Computer problems

[~!!WhoCares!!~]

My computer has acting a bit weird lately. It always says virtual memory low. Does any one know what it means. Also How can I fix it!!! Every thing runs slow i have to go to my towns computer cafe to use the computer!!

[Jale]

Increase the pagefile size, but first, make sure you have enough disk space. You must keep at least 2 GB of free space for pagefile.sys. If you have more than 2 GB of RAM, you need at least 3 GB of free space. The more the RAM, the more space it will need.

To increase the pagefile size, do the following:

• Right click on My Computer and then Properties.
• Click opn the Advanced tab and in the Performance group, click on the Settings button. Another dialog pops up.
• Now, click on Advanced and then in the virtual memory group, click Change.
• At the top of the dialog you'll see your hard drives. Highlight C: and below you'll see three options. Let your system manage the pagefile size by clicking on System managed size.
• Click on Set button.
• Click OK.
• Restart your computer if prompted.

[GHDpro]

Also check if there isn't anything runing in the background that you really don't need.

I usually check the registry for that, but that can get tricky (delete the wrong thing and some apps stop working). However, checking Start -> Programs -> Startup is fairly safe. Remove anything from that start menu folder which you don't need all the time (some apps like to put things there that'll make them start up faster at the cost of more RAM usage and slower boot times).

Also go to Control Panel -> Add / Remove Programs and uninstall anything you're not using anymore.

[Zach]

It definitely sounds like you have something running the background too. If it's going super slow and warning you about running out of virtual memory, you are running a program that is either

A) chewing up your resources for some reason
B) has a memory leak.

The slowness is probably being caused by all the swap file usage, as windows is continuously swapping data out of memory and onto the hard disk. You should make sure you haven't caught a virus or something as well, just to be safe.

[RockY]

It sounds more like some software-malware installed there.... Find some spyware remover or a better antivirus and run a full system scan.

[~!!WhoCares!!~]

thanks for the help. But my computer still is slow. Also it wouldn;t start up until a couple of days ago I download anti-viruses to see if I had a viruse. But most of them don't start up!!

[Zach]

Then you probably have some kind of virus, if it's preventing those programs from running.

Either that or your install is seriously screwed up. If it is an option, I'd say format the drive and start over from scratch.

You could try downloading a bootable CD/disk with antivirus on it to try and clean it up too.

[RockY]

thanks for the help. But my computer still is slow. Also it wouldn;t start up until a couple of days ago I download anti-viruses to see if I had a viruse. But most of them don't start up!!

Run the antivirus in safe mode...

You can always restore the operating system to a previous "working" state, and see if it works.

[RockY]

If you want to try other way, got to:

RUN / MSCONFIG / STARTUP

Once in Startup unmark anything you think is suspicious, then apply and restart.