Question:
I am running Windows XP or Vista and continue to get a warning message from my computer telling me that my system is low on virtual memory. Can someone tell me why this is and how to fix it?
Answer:
Before you can begin troubleshooting virtual memory, you need to understand what it is and how it works.
The easy answer would be to increase your RAM, but there are several factors that could contribute to your issue, so we'll start at the top.
If you are running a Windows XP machine and typically have several programs running, I would recommend no less than 512MB of RAM. A lot of manufacturers recommend only 256MB of RAM, and I believe Microsoft says that 128MB is sufficient. I would argue both of those by saying that most users do more than one thing at a time on their computer and from personal experience, more is better in the world of RAM. Windows Vista is a whole different animal with a recommended 1BG minimum, but with teh prices of RAM dropping significantly every day, its not difficult to exceed the recommendations.
RAM vs. virtual memory:
RAM is the amount of physical memory installed on your computer. It acts like short-term memory, enabling programs to load and operate faster. When you start a program or an application, it uses a part of that memory. Most programs will require at least 32MB of RAM. If you look in your system tray (next to the time), there are usually four or more programs running (antivirus, firewall, and so on). Those background programs alone require 128MB. Then if you use any programs, such as a Web browser or a word processor, it requires more memory.
Windows makes up the difference for that amount of RAM requirement by allocating or reserving a portion of your hard drive to act as though it were RAM. That's what is referred to as virtual memory, or page file. The less RAM you have the more virtual memory is allocated. Windows typically manages that for you. As a standard rule of thumb, Windows creates a virtual memory of 1½ times your physical RAM. So if have 256MB of actual RAM, Windows pagefile (virtual memory) will equal 384MB.
Managing Virtual Memory:
Unless you are an experienced user, you should allow Windows to manage this setting for you. Your issue could arise if somehow the default settings have been changed. To begin with diagnosing your problem you should follow these steps to ensure that Windows is properly managing your Virtual Memory settings.
1. Find out how virtual memory is being managed. Rt-Click "My Computer" and choose "Properties". Click the Advanced tab, then under Performance click Settings.
2. That opens your Performance Options. Click the Advanced tab. For the "typical" home user Processor Scheduling & Memory Usage should be set to "Programs".
3. Under Virtual Memory, click the Change button.
4. That opens you Virtual Memory options. If you have more than one hard drive, make sure that your Main hard drive is selected under "Drive".
5. Under "Paging File Size for Selected Device" check the box that says System Managed Size.
6. Click Ok on all 3 boxes to close out of those settings and Restart your Computer.
Now, if you are still receiving the warning messages and you have ample RAM, you move on to the next step. You should try to eliminate as many background services as possible (all those in the system tray, next to the time, for starters). For safety reasons, you should make sure that your Anti-virus and Firewall are always running. Most of the others can be set not to run in the background by opening the program, select its settings and uncheck or disable the part that says "System Tray". On my personal computer, I only have three that load into the system tray at start up, My Antivirus, Firewall, and an Audio volume icon.
RAM Hogs:
Check your system Tray- A lot of programs that people install, like Real Player or QuickTime, or an Instant Messenger, by default want to run in the background and put an icon in your system tray even though you may not need them to always be on. Eliminating as many of those background services as possible will free up the demand on your RAM. Avoid installing programs that supposedly "Free up" your RAM. They tend to increase your pagefile size and ultimately reduce system performance.
Good Housekeeping:
You should also follow through last week’s submission, "Keeping your Windows machine running lean, clean, and mean" and be sure that you maintain for your computer… Keep Windows Up to date, Virus Free, protected with a firewall, eliminate "SpyWare", clean up your temporary files, etc. Basically, a clean computer is a happy computer.
Those are the "BEST PRACTICES" that can be recommended. Now there are other known causes that trigger the warning that your Virtual Memory is running low. To properly determine what it is would depend greatly on whether it happens when you start your computer, at shut down, or intermittently (just "out of the blue" from time to time).
You should read Microsoft’s Knowledge Base articles to see if either applies to you:
Article #315351:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;315351
Article #811153:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;811153
