virtual memory is low

[apache]

My desktop keeps telling me this, does it need more RAM?

[aldi]

Yes!

[aldi]

Oh wait, no

Check the page file settings, control pannel/system/the one on the far right. Make sure that max/min is set to somewhere near the 'reccomended', either that or stick it on 'system managed'

[DanL]

More memory may help, but virtual memory is where Windows uses hard disc space as memory. You may find that you're just running short of space on your hard disc, and clearing some will fix the error message. In general your PC would be running pretty slowly if it was using lots of virtual memory, as it'll keep paging the hard disc.

There's a setting in Windows somewhere to play around with virtual memory settings. In Windows XP it's under control panel buried in the system options. Open the control pannel, press F1 and search for virtual memory to find out how to customise it on your PC (regardless of which Windows flavor you're using). In XP my PC is set up to manage the virtual memory automatically, so I should only be warned that it's running low if the hard disc is filling up.

Hope this helps!

Dan

[apache]

thanks, changed it to system managed, let's see how that works

[thepassenger]

If your getting this error then fitting more RAM would be useful regardless.
The more physical memory the less the system will use the swap file and the smoother it will run.

Don't get me wrong it's not an "OMG! RAM NOW!" thing but just something to do when you're out of important stuff to do

I'll skip the whole how to adjust swap as you've done it

[apache]

mmmn, that seems to have ed things up nicely. Every time I reboot the screen reverts to 8 bit

[aldi]

Sounds like your XP has issues...

Might be worth re-installing the graphics driver? If you post what make/model of PC you've got I'l find out which one you need.

[thepassenger]

apache said:

mmmn, that seems to have ed things up nicely. Every time I reboot the screen reverts to 8 bit

The system throwing up a virtual memory error shouldn't have caused it to revert to 8bit when rebooted; although if you've taken the system to safe mode and/or it's currently in safe mode that might have reset your graphics settings (I can honestly say I've never needed to bring XP up in safe mode so can't speak from experience). When you change the settings back to normal and then reboot does it remember them?

If not and your not part of a corporate network with remote ACL's floating around... then I'd suggest Aldi's advice about backing up and trying a repair/total reinstall of XP is probably the best bet. My gut feeling is that the virtual memory error and this graphics issue might be signs of an underlying issue rather than simple cause/effect.

[apache]

The problem seems to have something to do with 'spyware doctor' It won't open and causes the graphic problem when I try. I can't uninstall either because it appears to be running (it isn't) when I try to shut it down the PC hangs. Everything else seems normal

[aldi]

I'd reboot in safe mode (keep tapping f8 while the PC powers on) and then uninstall the problem, then reboot back to normal.

[stevieb]

Get this message 2 or 3 times a day.

I have put it down to poorly written programs, with memory leaks. I have 4gig Ram and 1TB of storage on my workstation. Maybe the computer is working to hard.

A Reboot should sort it for another few hours

[thepassenger]

stevieb said:

Get this message 2 or 3 times a day.

I have put it down to poorly written programs, with memory leaks. I have 4gig Ram and 1TB of storage on my workstation. Maybe the computer is working to hard.

A Reboot should sort it for another few hours

4Gb RAM... might be freaking out XP's virtual memory handler, you could always try setting it to manual. Although I suspect in such an enviroment where your pushing the system that hard then yes even a small memory leak from a program (say it's shader or interface) would quickly bring the machine to it's knees.