Tablet OS glitch has fans crying over spilled ink

A glitch in the latest version of Microsoft's Tablet PC software is causing significant performance problems for those running the new operating system, the company has confirmed.

The bug is in the redesigned virtual ink input menu in Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 2005, released last year. Over time, the panel that handles pen input eats up more and more of a system's resources, choking off computing power needed for other programs.

A Microsoft representative said late Tuesday that the company is aware of the issue, which appears to affect all machines running the latest version of the Tablet OS. The representative said Microsoft hopes to have a fix soon. However, the company did not offer a specific time frame for a solution.

Until a fix is ready, Microsoft is advising those running the OS to reboot their machines daily. The Microsoft representative said that most users already reboot daily and said those who do so are unlikely to notice any performance problems.

The feature in question, known as the Tablet Input Panel, or TIP, was overhauled in the latest version of the tablet software, in an effort to improve pen input from within existing programs. Windows XP Tablet PC has all the functions of standard Windows XP, with the added option of enabling people to use a digital pen to input text, draw graphics or move the cursor.

The revamped input panel and improved overall handwriting recognition were two of the main features Microsoft touted when it launched the affected version of Windows XP Tablet PC. The update, code-named Lonestar, was released last fall alongside Windows XP Service Pack 2.

The memory problem was reported late last month by enthusiast site Tablet PC Talk. The site noted that the program starts out using about 10MB of memory, but that usage can swell to more than 150MB after a couple weeks' continuous use.

[Scottman]

Ink not only thing affected

Since XPSP2, I've had to reboot my system every day - memory use grows and grows and grows with nothing else running. I lose about 100 to 150 MB a day to some mysterious memory leak.

[qazwiz]

temporary plug

Migh I suggest a free program that frees up memory?
I believe the company is named Code-it Software but I'd suggest Googling the program's name "Got Memory"

the guy wrote it to check for leaks in programs that he wrote but it has a button that releases memory somehow. I've repeatedly gone from over 80% usage (of my 512MB) down to the teens (14% typical for me your mileage will vary)

Best money I ever spent. ;->
(REMEMBER it is totally free)