i have a pop up that says virtual memory is low. what does that mean and is that a problem?

Answer 1

Vitrual memory is nothing but hard disk space used to store files in memory, If the free hard disk space becomes full, you get that message. If you copy all you documents, files, music, images, video etc from C to D or on cd/s and then delete them from C. That way you can make more space on C, and the computer will have enough space to use the virtual memory allocation

Answer 2

Among the blind, the one eye man is King.

Here is what you do. Go to START, CONTROL PANEL, SYSTEM, ADVANCED, then go to VISUAL EFFECTS. Now what I have done it set the setting to BEST PERFORMANCE. Your desktop highlights will change, but then how long do you stay on a desktop. Just long enough to click that icon to get on the internet and then you might not see it for the next 8 hours. So why should you have memory tied up making your desktop look good. After a month, I actually have got used to the new format now.

THEN you can go to ADVANCED and set the checks to PROGRAMS and then on the VIRTUAL MEMORY click change. This is tricky as I do not know how much memory you acturally have. I just set mine to custom and to the max. That way I never have seen the low virtual memory again. This is good if you are in a business calculating prfits and stuff but for the regular goofballs like me. This takes care of ANY problems. What would happen if it DID get too low, then your computer would freeze till the calculations took place then continue running. Some of the wannabees above don't read.

read stuff on these sites.
heck the download section at these sites for some free downloads. Also bookmark them and you can learn about computers.
http://www.cnet.com/
http://www.pcworld.com/
http://www.computerworld.com/index.jsp.....
http://computer.howstuffworks.com/
http://www.ehow.com/center_5.html

Make sure you defrag and clean your files at least once a week too.

Answer 3

Per:
http://askbobrankin.com/low_virtual_memory.html

Feelin' Mighty Low (on Memory)
When all of your computer's real physical memory (RAM) is in use, Windows will try to create virtual memory by grabbing a chunk of hard drive space and treating it like real memory. Your software can't tell the difference between real and virtual memory, but you might because virtual memory access is much slower, due to the hard drive activity it requires.

If you encounter the low virtual memory error message, then you have used the maximum amount of real plus virtual memory that is supported on your system. Sometimes programs that crash or ones that are poorly designed will not return their working memory space to the operating system when they're done using it. Other programs that need a large amount of memory to run may fail because Windows cannot "see" the available memory. In most cases, a shutdown and restart will resolve this problem.

Windows Knows Best
If you still see the dreaded "Your system is low on virtual memory" message then the first thing to do is make sure your computer is configured to allow Windows to automatically manage the virtual memory. In Windows XP, follow these steps:

Click Start, then open the Control Panel.
Click Performance and Maintenance, and then click System.
Click the Advanced tab.
Under Performance, click Settings.
Click the Advanced tab.
Under Virtual memory, click Change.
Under Drive [Volume Label], click the drive that contains the paging file (virtual memory) settings that you want to change. In almost every case, this will be your C: drive.
Click to select the "System managed size" option, then click Set.
Click OK three times and restart your computer.

When you allow Windows to manage your virtual memory, it should make the optimum amount of virtual memory available, by automatically shrinking or enlarging the paging file as needed. If that doesn't solve the low virtual memory problem, there are a few more things you can try.

Eliminate Non-Essential Programs
Over time, we tend to accumulate a bit of clutter on a computer. My article "Making Windows XP Run Faster!" will show you how to keep your system updated, eliminate viruses & spyware, scrub the hard disk of unneeded files, slim down your startup selections, and eliminate unnecessary system services. All of these things will free up resources in your computer, making it run faster and more reliably.

Add RAM to Your System
It might just be the case that your computer needs more real, physical memory. By this I mean RAM sticks that can be purchased in most computer, electronics, or office supply stores. If your PC is more than three years old, chances are it's close to being obsolete -- at least in terms of the ability to run today's resource-hogging software packages. And adding RAM to an older computer is the most effective thing you can do to upgrade it.

To see how much memory you have installed, follow these steps under Windows XP:
Click Start, then open the Control Panel.
Click Performance and Maintenance, and then click System.

On the System Properties window, you'll see the type and speed of your processor (CPU) and the amount of RAM. Note that Windows always seems to report that you have slightly less memory than you actually have. For example, if Windows reports 496 MB of RAM, you actually have 512 MB. (Memory will always be installed in 64 MB increments.)

The more RAM you have, the better your computer will perform. I recommend you have a minimum 256 megabytes (MB) of RAM, but with 512 MB or even a gigabyte of RAM, you'll notice much better performance.

Plan B: Recycle Your Computer
If popping the hood on your old PC sounds like too much trauma, consider buying a new one. Computer prices have dropped a lot over the past few years, and the computing power you get for your money is going up. My How to Buy a Computer article will guide you through the Windows vs. Mac issue, what kind of processor you need, and will give you recommendations on monitors and software.

Answer 4

Virtual memory is where windows uses your hard disk as extra memory when you haven't enough Physical memory.
What the pop up probably said is virtual memory is low windows is resizing virtual memory or something similar if it did don't worry it's windows just sorting itself out ignore it

Answer 5

As it is mentioned about virtual memory...you can change the settings for virtual memory by going to this location...Right click on My Computer icon>>>properties>>>Check the memory which will be shown there under general tab then go to Advanced tab>>> under performance click on performance options>>click on change under virtual memory>>select custom settings and then set min to 1.5 times the physical memory available in the comp and the max to 1.5 times the minimum.

And then click on set and ok..ok..ok and then restart the comp...lo behold your message will vanish...

Answer 6

yes that means that your memory usage is high and well you need more memory in your system so ither your runing demanding programs or you have very little memory.

Answer 7

try using a flash drive or portable external hard drive, you can get em at staples for fourty dollars. or go to control panel, go to performance and meinatanace, and go to rearange programs on hard disk to go faster. defragging or burning stuff on a disk can help. or try getting a geeksquad technician to install more ram on your computer!i hope my answer is good!