Question:
Is it safe to turn up the virtual memory?
anonymous
2007-04-14 15:11:59 UTC
ive just turned mine up to 1024 and the min of 512 is this ok or will it burn my pc out , only did it because my pc is runnin slow and i cant afford ram til next week.
Eight answers:
anonymous
2007-04-14 18:46:50 UTC
You bl**dy cheapskate! Your pc will be fine this will run smoother. But make sure you select memory auto selection then you can watch as much porn you want until your hearts content. HIGH FIVE!!!
ih8as4ever
2007-04-14 15:27:15 UTC
It is safe. But there is no need to do that. Also it does not replace the RAM. In fact it is actually much slower than the RAM as it does right to Your hard drive. It also will not improve the performance by very much.



The best way to improve Your PC's speed (if You can't afford the RAM) is to stop unneeded applications from starting when windows starts, keep Your registry clean and from time to time defragment the registry. Also turn of the services that You do not use. Here are some links for You. If You need more help I'll do what I can.
anonymous
2007-04-14 15:29:38 UTC
You'll probably find that it's the virtual memory that is causing your computer to run slowly. As it works by using the hard drive any information that is stored in it will take a lot longer to access (this is because a hard disk is a lot slower than normal RAM). A better bet would be to shut down any programs running in the background that you don't need - thus freeing up more RAM. You should also try running disk cleanup and disk defragmenter as they will remove any rubbish that you don't need & organise the data on the hard disk to allow for more efficient access to it - speeding up your pc. A virus scan can also be useful as it may pick up any virus's or malware that may be lurking on your pc & slowing it down.



I hope this helps you a bit
anonymous
2007-04-14 15:26:53 UTC
You should set it to allow Windows to automatically manage virtual memory. You should also remove non essential programs from your startup list using msconfig. Also scan your system for malware.





Per:

http://askbobrankin.com/low_virtual_memory.html



When all of your computer's real physical memory (RAM) is in use, Windows will try to create virtual memory by grabbing a chunk of hard drive space and treating it like real memory. Your software can't tell the difference between real and virtual memory, but you might because virtual memory access is much slower, due to the hard drive activity it requires.



If you encounter the low virtual memory error message, then you have used the maximum amount of real plus virtual memory that is supported on your system. Sometimes programs that crash or ones that are poorly designed will not return their working memory space to the operating system when they're done using it. Other programs that need a large amount of memory to run may fail because Windows cannot "see" the available memory. In most cases, a shutdown and restart will resolve this problem.



Windows Knows Best

If you still see the dreaded "Your system is low on virtual memory" message then the first thing to do is make sure your computer is configured to allow Windows to automatically manage the virtual memory. In Windows XP, follow these steps:



Click Start, then open the Control Panel.

Click Performance and Maintenance, and then click System.

Click the Advanced tab.

Under Performance, click Settings.

Click the Advanced tab.

Under Virtual memory, click Change.

Under Drive [Volume Label], click the drive that contains the paging file (virtual memory) settings that you want to change. In almost every case, this will be your C: drive.

Click to select the "System managed size" option, then click Set.

Click OK three times and restart your computer.



When you allow Windows to manage your virtual memory, it should make the optimum amount of virtual memory available, by automatically shrinking or enlarging the paging file as needed. If that doesn't solve the low virtual memory problem, there are a few more things you can try.



Eliminate Non-Essential Programs

Over time, we tend to accumulate a bit of clutter on a computer. My article "Making Windows XP Run Faster!" will show you how to keep your system updated, eliminate viruses & spyware, scrub the hard disk of unneeded files, slim down your startup selections, and eliminate unnecessary system services. All of these things will free up resources in your computer, making it run faster and more reliably.



Add RAM to Your System

It might just be the case that your computer needs more real, physical memory. By this I mean RAM sticks that can be purchased in most computer, electronics, or office supply stores. If your PC is more than three years old, chances are it's close to being obsolete -- at least in terms of the ability to run today's resource-hogging software packages. And adding RAM to an older computer is the most effective thing you can do to upgrade it.



To see how much memory you have installed, follow these steps under Windows XP:

Click Start, then open the Control Panel.

Click Performance and Maintenance, and then click System.



On the System Properties window, you'll see the type and speed of your processor (CPU) and the amount of RAM. Note that Windows always seems to report that you have slightly less memory than you actually have. For example, if Windows reports 496 MB of RAM, you actually have 512 MB. (Memory will always be installed in 64 MB increments.)



The more RAM you have, the better your computer will perform. I recommend you have a minimum 256 megabytes (MB) of RAM, but with 512 MB or even a gigabyte of RAM, you'll notice much better performance.
kingkev4555
2007-04-14 15:16:25 UTC
Yes it is safe to turn it up it will just let the computer run smoother but i just usually set mine to Let Windows Set Virtual Memory because it sets it to what the computer needs.
mrresearchman
2007-04-14 15:18:26 UTC
*IF* you're needing to expamd your virtual memory you definately need to add more MEMORY (RAM) to your computer!



Virtual Memory is WAY SLOWER than RAM
anonymous
2007-04-14 15:17:09 UTC
Set it at system manage memory.
anonymous
2007-04-14 15:26:52 UTC
thats perfectly safe but do add some more sticks to it


This content was originally posted on Y! Answers, a Q&A website that shut down in 2021.
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