what is virtual memory? My computer keeps on saying the virtual memory is low and this slows down the speed of my computer.
It says, "the virtual memory is low and during this time some documents will take time to open"
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Physical memory is the memory that is installed on your computer as real memory. To be able to run programs that require more memory and more programs at the same time (via time sharing and task switching) it is also possible to move (swap) currently not needed code and data to disk to make room for other programs and data. The total memory available for programs is the Virtual Memory.
You can check the Virtual Memory settings here: Control Panel > System > Advanced > Performance > Settings (Advanced tab)
Windows can manage more memory then is physical available and that memory is stored in a page file on your hard drive.
If the size of that file is not large enough and all available memory is in use then you get the Virtual Memory is low warning.
Make sure that you have at least 1 GB or the recommended setting for the Virtual Memory.
- http://support.microsoft.com/kb/555223 - RAM, Virtual Memory, Pagefile and all that stuff
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_memory