Gidday again! I recieved an error message yesterday "virtual memory low" and the PC has been running ****y for a while! I defragg the hard drive every couple of months, just wanted to know if you blokes used a program that addresses this issue. I have looked at a few like- Memokit and Memmonster, though I was apprehensive as a couple had been removed from download sites such as C-NET without explanation, can anyone recommend a program or ways to regain/optimise virtmemory or fix/control memory leaks?

Running XP Pro/256 ram/2.6 GHz



Thanks,

Boucher.

Hya Boucher.

How big is youre virtual memory now? To check:

At Control Panel | System | Advanced, click Settings in the “Performance” Section. On the Advanced page of the result, the current total physical size of all page files that may be in existence is shown.

And for more info on virtual memory if youre interested:

http://www.aumha.org/win5/a/xpvm.php


Also i would uninstall all apps that you installed that do anything with "memory optimization" or anything , they do more harm then good imho.


And what are the problems you are having? Maybe we can fix that aswell.
Follow the instructions in the "Prework" link below , and post the 2 resulting log files , then we start with malware cleaning if needed.

I usually set my page-file (virtual memory) to twice my RAM. That should keep you from getting that kind of error. Some prefer 1 and 1/2 times.

Couldn't agree more.


Just a point. Kind of related.
If you use the Windows XP's Hibernation feature on your laptop or PC, you may want to delete the Hiberfil.sys file from the hard disk before defragmenting. When you put your computer in hibernation, Windows XP writes all memory content to the Hiberfil.sys file before shutting down the system. Then, when you turn your computer back on, the OS uses the Hiberfil.sys file to put everything back into memory, and the computer resumes where it left off. However, Windows XP leaves the Hiberfil.sys file on the hard disk, even though it's no longer needed.
The Hiberfil.sys file, which can be very large, is a special system file that Disk Defragmenter cannot defragment. Therefore, the presence of the Hiberfil.sys file will prevent Disk Defragmenter from performing a thorough defragmenting operation.
Follow these steps to remove the Hiberfil.sys file from the hard disk:

1. Access the Control Panel and double-click Power Options.
2. Select the Hibernate tab in the Power Options Properties dialog box.
3. Clear the Enable Hibernation check box and click OK.

As soon as you clear the check box, Windows XP automatically deletes the Hiberfil.sys file from the hard disk.
Once you complete the defrag operation, you can re-enable the Hibernation feature.

Of course, if you never use Hibernation, leave it disabled

BTW. You may also consider this. Purge your restore points.

Good points , and i didn't know that about hiberfil.sys. But i also dont use it , sysrestore neither.