Virtual Memory Mimimun Too Low
What is virtual memory?
This can be often observed on a little old PC Windows XP.
A message of "Virtual Memory Minimun Too Low" is indicated from task tray on a lower right of the desktop.
PC works probably too slow under the such circumstances.
I think this message is weird.
Because almost all people might have not changed the "virtual memory minimum".
And it's no wonder the real cause exists other place.
But it is absolutely fact that virtual memory is lack of memory space as indication.
Meaning of the indication content
Excerpt from the indication content
Your system is low on virtual memory.
Windows is incrasing the size of your virtual memory paging file.
During this process, memory requests for some applications may be denied.
For more information, see help.
It is difficult to understand the meaning of this problem just reading this indication.
That's because this contains many rare words you might not know just using a computer usually.
Then the most important word is "virtual memory".
Virtual memory is not opposite word of physical memory.
Physical memory is also used as virtual memory.
What is virtual memory?
In a word, virtual memory is a memory which is managed by software.
Software runs with using the independent memory space.
But real memory area must be carried out reading and writing of various data by various softwares.
Virtual memory is a system as if acting virtually each independent memory space exists for various softwares using efficiently limited memory area.
It deceives software and it is for easy to deal with memory for software side.
Substance of virtual memory
I think virtual memory is not understood easily or sometimes it is misunderstood by people.
As it has been mentioned above about virtual memory area part, but important thing is where is the specific part to use the function.
Virtual memory area is composed of physical memory and paging file (pagefile.sys) which is a cache file in hard drive.
And then, physical memory is divided into memory module that is easy to image remarkable and cash memory exists in CPU.
Sometimes we can see description of "Virtual memory" = "Paging file", but it's a mistake.
Cache file called "paging file" is not whole of virtual memory.
It's a part of virtual memory.
"Virtual memory" = "Physical memory" + "Paging file" is collect.
All we need special attention, physical memory is a main part of virtual memory.
I think whether you have this knowledge or not, it might be change for indication of "Virtual Memory Minimum Too Low".
The root cause
Precisely, on a basic of above contents "Virtual Memory Minimum Too Low" is lack of capacity of physical memory.
When I use physical memory, I have to shift the data to paging file because physical memory have no space (swapping).
Moreover, since this paging file capacity has been become less to expand it.
This is the meaning of series of what is indication shown.
I feel that raising the minimum size of paging file as indication point is "virtual memory minimum too low".
Because of raising the minimum size of paging file, the minimum size of virtual memory is also raising.
But it's not fundamental solution.
Reading and writing of hard drive is much slower than the physical memory.
It's a incomparable (about two digits), so it is not a substitute.
Using the cache file of on the hard drive called paging file as a substitute for the physical memory is impossible.
Therefore, in these circumstances - such as luck of virtual memory space and try to increasing the paging file size - even if increase to the paging file size, the PC is still too slow.
Because physical memory has no space and swapping occurs frequently is still same situation as this problem happened.
It is no use just operating the cache file of hard drive that is running extremely slow as leave main part of virtual memory alone.
Because physical memory is no change.
How to deal with problem
About indication of "Virtual Memory Minimun Too Low", the best method is adding physical memory.
If increasing paging file size as indication, the PC running does not improve as I above.
Especially the PC pre-installed windows XP is tendency can be seen the lack of memory space from the beginning.
In addition, when you install the service pack provided by Microsoft, lacking memory is more seriously just as function has been added.
As for the PC installed Windows XP I recommand that you have more than 512MB memory at minimum.
I think you had better adding memory module when you need, because memory module is getting more reasonable year after year.