Friday, August 7, 2009

Windows Virtual Memory is too low--what's that all about?

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August 7, 2009
Windows Virtual Memory is too low--what's
that all about?

Dear CNET members,

Happy Friday! It's good to be back. Despite a short vacation, one too few margaritas, and a pretty bad sunburn, Cabo San Lucas Mexico was beautiful. Something about the whole desert-meets-the ocean thing makes it so cool! My entire family had a great time--especially the kids. It's too bad I didn't make time to go fishing, but hey, now I have an excuse to go again. When I get a bit of time I'll put together some photos of my trip to share with you folks. For the mean time, if any of you are considering a trip down to Mexico, I definitely recommend looking up Cabo as a destination to put on your list. Now, let's get down to business and see if we can help Marilyn understand what Low on Virtual Memory means in Windows and also why it is happening when she starts up her Windows system.

Over the past couple weeks, we received a great deal of answers for Marilyn from our members--ranging from simple-to-understand explanations of what causes low virtual memory to many suggestions about how to curb low virtual memory in Windows. If you receive the "Low on Virtual Memory" notice, don't panic; while your system my run a bit sluggish, for the most part, if you leave it alone, Windows will automatically adjust its system resources to address the low virtual-memory issue. As you read through your fellow members' explanations of low virtual memory, you'll come to realize that it can be caused by many factors, which range from too many tasks running on your desktop to an insufficient amount of RAM or hard-drive space. In Marilyn's case, since the Low Virtual Memory notice comes right after she boots up her system, it's most likely because of too many start-up programs running during her initial system boot-up. So, a little good house keeping eliminate those unnecessary programs from starting up during boot-up time will go along way.

To the many folks out there who have e-mailed me about receiving Low virtual Memory notices, please grab a seat and read through our members' advice. I'm sure by the time you're done, you'll have a good idea of how stop it from happening again. I have a few selected members' answers in the Q&A section to give you a head start, so get on it! Have a great weekend, folks, and as always, thank you for your contributions!


Cheers!
- Lee


Got suggestions? Send me an e-mail: messageboards@cnet.com

Lee Koo
Lee Koo
CNET Community manager
Last week's question
Windows Virtual Memory is too low--what's that all about?
QuestionCan anyone explain why I keep getting this message when first turning my computer on: "Windows Virtual Memory is too low--your system is low on virtual memory. Windows is increasing the size of your paging file. During this process requests for some applications may be denied. For more information see help." What causes this and is there something I can do to resolve this or is it an issue at all? Any help will be appreciated.

-- Submitted by: Marilyn H.

AnswerFeatured member solutions
for last week's question:

 "Simple steps go a long way "
-- Submitted by: High Desert Charlie

 "Virtual memory "
-- Submitted by: jzou

 "Virtual memory issues "
-- Submitted by: Sporati

 "Too many start-up programs "
-- Submitted by: clap_clap

 "Multitasking and virtual memory "
-- Submitted by: paul_saute

 "Windows (really applies to most OSes) Virtual Memory "
-- Submitted by: zepper

 Read all member contributions

 Thanks to all who contributed!

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Next week's questionI recently had to format my hard drive and reinstall windows XP Pro, because I was frequently getting the Windows blue screen of death (BSOD). However, since re-installing the OS, I cannot place my computer in standby, and by implication, hibernate, because the standby button is grayed out. Furthermore, to make matters worse, I cannot restart my computer from the entry/exit screen because the command is simply ignored; the same applies (occasionally) to the turn-off command. To compound the situation even further, I'm STILL getting the BSOD, more and more frequently. Having read many replies to other users with various problems, I have a great admiration for your contributors for the knowledge they have and are willing to share and I'm praying someone will have a solution to this problem. Grateful thanks in anticipation.

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