memory test

[gina32]

ive been trying to watch something on my pc but have a message telling me my memory is low, how can i check the memory and how do i increase it, many thanks

[Paulst30]

The message is probably telling you that your paging file is running out of space and you should increase it.

In the first instance you would always increase the amount of RAM your pc has. If you have a PC running XP its advisable to have no less than 512Mb running as XP uses something like 256Mb to run effectively.

Secondly if your budget doesnt allow for this you can increase a small part of the hard drive to use as if it were RAM, this is called Virtual Memory. As the RAM runs out your operating system starts to swap over less used programs to the hard drive, into this virtual memory space. If this space is too small it can end up slowing your pc down quite badly.

To increase it close all open programs and go to:

Start > control panel > system > Advanced tab > performance (settings button)

In the performance window select the advanced tab again and you will see at the bottom, Virtual Memory. Select the change button and select custom Values then in the minimum part choose something like 756Mb or a number greater then your RAM.

You will need to restart your pc for the change to take effect. This won't solve your problem in the long term as the main solution would be to increase your RAM however it may solve your imediate needs.

[fo3nix]

I'd advise you don't even touch the virtual memory settings like Paulst30 is suggesting. It's an easy way to get into trouble.

Check these details and tell us what the numbers are:

RAM -- found by right-clicking my computer and clicking properties from the menu -- it'll be at the bottom. 512MB or something like that.

hard drive -- go into my computer, and you should see your hard drive, shown as C: or similar (I assume you have only one. if more than one, C:, D: etc., then do it for each of them). right-click the drive icon and choose properties, and write down the free space it quotes there.