virtual memory is dangerously low

Hi -- I'm running XP with 256 Ram -- I often get the warning that my virtual memory is running dangerously low and my computer then makes adjustments. I'm wondering why I get this error message with the amount of Ram I have. Things seem to keep running ok-- I'm just trying to understand it.
Thanks
Vicki

 

This may be a reference to your pagefile size not being sufficient. Is it System managed or have you customised it ?.

Also do you have enough free space on your hard disk ?.

 

Thanks for your answer. I haven't customized anything. I have a 20 GB hard drive and am using just under 1/2 of it. I also don't know what a page file size is. So, I'm not sure that I'm giving you the information you need
Thanks
Viki

 

pagefile = virtual memory = a section of your hard drive that XP has reserved for use as pseudo-RAM and will move data from physical RAM to virtual RAM to free up the faster physical memory.

Some software puts a good deal of information into memory and to maintain fast operation, XP will usually "swap" data from RAM to pagefile and back as needed.

It sounds like one of two things is happening with your PC. Either you have a program that likes to use lots of memory and your default setup didn't allow for enough or else you have a program with a "memory leak ".

Memory leak =
1. program grabs memory to perform a function.
2. function finishes but (poorly written) program does not release the memory and does not remember it has reserved it.
3. program grabs more memory next time to perform the same function.
4. pretty soon you run out of physical and virtual memory even though most of yours isn't being used. It just isn't marked as free for use.

First thing I'd try is allocating more hard drive space for use as pagefile. And BTW - if your drive is partitioned or if you have several drives, move most of the pagefile off C: and you will get better performance.
1. start~settings~control panel~system
2. advanced tab~performance settings button~advanced tab~virtual memory change button
3. Custom size and set the minimum to 768Mb and the maximum to double that. As above, locate if off the C: drive if possible. Otherwise, C: will certainly work.

I suggested a minimum that is quite a bit larger than you have now and a maximum because if you leave that blank, the pagefile can grow to fill your drive which isn't a good thing.

With the above settings, if it happens to you again, then you are for sure dealing with a buggy application and a serious memory leak.

Note: a reboot will always set the amount of pagefile in use back to around zero so will always give you a temporary "fix" for this problem.

If you do have more problems, post back for how to troubleshoot your memory leak.

 

i personally had these sort of problems, i fixed it by installing a spare 20gb 7200rpm and using this as my swap drive (can work with any size drive) and i generally manage my own swap file size, 2.5x the amount of ram in the system, and defragment that drive often! even if you let the system manage the size, having the swap file on a drive other than c makes the system respond a fair deal quicker, and keeping it defragged is even better!

 

Hi cards0903

I recently had similar problems with my HP Pavillion 7945 running 256ram/40gb HDD. I e-mailed HP support and received the following reply, much of which is pretty obvious.


Hello Nigel,

Thank you for contacting HP Customer Care.

The system is on low virtual memory due to low system resources.

The information below will help to resolve issues with low system
resources. Unfortunately, system resources degrade over time and slow
the computer. The information below provides ways to improve system
performance.

Close all open programs not being used

Open and use only necessary programs. Minimizing a programs window may
not stop that program from using the computer's processor and memory.
Being online, listening to music, and running virus scans are all ways
to use a lot of system resources. Try running virus scans and other
system tools while at lunch or when away from the desk. Work offline
when that is convenient. Closing programs will help Windows perform
more efficiently.

Prevent background programs from loading

As more programs are loaded, the small icons on the systray bar build
up (usually these icons are in the lower-right corner, next to the
time). Each of these pictures represents a program running in the
background, and each takes up system resources. Common ones are virus
scanners, display settings, volume adjustments, and multimedia
programs. Hovering the mouse over any of the programs will reveal the
program name. Increase system resources by stopping these tasks from
loading, or change their settings. This can be achieved in a number of
ways since these programs are often started from various places. If
the methods below do not apply to a specific icon, consult the
applications documentation or Web site.

Remove icons from the Startup folder

Use the following steps to prevent unwanted items from loading.

1. With all applications closed, right-click in the Windows Desktop,
and select New and Folder. Name the folder Notstartup. The icons
can be moved into this folder and will be available if required
later.
2. Right-click Start, and select Open. Windows should open the Start
Menu folder.
3. Double-click Programs.
4. Locate and open Startup.
5. Any icons present in Startup are programs loaded when the computer
starts. Right-click any of these icons and select Properties to
reveal more information about the icon.
6. Press and hold the CTRL key. While holding this key down, click
the icons to be moved out of the startup folder.
7. Click Edit, and select Cut.
8. Close the open windows to return to the Windows Desktop.
9. Double-click the Notstartup folder created in Step 1.
10. Select Edit and Paste to insert the icons into this folder.
11. Restart the computer. Any items removed from Startup will no
longer load but can be launched by double-clicking the desired
item in the Notstartup folder. Reverse these steps to add icons
back into Startup, if desired.

Use System Configuration to prevent programs from launching

Perform the following steps to selectively prevent items from starting
when Windows launches.

Caution: Only disable items that are known and undesired.
Disabling system critical items may cause problems.

1. Select Start, Run.
2. Type msconfig in the Open field and then click Ok.
3. Select the General tab and Selective Startup.
4. Select the Startup tab and remove the checks from any tasks that
do not contribute to the system and are unwanted. If unsure about
a task, write the name down and research it on the Internet later.
Do not remove a checkmark if you do not know what the task is (if
possible, do not close Backweb, MotiveMonitor and Vsheild).
5. Click OK to accept the changes. Restart the computer.
6. If Windows or other software stops working after a checkmark is
removed from a task you were unsure about, restart the computer
and reverse these procedures to replace the checkmark. Press F8
after the very first blue HP startup screen (after the computer
has been turned on) to get into Safe mode.

By completing these steps, Windows will run using Selective Startup.
This means that Windows prevents the selected programs from starting.
If Selective Startup is disabled in the future, all of the selected
programs will start again.

Empty the Recycle Bin

1. From the Windows Desktop, double-click Recycle Bin.
2. Restore any mistakenly deleted items by highlighting each file,
then selecting File and Restore.
3. Select File and Empty Recycle Bin. Windows will remove the
contents of the Recycle Bin from the hard disk (C: is most
common). Select Yes to confirm.
4. Close the Recycle Bin.

Deleting temporary files and directories

This step will increase hard disk space and reduce the time Windows
takes to access the directory. It will also solve problems associated
with spooling print jobs. Windows uses the C:\WINDOWS\TEMP directory
to temporarily store files intended only for temporary use. Over time,
these files can build up. To delete these files, follow the steps
below:

1. Select Start, All Programs, Accessories, System Tools, and then
Disk Cleanup.
2. Place a check next to Temporary Files and select OK.

ScanDisk and Defragment

The program Scandisk checks a hard drive for errors. The program Disk
Defragmenter takes all of the scattered bits of program data and groups
them together in the front of the drive. Run ScanDisk before running
the Defragmenter. Not all versions of Windows have these options.
Defragmenting the hard drive enables a computer to access files more
quickly.

ScanDisk

1. Click Start and then My Computer.
2. Right-click on the Hard Drive icon that needs scanning and select
Properties from the list.
3. Choose the Tools tab.
4. Click Check Now.
5. A Check Disk screen appears with the following options:

* Automatically fix file system errors.
This avoids Windows prompting for permission to fix a file
when it finds an incomplete or bad file.

* Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors.
Performs a thorough scan of the hard drive's surface. Windows
will isolate any bad sectors that it finds so that these bad
areas on the hard drive will not get used again. This can
take a very long time but is one of the most important things
in preventing future problems with troublesome hard drives.

6. Place a check in both boxes and click Start.

Defragment

1. Close all programs that are running. This includes background
programs such as scanners.
2. Click Start, Programs or All Programs, Accessories, and System
Tools.
3. Click Disk Defragmenter. Follow the onscreen instructions. If
Disk Defragmenter starts itself over and over, then a hidden
background program is still accessing the hard drive. Restart the
computer in Safe mode and try again.

Memory leakage and restarting Windows

A memory leak is unused memory that Windows thinks is still valid.
Over time, unused memory builds up, causing Windows to slow down and
use the hard drive more. Memory leaks are occurring if the HP Pavilion
runs well when first turned on, but performs noticeably slower after
several programs are opened and closed.

Memory leaks can occur if a program is closed before it has fully
opened. Always allow programs to load completely. As a rule, wait 10
to 20 seconds after a program starts before closing it again, even if
the program was opened unintentionally.

To immediately fix memory leaks, restart the computer. To find a
permanent fix, try to isolate the program causing the leaks by using
the following steps:

1. Start with a fresh session of Windows by shutting down, then
turning on the computer.
2. Press CTRL + ALT + DELETE on your keyboard.
3. Select the Performance tab. Note the amount of available physical
memory.
4. Open a program suspected of causing the computer to run more
slowly.
5. View the System Resources percentage or the amount of physical
memory again and write it down.
6. Close and re-open a suspected program repeatedly, comparing this
number to the one recorded. Each time, wait about 10 seconds
before opening again.
7. If the system resources percentage or available physical memory
continues to decrease, then a memory leak is occurring. Contact
the program's vendor for available patches or fixes.
8. If the System Resource percentage or available physical memory
comes back near to the same numbers each time, then the suspected
program is probably not creating a memory leak.

Freeing up space on the hard drive

Windows uses this space for different types of operations such as
caching and virtual memory. The computer may not run reliably if the
free disk space drops under 100 MB. To see how much space remains on
the hard drive, double-click My Computer, located on the Desktop.
Right-click the hard drive (C: is most common), and select Properties.
Use the following steps to remove unwanted programs and increase hard
drive space:

1. Click Start, then Control Panel.
2. Open Add or Remove Programs.
3. Click the Change or Remove Programs tab. Select programs that are
no longer used and will not be used.
4. Highlight the program name, then click the Change/Remove button
and OK.
5. When done, a prompt may appear to restart Windows. Wait until
completely removing the unwanted programs; then restart Windows.

 

You using Norton's?

I had that same problem & after a lot of searching, I came across this fix, that worked for me.

http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT/nip.nsf/e584eff20b611f7988256a9b007e63c1/7f4761e776f63f3488256b82006dee3b?OpenDocument&sone=nis_2002_tasks.html

That was with using NIS 2002

I am running NIS 2003 now, and have not had the message with that version.

Post back & let us all know what solved your problem.

 

Virtual memory

It is interesting you mention the Norton connection. I was running Norton Systemworks 2002 and had the vm problem, I recently changed to NIS 2003 and the problem was resolved.

Around the same time that I instaled NIS 2003 I also downloaded MemoryBoost Pro which runs in background and reclaims RAM, I wondered if that also might have helped.....