Have you given your hard drive a good clean up, checking for spyware/malware
and viruses? If not then first run your anti virus application. Next
download Ad-Aware (
www.lavasoft.com) also download Spybot search and destroy
(
www.safer-networking.org) Incidentally both ad-aware and spybot are free.
Run these and see if they come up with anything - well chances are they
will.
Next download CCleaner (
www.ccleaner.com) (again free) and run this. This
will remove temproary internet files, history, cookies and a host of other
files that can bog down the system.
After completing all of this defragment the hard drive.
As to virtual memory, this is an area of the hard drive which is reserved
for swapping files between the memory and the hard drive in an effort to
increase performance. It doesn't really matter if you have 2GB of memory
Windows will still use the virtual memory swap file. Okay maybe not as much
as it would with a lower memory ratio, but it will still use it.
The normal rule of thumb is 1.5 times your physical memory. So if you have
128MB of memory the virtual memory should be 128+64=192MB If you have 256MB
of memory then the virtual memory should be 256+128=384 and so on.
If you are getting virtual memory too low messages Windows will normal
adjust the setting accordingly
To adjust the virtual memory proceed as follows:
Adjusting virtual memory is quite easy actually...
1. Go to Control Panel and click the System icon
2. In System properties click the Advanced tab
3. Under the performance section click the "Settings" button
4. In the settings window click the Advanced tab
5. In the advanced tab window click "Change" under the virtual
memory area.
6. In the virtual memory window first click the drive you want
to adjust then click the Custom option under 'paging file size for selected
drive
7. In the Initial size (MB) window type your initial physical
memeory, i.e., 128 or 265 etc
8. In the maximum size box type the physical memory times 1.5
(following the above formula)
9. finally click OK to exit
--
John Barnett MVP
Associate Expert
http://xphelpandsupport.mvps.org
The information in this post is supplied "as is". No warranty of
any kind, either expressed or implied, is made in relation to the accuracy,
reliability or content of this post. The Author shall not be liable for any
direct, indirect, incidental or consequential damages arising out of the use
of, or inability to use, information or opinions expressed in this post..
