My computer keeps on showing me a prompt that states "low on virtual memory", What does this mean ?

Question

This is very frustrating, half of my programs wont run anymore
and it is slow as all hell.

also How can I fix this (mind you going on-line is sorta out the question cuz my PC dont go on-line anymore ever since)

In case anyone is wondering how i am able to go online on an ask this, its cuz i am doing this from my computer at work.

Answer 1

These answers on increasing your virtual memory are temporary fixes at best. What you really need to do is get more RAM. VM is when there is not enough RAM the computer starts to use part of your hard drive for VM. This is not and efficient process and is meant to be just a temporary fix until you add more RAM. Think of VM as that little donut tire you use when you get a flat, it will get you to a service station for help but you are going to need a new tire!

Answer 2

Virtual Memory is what your computer uses when it doesn't have enough RAM. Basically it takes a part of your hard drive and treats it as if it were ram, which is much slower than using the computer's actual memory.

To increase your computer's virtual memory to some rediculously high amount (to get rid of the messages problem):

Click Start > *right* click on My Computer and choose properties.
Go to the Advanced Tab
In the Performance Box, click Settings.
Go to the Advanced Tab again.
In the Virtual Memory box at the bottom, click Change.

These numbers are limited by the size of your hard drive, so don't make them too big. I'd suggest 768 megabyte initial size, and upwards of 2048 maximum.

That should get rid of the messages. To speed your computer back up, make sure that you don't have too much stuff running in the background. Have a look at the icons next to your clock in the bottom right. There really should only be about 5, otherwise you've probably got too much stuff running in the background.

Every program that's open eats up a little bit of your computer's resources.

Run a virus and spyware scan also. Some of the best free spyware software is available at lavasoft.com. Ad-Aware SE Personal is what I use at home, simply running that could clean up your problems.

Sorry for being long-winded. Hope I helped.

Answer 3

Lets see,

Your problem could be caused due to,
1) Insufficent RAM (Random Access Memory)
2) High Resources Consuming programs
3) Too many programs running at the same time

which could be resolved by,

1) Buying more RAM sticks, these are hardware you can get from most computer shops, just be sure to know which kind you are running on, and if you are clueless about installing these hardware, bring your whole cpu down to the store.

2 & 3) Technically speaking, no programs should eat up ALL your ram resource. Thus, the problem is either related to the first, or you might just have too much stuff running on your com. Firstly, you might wanna do a virus scan, making sure that the problem is not caused by virus flooding other people. Second, you could try a reformat/defrag, as this will clear up your system, and rid any unwanted items.

Hope this helps

Answer 4

The topic of Virtual Memory can be confusing for some folks, but I'll try to explain it as best I can (starting with the basics). RAM, or, "Random Access Memory", exists in every computer. RAM are actually pieces of hardware (chips) and are used to store temporary data. The temporary data is then used for computation by the CPU (Central Processing Unit) at a later time. So, for example: when you double click to view a movie file on your computer, it is first loaded into RAM (a chunk at a time), then moved to the CPU (Central Processing Unit) where it is processed and decoded, and eventually output to the screen and sound card. And voila, you have your movie. RAM is also known as "Primary Memory". Comparatively, Virtual Memory (also known as Secondary Memory or Page Memory) is used in place of Primary Memory, but only if there is no Primary Memory available at the time. Since Virtual Memory is stored on the hard drive, it is significantly slower than RAM; therefore, virtual memory usage should be avoided whenever possible. To compare: hard drive speeds are measured in Milliseconds (MS) where as RAM speeds are measured in Nanoseconds (NS). Generally speaking, the more RAM a computer has, the faster, or "more optimized" it is -- especially when switching between tasks. If you are constantly getting the message that your system needs to increase Virtual Memory settings and you're not overworking the PC, I would suspect a memory leak. This is, of course, assuming that you haven't played with your virtual memory settings in Windows (it's best to leave it alone or restore to default)

Answer 5

You have low ram to start. So the computer uses hard drive space to make up some temp. virtual memory. Could it be that you are running out of hard drive space? Old, unused programs could be removed or compressed to free up some room on the hard drive. This is only if this is the cause of your problem. So check how much space if left on the hard drive first. Try running disk clean up if you have not done this in awhile.

Answer 6

Follow these steps to increase the virtual memory :

1. Click Start, click Run, and then type sysdm.cpl in the Open box.

2. Click the Advanced tab, and then click Settings under Performance.

3. Click the Advanced tab, and then click Change under Virtual memory.

4. Under Drive [Volume Label], click the drive that contains the paging file that you want to change.

5. Under Paging file size for selected drive, click Custom size, type a new paging file size in megabytes (MB) in the Initial size (MB) or Maximum size (MB) box, and then click Set.

Source:
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=308417

regards,
Philip T

Answer 7

Virtual memory is the amount of your hard drive that is allocated as a place to temporally store stuff when there is insufficient space on your memory cards. Your virtual memory setting should be at least twice the amount of memory on your memory cards, otherwise the error message is given.

Answer 8

virtual memmory in short is hard drive memory swapping {using hard disk to swap/store data temporarily} for any running programs/services when your available ram is being overworked shall we say.This low on virtual memory problem usually means your hard drive is full or near full and unable to create temporary swap space on it...so simple way to check this is open mycomputer then right click on you hard drive{usually c: drive} and highlight properties.Once open you will see a diagram showing you how full your drive is.if its full or near full... uninstall any games/programs/files etc that you can live without thus regaining disk space and fixing{so to speak }your virtual memory woes if this does not work id be running spybot and a virus scanner...some spyware/trojans give similar problems.hope this helps

Answer 9

In order to solve this problem I need more information. Have you went into your PC case recently. Also, do you recall installing any programs a little while before the warning started?