What exactly is "virtual memory"?

Question

When Windows says that my "virtual memory" is low and that they are adding some -- can someone please explain this to me. What can I do to fix this? Thanks a lot!

Answer 1

Virtual memory or virtual memory addressing is a memory management technique, used by computer operating systems, more common in multitasking OSes, wherein non-contiguous memory is presented to a software (aka process) as contiguous memory. This contiguous memory is referred to as the virtual address space.

Answer 2

AWESOME question. You have RAM memory, which is the one you need most when running things and affect the speed of the system a lot. It is the memory where the operating system , i.e. Windows, stores things while it runs. The hard drive is the more permanent memory. It is where say MS Word is stored to run later and photos are stored for long term storage. Virtual memory refers to space used on the hard drive to simulate the RAM memory used by windows. It is ok, but the hard drive, or virtual memory, takes longer to work, and the RAM is very fast to access. You need more RAM when you see this a lot. Double the RAM. Things will work faster and more efficiently.

Answer 3

Virtual memory is the swap space alloted on the hard disk. It has a minimum and a maximum value. Usually minimum is equal to the physical RAM on your pc. and the maximum is two and half times the RAM.
You can find the virtual memory setting on the location in winXP
start > control panel > system > advanced > performance settings > Advanced > Virtual Memory Change
select the hard disk partition.
select the custom size radio button. Enter values.Press OK
Allocate VM on all partitions of the hard disk.

FIX

http://yanswers.blogspot.com/2006/10/pc-running-slow.html

Answer 4

OK, I read susie's explanation and while that is technically correct, it leaves something to be desired for the layman.

What virtual memory basically is is a sector of the hard drive that is swappable with the contents of the physical RAM. What it enables a computer to do is extend the amount of memory that a CPU can access.

Answer 5

Here is an article about virtual memory and how to increase it:

http://www.helpero.com/Questions-and-answers/Computers/Windows/What-is-virtual-memory-How-can-I-increase-it_1716.html

Helpero is a web site that helps every Internet user, from all over the world, solve any computer related problem.

Answer 6

Virtual memory allows you to allocate free space on your hard drive for your computer to use as if it were RAM (random access memory). Assuming you are running XP, you can see how much VRAM you have by right-clicking on your My Computer icon and going to properties. Then go to the Advanced tab and click on the "Settings" tab under the Performance section. Click on the Advanced tab (again) and you can see how much space is allocate under the "Virtual Memory" section at the bottom. If you click on the Change button you can see the information at the bottom of the window tells you the recommended size compared to what is currently allocated. I would not recommend changing this setting unless you know what your are doing. You need to know how much drive space you have available on your hard drive.