'Low On Virtual Memory' Message

[pompeystato-man]

I am constantly getting the message 'Low on Virtual Memory'

I know that Windows XP automatically readjusts itself to draw on more virtual memory to rectify the problem, but what am I doing to create this problem in the first place?

What exactly is 'virtual' memory?

Without it, can it cause my PC to crash?

Can I adjust it manually so that it doesn't occur again?

Or have I already reached the system's maximum?

[milkman]

i've had this problem in the past. It was caused because I had no room left on my harddrive. I believe virtual memory is a designated space on your harddrive that is used as additional Ram. So if you fill up your harddrive then you will end up using the space designated as virtual memory, and therefore get a message telling you that your virtual memory is low.

So i suppose the first thing you could do is try deleting anything on your pc that you don't need, music or films etc.. (Maybe burn them on to cd first). This worked for me until I bought a bigger harddrive.

If you have plenty of space left on your harddrive then maybe you could increase the size of the space designated to virtual memory.

To do this go to

Start Menu
Settings
control panel
system
advanced tab
Performance settings
Advanced tab
At the bottom you can change the virtual memory. I got mine set at 4042mb which I think is the maximum.

I'm by no means an expert, so if anyone disagrees with this, then I'd tend to go with them.

[pompeystato-man]

I have an 80GB internal drive that's 90% empty and an 80GB external drive that's 99% empty so I'm OK for space.

[milkman]

Try increasing your virtual memory then.

[hockey man]

Welcome to the PcGudie pompeystato-man. Virtual memory is windows way of inproving performance by using some of your HD as RAM. However, it is slower than RAM. What are your current settings? If you don't know how to check- follow the directions above to view it. Please don't adjust it yet. Just report what it is set at and how much RAM you have.

[pompeystato-man]

Mine's set at 384mb

[milkman]

That sounds low even to me. My default was at about 2300mb. I'm not sure what it should be at so I'd see what hockey Man recommends.

[pompeystato-man]

I've had this PC for 4 years now and the virtual memory problem crops up about every so often. I'm determined to eradicate it for good.

[pompeystato-man]

And 256mb of RAM

[milkman]

That's not a lot of Ram which probably means your virtual memory is being used a lot and you haven't got much virtual memory either. I'd buy some more Ram anyway, it's pretty cheap, you can get 512mb for about £30 - £40.

[jlreich]

That's set way too low for only 256MB ram.

Since you have plenty of HDD space I would set it to 1050MB. Make sure you set both the minimum and maximum values to 1050MB, then reboot the system.

And you might want to think about picking up some more ram. 256MB is the very bare minimum to run XP. That's why the system is using so much virtual memory. ;)

[pompeystato-man]

Many thanks for the info - I'm going to retire to bed now but I will be on the case in the morning - Again, many thanks.