The low virtual memory message can be used as a warning about the possible termination of all operations performed by the operating system. This threatens with the loss of user data, and therefore determining the causes of insufficient memory becomes one of the top priorities.
The computer uses two types of memory - RAM (random access memory) and virtual memory. The execution of any program is associated with the use of RAM memory, but if there is a shortage of RAM, the system is able to temporarily move a certain amount of information into a special paging file, which is the virtual memory of the computer. Thus, virtual memory usage is all about moving data to the paging file and back to RAM. The main reason for the lack of virtual (and often RAM) memory is the operation of more applications than is provided by the installed hardware. Another common cause of insufficient memory can be the constant claim of a given resource by a certain program - the so-called memory leak. This problem can lead to a decrease in the performance of the computer and to the malfunctioning of some applications. The solution to the problem may be to increase the size of the paging file manually by the user. To carry out the operation, you must click the "Start" button and go to the "Control Panel" item, select the "System and its maintenance" sub-item and open the System link. After specifying the "Advanced system settings", you must go to the "Advanced" tab of the dialog box that opens and click the "Settings" button in the "Performance" section. Going to the "Advanced" tab, click the "Change" button in the "Virtual memory" group and uncheck the "Automatically select paging file size" box. After that, you need to specify the disk containing the paging file, and the rest of the required sizes of the file itself. Confirm the execution of the command by clicking the "Install" button and save the changes by clicking the OK button. It should be borne in mind that an increase in the computer's virtual memory can lead to a decrease in the speed of programs. This is due to the longer, in comparison with RAM, the time interval required to read information from the hard disk.
