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Ok on some programs i'm running it's telling me I am "running low on virtual memory." Any ideas how I can fix this, I am fairly sure it's not a big deal, but I don't know how to fix it. BTW I am running Windows XP. Thanks everyone.

Right click on my computer --> Properties --> Advanced --> Click Settings under the Performace category --> Advanced --> Click Change under the Virtual Memory category.


Pick a drive with the most amount of free space, and set the minimum to a very large amount (mine is set at 2000mb min and 2000mb max) and the max to the same amount. It'll give you lots of warnings and such, and you could just let windows manage it.. but who wants that?

It's kind of touchy.. and i'll explain later but right now i gotta go to work, but you can at least look at the settings now!

your hard drive is probably too full. when you see that error message it means that windows is running out of room to store things for memory. you could try what tim suggests, but if you don't have enough room you will still get that message when you run too many programs at once. maybe consider getting big hard drive to put in your computer, then you can have windows change its virtual memory settings to use the new larger drive

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"That's the trouble with political jokes in this country... they get elected!" -- Dave Lippman

Jessnick I've got an answer for you...or directions...I'm just going to paste the picture of the directions...really easy, infact I just increased mineagain Hope it Helps, heidi

Sorry folks this is gonna blow the screen out of wack but I give up on shrinking it...heidi



heidi attached this image:


"I've got a great ambition to die of exhaustion rather than boredom." Thomas Carlyle

Bye the sounds of it you haven't got enough RAM for what you are wanting to use your computer for.

Firstly Windows XP requires 256 with 1 or 2 small programs running. Then if you are wanting to run more programs at a time then this would need more RAM (512 is at least enough for the average user) but if you are into running high graphical programs then once again you will need more RAM.


If it is space that is limited then limit the amount of disk space windows uses for the restore function.

Click on Control Panels, then system then SYstem restore. Move the bar on the line to a smaller amount. That will help.

HTH.
Robert

Jessnick

I had exactly the same problem with XP. It always happened when I was working on digital photos with Adobe Photo Shop and Adobe Album.

I think I tried everything changing figures etc finally fixed it and never a problem since I just doubled my RAM I have no idea what it was or what it is now, all I know I have never had that problem since I got it done.

Keith

Last edited by keithgh at 04-Apr-2005 04:14

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What was suggested above is where your memory is maxed out, and it creats "virtural" (like fake) memory on your HDD.

I would suggest going out and getting a few sticks of ram, since virtural memory mainly sucks.

Virtual memory is there regardless.. but it's true that it's in use more when you're running a box with relatively little pysical RAM.

Basically, once your physical RAM fills up, your computer takes data that hasn't been accessed in a while from your physical RAM, and copies it to your HDD, thus the virtual memory. Since your HDD is considerably slower than your physical RAM, it can be a burden if you have data that needs to constantly be written back and forth from your HDD to your physical RAM.

BUT.. if you like to run a bunch of programs at once, a larger page file (the files used for virtual memory) can come in handy. Too little and you get your error, the too little memory deal.

So increasing your page file size does a nice job of getting rid of that error and helping performance. If you noticed, my page file is the same for minimum and maximum sizes. This helps performance as well, as the computer doesn't have to keep increasing the page file size to allot for programs that you're running. It sets aside a specific amount, and it doesn't get smaller or larger. Trade off is you lose some storage space, but with the stupidly large hard drives out there, it's no big deal.

If you have multiple partitions on one drive, make each partition have the same amount set aside for virtual memory.

It's kind of a band aid, since physical RAM is much quicker. If you rely heavily on virtual memory, you'll suffer some performance loss, so the best thing would be to snag up a few more modules of RAM.

Thanks for the replies everyone. I don't use my computer for anything too elaborate. I have music files and have all my digital photos on here but that is about it. I've bumped up the virtual memory to 200 and we'll see what happens.

http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/ProductDetail.aspx?TabPage=producthighlights&sku=A0136891&category_id=4325&c=us&l=en&cs=19
This link is for a 256 MB Dell module made for my computer. This would be all I need to double my memory right?

Last edited by Jessnick at 04-Apr-2005 11:40

Jessnick...in order to determine if that would be enough to double your memory, we would need to know how much you currently have...after we know that number (which IS most likely 256 MB), then we can make sure that what you get will double it...

PM/email/msg me if you have any questions/comments regarding me or my knowledge or if you want me to read a thread.

Yes it is 256..sorry about that!

You also have to make sure you have room for it. ALthough this probably won't be a factor as you only have one stick in there at the moment. You usually have about room for 3 sticks.

Just make sure it is the same as what you have in the computer already.