virtual memory?

Question

What is virtual memory ? ....Why does my lap top say virtual memory is low ?....is this serious or important.....? Have I caused the problem ?....Should I be doing something to avoid this happening or is it just part of the system I need not worry about as it does correct itself... I do hope so. Thankyou.

Answer 1

Virtual memory is what your computer uses when it runs out of static memory or RAM. You can find out how much RAM you have by right clicking MY COMPUTER--PROPERTIES and it will say towards the bottom 128MB or 512MB. Windows XP runs best on 384MB or higher. A memory upgrade is a simple do-it yourself job and you can add memory by going to your local PC store. If you are getting the little yellow yield sign in the system tray by the clock, many times I have seen this to be a cause of SPYWARE, hidden programs are sapping your Virtual Memory. Update your antivirus software and run Spybot 1.4 (free at www.downloads.com)

Answer 2

Virtual memeory, also known as the paging file, is a portion of hard disc space Windows uses to write unused data in real life physical RAM to, thus freeing up the RAM for more data.
To alter how Windows does this, right click 'My Computer', choose 'Properties' then the 'Advanced' tab, click the 'Settings' button in the Performance section, go to 'Advanced' and at the bottom of that section is the 'Change' button, which takes you into the configuration. As a rule of thumb, virtual RAM should be 1 1/2 to 2 times the amount of physical RAM you have, but this isn't a hard and fast rule, you can use a higher or lower value and see if things improve. It's also worthwhile setting the minimum and maximum values to the same figure, then Windows doesn't have to reconfigure the page file as it fills up.
The advice about adding more physical RAM is the cheapest upgrade you'll ever do to a PC, the more the merrier, but remember to increase the Virtual Memory settings if you add more.

Answer 3

for a program to run, it needs its data to be loaded entirely into the computers RAM. RAM is expensive (relative to HHD's). Because of this computer scientists devised a way of making the computer think it has more memory than it has (virtual memory) which involves copying the contents of the RAM to your hard disk drive and swapping it back in when it is needed.

Windows limits the size of your virtual memory (you don't want to use all the space on your hard drive and then not have any space for your save files would you?).

It is quite important, if virtual memory totally runs out, you will find that you can't start programs, and other programs may crash.

Most likely you are running many programs (probably memory intensive tasks like image or video editing). Either close some programs, or try saving more often. If that doesn't work, you can increase the size of your hard drive, or (less effective) RAM

Answer 4

Every computer has RAM (also called physical memory) which is where programs and data are stored while in use. Virtual memory means using space on your hard drive to augment your physical memory. It is a standard feature on Windows.

When virtual memory is low that usually means that you are low on hard drive space. It won't break anything, but your computer will be very slow. You can correct the problem simply by freeing hard drive space. Delete old files you no longer need. Also run the Disk Cleanup wizard under System Tools in Accessories.

Answer 5

virtual memory is a part of your hard drive your computer uses as if it were RAM(random access memory),you can find how much virtual memory you have by going control panel>system>advanced>performance>advanced>virtual memory
you will then find how much virtual memory you currently have,but you can also increase or decrease this amount,allthough the rule of thumb is virtual memory is normally this sum(total ram x 1.5),so for example ,if your system has 256mb ram your virtual memory would be 384mb.
however do not rely on v/memory for programs ,if a game needs 512mb you should make sure you have that amount,virtual memory just helps the running of applications but dosent replace ram
a very good site for checking your memory with a online scanner is http://www.crucial.com/ ,this willl tell you how much ram your p.c can accomadate,and what type it needs,you can even buy directly from crucial,ensuring you get the correct type of module
good luck

Answer 6

u need to set the virtual memory option to automatic
so that the computer handles it automatically
http://www.google.co.in/url?sa=t&ct=res&cd=2&url=http%3A%2F%2Fcomputer.howstuffworks.com%2Fquestion684.htm&ei=A2ORRI_SE7vORvjmhewI&sig2=vphrxL-CS1qldZjdO3_kLA
http://www.google.co.in/url?sa=t&ct=res&cd=4&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.aumha.org%2Fwin5%2Fa%2Fxpvm.php&ei=A2ORRI_SE7vORvjmhewI&sig2=P20slzkPY_XA8A4dogNZwQ

the above links would help you
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run it and that would solve most of ur problems
thanks
regards
Islam Inamdar
[e-mail]
inamdarinfotech.com
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