Virtual memory too low...

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Always. Every day. I clean the temporary files, empty the trash, delete cache and cookies, I defragment, I run spyware and virus check. I even got rid of some videos, photos and music to make more space on my hard drive... nothing helps. I have to restart the computer about twice a day when it starts to slow down to a crawl. It has more than 11GB of empty space on hard drive, is two years old (Dell Inspiron 6000). What stuffs up my virtual memory so and how can I empty that?

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had to reboot again just now... Crying or Very sad

anybody any ideas?

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Well, I tinkered around with the help of Help and Support... and I enabled clearing my virtual memory upon shutdown.

Would anyone know if this will have any side effects, e.g. my computer never remembering websites and passwords, or that sort of a thing?

Thanks.

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I am going through the same thing, and though I can not tell you how to fix it, I can say that... yes.. I notice that alot of my passwords are not saved more often then not.
My history + favorites actually dissappeared once not too long ago after I "fixed" the virtual memory.

it is simple to just install a second hard drive though.
Use it for music + program storage, and have your original one just run internet.

That is what I did.
Im still re arranging everything, so that is why I see the message ..

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Shewolf, I just rebooted the puter to see what that last change might have done. So far it seems to run faster, and the computer does remember websites and passwords! that's all i care about.

I went to Control Panel - Performance and Maintenance, then Administrative tools -and Local Security Policies. There I clicked on Local Policies on a folder menu on the left... and there on Security Options... Scroll down to Shut down:Clear virtual memory and click on that to enable that function.

Now lessee if i'll still be happy with that tomorrow. At least I'll be able to go back and fix it since I wrote it all out here. Phew.

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Yeah, clearing virtual memory on shutdown shouldn't have any affect on things like your cache or previoulsy viewed sites. That sort of info is saved elsewhere on your systems' hard drive.

Is it possible that your system has crashed or been shutdown improperly before and maybe you have old, corrupted page files out there on your drive taking up space?

This is the best explaination of Virtual Memory use for Windows systems I've come across. They have some troubleshooting things to look at towards the end of the page.

http://www.aumha.org/win5/a/xpvm.php

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It's very possible, fishin. The virtual memory message started appearing (occassionally, then more often, then every day) after I updated McAffee SecurityCenter. I don't know if it's just a coincidence, but from the moment after that thing updated, my computer was much much slower...
I tried the System Restore to get rid of the updates, but to no avail. The updated version stayed updated.

Also, each time I run virus scan and adware scan, it finds normally 6-10 files of something. So there is also a possibility of having a virus or spyware lodged somewhere.

But I also do get pop up messages at the Shutdown - usually two or three...about this or that program running and needing to be ended manually.

Or maybe it's ALL of those!
Confused

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Virtual memory is when Windows uses your hard disk to simulate extra RAM.

You can set Windows to automatically manage the amount of virtual memory. Right-click My Computer->Properties->Advanced tab->Performance properties->Change (under the Virtual Memory portion)->System Managed

For best performance, however, buy more RAM, or run fewer programs.

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Computers today come with all kinds of crap that's installed. The first thing I do with a client's PC is to uninstall everything that they don't absolutely need.

The general trend is to just keep installing more stuff. Quicktime, Adobe Reader, Winzip, instant messaging clients, Google desktop, cute screensavers, etc.

This stuff adds up.

Buying more RAM will likely give your PC a nice performance boost. So can going through add/remove programs and ripping out anything you don't use anymore.

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Just did that, DD.

There I noticed that 'system recommended' page filing size is 754 MB, and I have 756MB allocated. That's after I set my virtual memory to clear upon shutdown. It didn't change at all. There was 756 MB allocated before I shut down.
It also says there is space for 11,419MB on my C drive. That should be plenty, no?

The computer does run faster right now though. Dunno. Maybe I'll bring it to university computer services to have the students there look at it. They're usually pretty good and it's free.

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dagmaraka wrote:

Also, each time I run virus scan and adware scan, it finds normally 6-10 files of something. So there is also a possibility of having a virus or spyware lodged somewhere.

Anti-spyware companies compete for how many "spyware" signatures they look for, and they all include web browser cookies on the list.

These cookies are not traditional spyware, although they can indicate that you've been to a particular website, and I would doubt that you have anything malicious actually installed.

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DD, I removed every program i could spare, defragged, bought Optimize to remove unnecessary startup files and background programs, deleted many work files (photos and videos ammounting to a few GB) and generally, there was a big spring cleanup. Next thing you know, the Virtual memory is low came right back. It had no effect on that. Harrumph.

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dagmaraka wrote:

Just did that, DD.

There I noticed that 'system recommended' page filing size is 754 MB, and I have 756MB allocated. That's after I set my virtual memory to clear upon shutdown. It didn't change at all. There was 756 MB allocated before I shut down.
It also says there is space for 11,419MB on my C drive. That should be plenty, no?

The computer does run faster right now though. Dunno. Maybe I'll bring it to university computer services to have the students there look at it. They're usually pretty good and it's free.

The "system recommended" size is usually based on how much actual RAM you have. And the page file size is usually static, although you can give it room to grow.

The "out of virtual memory" error just indicates that it is using most or all of the allocated space.

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DrewDad wrote:

dagmaraka wrote:
Also, each time I run virus scan and adware scan, it finds normally 6-10 files of something. So there is also a possibility of having a virus or spyware lodged somewhere.

Anti-spyware companies compete for how many "spyware" signatures they look for, and they all include web browser cookies on the list.

These cookies are not traditional spyware, although they can indicate that you've been to a particular website, and I would doubt that you have anything malicious actually installed.

Right. It usually does say that it's a negligible threat, but I delete them anyway. I delete whatever I can lay my hands on!

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dagmaraka wrote:

DD, I removed every program i could spare, defragged, bought Optimize to remove unnecessary startup files and background programs, deleted many work files (photos and videos ammounting to a few GB) and generally, there was a big spring cleanup. Next thing you know, the Virtual memory is low came right back. It had no effect on that. Harrumph.

Sounds like some program you're running is a memory hog or memory leaker.

You can keep rebooting, or go invest in your PC....

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you mean through getting extra RAM? Or through getting a new computer? This one ain't old enough to croak on me!
What program could be a big memory hog, any usual suspects? Normally I don't run much else outside of MS Office programs. Or JASC picture studio...but not that often.
iTunes?

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dagmaraka wrote:

you mean through getting extra RAM? Or through getting a new computer? This one ain't old enough to croak on me!
What program could be a big memory hog, any usual suspects? Normally I don't run much else outside of MS Office programs. Or JASC picture studio...but not that often.
iTunes?

RAM, not a new PC.

Have you run the office update, and installed the latest version of iTunes?

All programs are suspect, IMO. There are tools like Process Explorer that can look at all the resources that are being used, but the information is pretty esoteric. Much simpler to slap in some new RAM and reboot when you finish with your PC for the day.

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Will do, DD.

My music alone takes up 12 GB in my puter... I'm looking into what I can part with....nothing.
The thing is, I carry the puter to work every day, and across the planet few times a year, so I want everything to be in there. Music and photos especially. Work AND personal. The next notebook I buy will have AT LEAST 100GB memory. This one has only 60. I've no idea how i lived with a computer that had 3GB hard drive once. Impossible.

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dagmaraka wrote:

... Normally I don't run much else outside of MS Office programs. ...?

Excel is a HUGE memory hog.

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I use Excel a lot. Also an MS Project, which cannot be less of a hog, because when I run it, everything else freezes and crawls like a prisoner banished to Siberia.

But but but... I need to use them. Will the extra RAM save this forever or will I run into the same situation in a few months again?

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Virtual memory too low...

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