   149112k cached

  PID USER      PR  NI  VIRT  RES  SHR S %CPU %MEM    TIME+  COMMAND            
 2134 quaestor  20   0  153m  16m  12m S    0  1.7   0:03.25 gedit              
 1622 quaestor  20   0 57900  11m 2452 S    0  1.1   0:00.42 mintUpdate         
 1633 quaestor  20   0 36476  10m 2444 S    0  1.0   0:00.27 wicd-client        
 1233 root      20   0 53336 9.8m 4080 S    3  1.0   0:19.68 Xorg               
 1635 quaestor  20   0 42556 9716 2120 S    0  1.0   0:00.28 applet.py          
 2124 quaestor  20   0 24664 9344 7560 S    0  0.9   0:00.48 xfwm4              
 1997 quaestor  20   0  144m 8700 5512 S    4  0.9   0:02.41 gnome-terminal     
 1599 quaestor  20   0  120m 8596 5744 S    0  0.8   0:00.61 Thunar             
 1597 quaestor  20   0  120m 8544 5392 S    0  0.8   0:01.71 xfce4-panel        
 1601 quaestor  20   0  121m 7384 4840 S    0  0.7   0:03.13 xfdesktop          
 1191 root      20   0 25900 6568 1420 S    0  0.6   0:01.16 wicd               
 1631 quaestor  20   0  214m 5676 3156 S    0  0.6   0:00.18 nm-applet          
 1264 root      20   0 15264 4852  936 S    0  0.5   0:00.38 wicd-monitor       
 1706 quaestor  20   0  133m 4440 2540 S    0  0.4   0:00.15 xfce4-indicator    
 1625 quaestor  20   0  115m 4316 2752 S    0  0.4   0:00.12 xfce4-power-man    
 1711 quaestor  20   0 22620 4220 2928 S    0  0.4   0:00.07 panel-5-datetim    
 1674 quaestor  20   0  106m 4044 2512 S    0  0.4   0:00.08 xfce4-places-pl    
 1638 quaestor   9 -11 98.5m 3472 1976 S    0  0.3   0:17.72 pulseaudio         
 1710 quaestor  20   0 21572 3360 2224 S    0  0.3   0:00.07 panel-6-systray    
 1507 quaestor  20   0 31492 3212 2108 S    0  0.3   0:00.10 x-session-manag    
 1726 quaestor  20   0 40264 2884  300 S    0  0.3   0:00.14 tumblerd           
 1659 quaestor  20   0 23736 2860 1488 S    0  0.3   0:00.11 xfsettingsd        
 1863 quaestor  20   0  124m 2448 1348 S    0  0.2   0:00.11 indicator-sound    
 1605 quaestor  20   0 30304 2440 1348 S    0  0.2   0:00.05 polkit-gnome-au    
 1662 quaestor  20   0 40188 2440 1288 S    0  0.2   0:00.04 notify-osd         
  853 root      20   0 32240 2336 1512 S    0  0.2   0:00.27 NetworkManager     
 2140 quaestor  20   0 33516 2244 1888 S    0  0.2   0:00.02 dconf-service      
 2003 quaestor  20   0  8512 2072    0 S    0  0.2   0:00.41 bash               
 1613 quaestor  20   0 12084 2056  344 S    0  0.2   0:00.02 mintupdate-laun    
  860 root      20   0 25380 1692  684 S    0  0.2   0:00.17 polkitd            
 1135 whoopsie  20   0 25836 1676  728 S    0  0.2   0:00.04 whoopsie           
 1587 quaestor  20   0  4864 1588  392 S    0  0.2   0:00.31 dbus-daemon        
 1642 quaestor  20   0 10652 1540  416 S    0  0.2   0:00.06 gconfd-2           
 1671 root      20   0 28428 1352  668 S    0  0.1   0:00.08 upowerd            
 1434 root      20   0 30148 1324  700 S    0  0.1   0:00.06 console-kit-dae    
 1227 root      20   0 21448 1268  268 S    0  0.1   0:00.09 mdm                
 1718 quaestor  20   0 11092 1196  652 S    0  0.1   0:00.04 gvfs-gdu-volume   
quaestor

Re: Run away memory usage

Post by quaestor »

Vincent,

Thanks for the reply.

I tried a number of swappiness settings but it simply changed how quickly the system degraded. It doesn't change the fact that top reports FTL is only using 100-150MB yet about 1GB seems to be allocated.

I am running the 32bit version.
palo
Level 4
Level 4
Posts: 476
Joined: Mon Jun 25, 2012 7:28 am
Location: Walking on sunshine

Re: Run away memory usage

Post by palo »

2083 quaestor 20 0 1200m 81m 12m S 27 8.3 0:50.29 FTL
Quaestor > I am only guessing here but if (hoping) you are multi-booting with the setup where you do not have the problem do you also see the high virtual memory - guessing not. More important - what is the Java version difference between the 2 setups.

Code: Select all

java -version
Pat
quaestor

Re: Run away memory usage

Post by quaestor »

Fixed by installing Debian 6 :)
Locked

Return to “Software & Applications”