Virtual Memory?

Question

What does this msg mean on my computer & what do I do about it?

Answer 1

Virtual memory is when your computer runs out of RAM memory and starts using the disk drive as virtual RAM.

Also called the page file.


RAM is a lot (a whole lot) faster than the hard drive, so using a lot of virtual memory will slow the system down.

Make sure that your page file is set to the right value, so that it does not fragment and get even slower.

If your system is using virtual memory then you can speed it up my adding more memory. Note, once you add enough that the system no longer uses virtual memory adding more memory does nothing for you.

Answer 2

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.

Answer 3

Virtual memory is space on your hard drive used to temporarily store items you are currently using. You can increase this by right-clicking on My Computer on your desktop, selecting the Advanced tab, and under Performance click Settings. Select the Advanced tab and under Virtual Memory, click the Change button. A good rule of thumb is your Virtual memory should be set to 2.5 times the amount of RAM in your system. So, if you have 1G of RAM, your Virtual memory should be set to 2560 MB.

If you get this issue in spite of that being set properly, then you will need to buy more RAM. Most stores you buy it at will even install it for you.

Answer 4

The default virtual memory management in winXP is set to automatic, and it is better to leave it like that unless you have a reason to do so, or you want to experiment with increasing virtual memory.

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 one and a half times the RAM. In case you want to increase it, you can set the minimum and the maximum equal to one and a half times the size of RAM in MB.
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.

Answer 5

First, go to the link above in Lynn B's post.

Now why? Because low virtual memory can be caused by a variety of things and just adding more memory, or increasing the page file settings, may help or may just end up hurting the performance of your computer and wasting money. You won't know until you diagnose the cause, then treat the disease and not the symptoms. Trust me.

Answer 6

Hi. From the web: "Memory, often as simulated on a hard disk, that emulates RAM, allowing an application to operate as though the computer has more memory than it actually does."

Answer 7

The only way you an increase Virtual Memory is increase the page-file memory.

Do this by
Right-clicking on My Computer-Properties-Advanced Tab-Click on settings under performance-Advanced tab-Page file change.

increse the minimum and maximum pagefile and your computer will give you lesser of those alerts

Answer 8

when RAM gets used up virtual mem kicks in, n when the virtual mem runs out the system tries to increase it...thats when u get this message. i guess this is what u were asking...
anyway to stop these irritating msgs just increase your page file

http://tech-hutblog.blogspot.com/2007/04/working-tips-to-boost-your-computers.html

Answer 9

when it comes up with that message it means that you are running to many programms for your RAM to handle most likely becuase you dont have enough RAM quickest way to solve this problem is to buy a new RAM stick which u then put inside the computer with the ram that you already have in there so you have two, best place to buy them is on ebay you can get a 1gb RAM stick for around £30-40 bargain

Answer 10

If the message is running low, right click my computer, click properties and then in th advanced performance options there is a pagefile size setting. Increase both the current and maximum sizes.