How can I restore my computer's virtual memory?

Question

I was told that my computer is running slow and my preferences in various programs are being reset becuase my computer's virtual memory is low. How can i restore my computer's virtual memory so it runs like it did when I first bought it?

Answer 1

If a computer running Windows requires more memory/RAM then there is installed in the system to run a program, etc, it uses a small section of the hard drive for this purpose. This is called “Virtual” memory, or “Swap Filling”. If the “Swap” file is to small, then you will get a warning that the system can’t perform the operation that you have requested because sufficient “Virtual” memory isn’t available.

You need to enlarge the size of your “virtual memory/swap file”. So, do the following.

Right click “My Computer” and choose “Properties”.
In the “System Properties” window, click the “Advanced” tab.
Under “Performance”, click “Settings”.
In the “Performance Options” window, click “Advanced”.
Under “Virtual memory”, click “Change”.

Increase the size of the “Paging file” so that it is at least twice the size of your RAM. You can increase the size to “Maximum”, it won’t hurt your system at all.


Best cure.

If you really want to eliminate this problem, all you need do is to install more “Memory/RAM”.

Answer 2

Freezing up as a result of memory problems will almost always give you the blue screen of death and a almost worthless error description. Freezing up is often caused by undesirable processes(virus, malware, etc)using enough resources that a system process times out and hangs. Run a complete virus scan, anti-spyware scan, use disk cleanup, defragment the disk and check the disk for errors. Then assuming you have the system CD,and it's XP, click start, run and type SFC /SCANNNOW in the box and click OK. This is the system file checker and it will repair or replace missing or corrupted system files. Now, on virtual memory, some of the other answers are partially correct. It is data stored on the drive but is used mostly for system and program functions that are not required often. The data in the page file(virtual memory) has already been processed and compiled by the CPU and is written contiguously so it's not as slow as most people think. The amount of virtual memory is usually set at 1.5 times the system RAM, or there also is an option to let Windows manage the virtual memory size. It is possible for the page file to become corrupted which can cause problems. To clear the page file, set the value to zero, reboot, reset it again to the previous values and reboot again, windows will rebuilt it, like new. Your not loosing any data by doing this. Anything in the page file is written each time the system boots. If your system gets low on virtual memory, a window will pop up to warn you so unless you've seen this, it's not the problem. DO NOT USE msconfig unless you are sure about what your doing. The windows file protection service is bypassed using it and it is possible to render your system unbootable. If you want to learn about processes and which ones are needed as well as how to get rid of ones you don't want, go to the Microsoft website and search for "AUTORUNS". It is an excellent utility which you can learn a lot from. Good luck

Answer 3

You have a lot of things on your system. There is not enough space for windows to autmatically allocate a virtual memory on the hard disk. try cleaning up your system of the programs you don't really need to create enough space on your system. after doing these try what the guy above me just said

Answer 4

De-fragment the files & recompile your existing memory storage area.

Answer 5

right click my computer > properties > advanced > virtual memory> let windows manage