Reply #3: Virtual Memory

[RoyGBiv]

Virtual memory is the Windoze paging (swap) file, meaning space allocated on the hard disk to use if actual memory, RAM, is used up. If Windoze is giving her the message something like, "Windows is low on virtual memory ... increasing ..." it means the amount of space allocated to this is too low for the amount of memory she has combined with the amount of memory the programs she is running are using up.

The basic problem here is that she needs more RAM. If she's running XP on a system with 128MB, she'll use a lot of virtual memory because Windoze itself takes up most of that. Any additional programs will take more. If she's running a lot at the same time or one that uses a lot of memory, even the default page file size will be a problem. System performance is severely affected by this, especially if the hard drive is not super fast or is fragmented or some such thing.

To increase its size, go to Control Panel > System > Advanced tab > and click on the Performance "Settings" button. Then click the Advanced tab when that window pops up. At the bottom should be a section called "Virtual Memory." Click the "Change" button. In this window are several options for each drive on the system.

For most users with not enough RAM, the best setting is "System Managed," which will result in the "Windows low on virtual memory" message from time to time. Make sure the "no paging file" setting is NOT checked. That will result in her running out of memory entirely and being unable to open new programs and use some she's running. The other settings allow for a user defined page file size. I wouldn't recommend this unless she knows what's she's doing here and has a very large hard drive. If "system managed" is checked, she's fine, but the message indicates she's running out of real memory a lot.

To solve the problem more permanently, she'll need more RAM.

All that said, Spyware and other programs running in the background she doesn't need or really want can be an issue with this. If she has a lot of them, actual RAM usage can be enormous, forcing the increase in page file size. So, check for spyware and make sure she doesn't have a lot of useless applications running she doesn't need.

Hope that helps.