Virtual Memory

It is a very important feature as far as your computer’s performance is concerned. Virtual memory assists when RAM is not enough to accommodate a program that you want to run. When this happens, Virtual Memory moves some data to a paging file in order to free up congestion in RAM. In order for the programs to run, they will need RAM. It is upon noticing that there is not enough RAM that Windows temporarily shelves some information from RAM to a file on a hard disk which is referred to as paging file. It cannot go without a mention that the higher your RAM is, the easier and faster your programs open.  So Virtual Memory is used as a compensation feature when your system’s RAM runs low.

Low memory adversely affects your computer’s performance such that you will experience delays or slow speed when loading programs, computer unresponsiveness, errors, low virtual memory messages and blank screen.

You should try to minimize low memory problems on your computer. Try these:

·         Avoid running more programs at the same time. Avoid this scenario especially when the programs you are trying to run will consume more RAM space than the RAM installed.

·         Have a check on which programs bring “Low Virtual Memory” message when you run some programs.

·         If you are not sure about this, check your computer’s documentation and follow instructions accordingly or consult the manufacturer.

Increasing Virtual Memory:

You can manually configure the size of virtual memory by following these few steps:

·         Click Start

·         Click Computer

·         Click on Advanced System Settings on left pane

·         Click Continue and go to Advanced

·         On Performance, click Settings

·         Go to Advanced Tab, under Virtual Memory click Change

·         Adjust memory accordingly

·         Click Apply then Ok. Restart your system if prompted.

Reference: http://www.microsoft.com, http://www.howstuffworks.com/