How can Improve the virtual memory on my computer?

8 Responses to How can Improve the virtual memory on my computer?

1. 

   rwd420247 on February 14, 2012 at 3:13 pm

   Often, that amount of RAM is not enough to run all of the programs that most users expect to run at once. For example, if you load the Windows operating system, an e-mail program, a Web browser and word processor into RAM simultaneously, 64 megabytes is not enough to hold it all.

   If there were no such thing as virtual memory, your computer would have to say, “Sorry, you cannot load any more applications. Please close an application to load a new one.”

   With virtual memory, the computer can look for areas of RAM that have not been used recently and copy them onto the hard disk.

   This frees up space in RAM to load the new application. Because it does this automatically, you don’t even know it is happening, and it makes your computer feel like is has unlimited RAM space even though it has only 32 megabytes installed. Because hard-disk space is so much cheaper than RAM chips, virtual memory also provides a nice economic benefit.

   The area of the hard disk that stores the RAM image is called a page file. It holds pages of RAM on the hard disk, and the operating system moves data back and forth between the page file and RAM.

   To change the size of the virtual memory paging file
   ——————————…

   Right click on ‘My computer’ Icon and go to properties

   On the Advanced tab, click Performance Options, and under Virtual memory, click Change.

   In the Drive list, click the drive that contains the paging file you want to change.

   Under Paging file size for selected drive, type a new paging file size in megabytes in the Initial Size (MB) or Maximum Size (MB) box, and then click Set.

   If you decrease the size of either the minimum or maximum page file settings, you must restart your computer to see the effects of those changes.

   Increases generally do not require a restart.

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2. 

   Biggles on February 14, 2012 at 4:11 pm

   you shouldn’t need to touch your virtual memory it’s manage by window by default but if you want to change things open the control panel and click on the system icon when the dialogue box appears click on the advance tab under performance click settings when the new dialogue box appears click the advanced tab under virtual memory click change.
   if you alter anything your virtual memory needs to be about double the physical memory fitted in our computer

   Reply
3. 

   me and you on February 14, 2012 at 4:55 pm

   you don’t if you mess with that your computer will have big problems let windows do the work add more ram to your computer 1 – 2 gb mbr your have no problem then

   Reply
4. 

   Trevor J on February 14, 2012 at 5:40 pm

   First of all why not get more ram? And if you have windows vista you can increase the amount of memory using something called ready boost plug in a flash drive and allocate some space on it for windows ready boost.

   Reply
5. 

   sues on February 14, 2012 at 6:29 pm

   usually look to the bios f2 or del on start up look for allocated virtual memory and modify

   Reply
6. 

   ray_8128 on February 14, 2012 at 6:51 pm

   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.

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7. 

   Ghost Rider on February 14, 2012 at 7:38 pm

   Do you really need a larger paging file or do you need more physical memory? One method to determine this is to look at the Task Manager (press ctrl-alt-del). If the Commit Charge – Peak is more than the Physical Memory – Total then you would benefit more from installing more physical RAM.

   Here’s a page that helps explain how and why to tweak Windows XP.

   Reply
8. 

   billybobbowinkle on February 14, 2012 at 8:33 pm

   Ok this is the best way of increasing you Virtual memory as well as making it more efficiant.

   if you are using windows XP defrag your hard drive, now if you see that the drive is fragmented and green portions over you hard drive is all over the place it means that your virtual memory is put all over the place, making it slow to access compared with virtual memory running smoother for applications etc.

   SO.
   1 click START then control Panel
   2 double click on the SYSTEM ICON when the control panel window opens up
   you will see 7 tabs at the top, the opening tab will be highlighted on general
   3 Select the tab ADVANCED
   then you will see 3 sections underneath click on the tab in the PERFORMANCE section under the heading SETTINGS
   4 Another TAB will open and there will be 3 OPTION TABS
   5 SELECT ADVANCED
   6 the bottom section is virtual memory and this is where you want to stop your page file (VIRTUAL MEMEORY)
   dont worry, you will increase it later
   7 Click on the CHANGE TAB and the window will show virtual memory on the top left hand of the window
   8 click the OPTION NO PAGING FILE then click on the SET tab to the left and then click OK
   9 you will have to restart your computer
   10 once the computer has started up and everything is working DEFRAG YOUR HARD DRIVE
   11 CLick START by moving your mouse to ALL PROGRAMS
   then moving the curser to ACCESSORIES and then SYSTEM TOOLS DEFAG should be there
   12 DEFRAG YOUR HARD DRIVE till the legend is BLUE
   13 FOLLOW THE SAME STEPS TO ACCESS VIRTUAL MEMORY
   and then select SYSTEM MANAGED SIZE
   14 windows will adjust accordingly to your catered needs without casuing sudstantial hangups if you are playing games using applications etc

   hope this helps

   Mark

   Reply

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