Problem with swapping - computer crash.

[Marko Cehaja <marko@perlbroker.2y.net>]

I have serious problem with swap file, since I changed from potato
to slink.

I have 128 MB memory and have about 75 MB swap file. 

There were just 4-5 programs in memory, taking about 80-100 MB, which
are Netscape, Gimp, rxvt+mc, mutt.

Usually there is no problem, but then about 5 o'clock when cron jobs
start working, memory is filled up somehow, and my X becomes so slow,
that I cannot switch to console any more to kill some programs.

Everything becomes so slow, and hard disk is working and working...
On every single text console I get messages how it couldn't swap the
memory or find the free page for that.

My computer already crashed 2 times because of that, and I loose data
from partitions - because not even Magic keys with SysRq work like it
should be, and I cannot give halt command or ctrl-alt-del. Only the
hard drive works like mad.

I have seen that swap file is being filled over few days, but it doesn't 
free itself, when programs don't run anymore. 

Does somebody know how to free the swap? Or someone knows how to take
some steps to ensure that used memory will not come to this death range.


Sincerely,
Marko Cehaja