I'm running mandrake 9.0 on a AMD XP 1600 256Mb DDR RAM

My memory usage seems to be very high at around 210 - 220 Mb when I'm not running anything. This is the same for both Gnome and KDE. This is a fresh installation. There is no swap file usage.

Is this normal??

Jon

As long as it's doing okay don't worry about it. I'm a newbie too, and I've noticed Linux seems to be using lots of memory when it's not doing much, sometimes even in console mode. But when I need the memory, it's always there. It's like it's holding on to things you have run, not letting go until you need it for something else. Witness xwindows starts quicker after the first time.
Nevertheless, I love the way Linux handles memory compared to Windows.
I run Mandrake Linux 9.0 too, on 128mb ram and 233mhz. KDE and Gnome are very hungry, I use Icewm. I can still run the KDE programs, althouh I have had to add them to my icewm menu.
Hope this helps.

Linux use all memory he can get (if you have a lot of memory, why not using it) but it will empty it if a big application ask for ressource. Linux handle the memory very well. If your system stay open for a long time (more than 5 days) it can be a good idea the restart X to fill out the memory. You will probably free up 50-60MB.
Swap is used principaly for files transfert I think.

Cheers.. Thanks thats a great help