virtual memory too low

[Alice]

What is virtual memory ?
and why does my pc say windows is increasing vm minimim too low,

my pc is xp Home Edition
Version 2002
Service Pack 3

is this something i can avoid. I would very much appriciate any help on this

Thankyou

[big-all]

wouldnt worry to much

each function needs a certain amount off space to work efficiently
your hard drive is divided into compartments like a pie chart
if the allocated space is a bit tight things run slowly
so its re sizing to give more room
providing you have enough space it wont matter
if your short you will probably need more memory
have you defragged or done a discc clean up recently!!!!

[Alice]

wouldnt worry to much

each function needs a certain amount off space to work efficiently
your hard drive is divided into compartments like a pie chart
if the allocated space is a bit tight things run slowly
so its re sizing to give more room
providing you have enough space it wont matter
if your short you will probably need more memory
have you defragged or done a discc clean up recently!!!!

Thank's Big-All for the quick reply well actually i cant defragg either as it says i need more % . I am new to computers and trying to learn as i go along, up to now this forum has been good practice for me, so very glad i found it.

[big-all]

i was the same a couple off years ago so much sh1t on a relativly small computer i was 85%full up 10% free computer like treacle
now i am 80% free and the difference is amazing

do a disk clear up and take it from there
try and remove things you dont use [old games old processes ect]
but in reality greater memory/computing ability is your need

[chat_to_rich]

What is virtual memory ?
and why does my pc say windows is increasing vm minimim too low,

my pc is xp Home Edition
Version 2002
Service Pack 3

is this something i can avoid. I would very much appriciate any help on this

Thankyou

You'll see this message when Windows is getting low on memory. This can happen if you have lots of programs open at the same time, or if a program is using lots of memory. If you get this message during normal use of your computer you may want to consider adding more RAM as it's very cheap these days. As your computer is running a 32bit version of Windows it won't be able to see much more than 3GB, so this is the most I would put in your computer. You can put more RAM into your computer, but your version of Windows won't be able to use it. If you don't know what type or RAM your computer needs you could use a tool like the Crucial Memory Advisor Tool to find out what RAM you need http://www.crucial.com/uk/. Also, as big-all says, I would cleanup your hard disk, so that you have 10-15% free space.

[Alice]

i was the same a couple off years ago so much sh1t on a relativly small computer i was 85%full up 10% free computer like treacle
now i am 80% free and the difference is amazing

do a disk clear up and take it from there
try and remove things you dont use [old games old processes ect]
but in reality greater memory/computing ability is your need

Thankyou Big-All, your right about me needing ability. And the time and info from you guys is a wee valuable lesson. So i take note of all answers. This pc was bought for my children at the time, now they have moved on to laptops ect..and will show me something too quick to take in then loss pacience .this week was the 2nd week for me at a 2hr once a week pc taster class, what a difference and this 4 now will be good to learn on.