Virtual Memory has ruined my life

  • Thread starter Thread starter IanW
  • Start date Start date
I

IanW

Due to some kind of error with my paging file, my virtual
memory settings have gone mad. Currently I have 0MB
dedicated to its cause.
The only thing besides Internet that I use this machine for
is Championship Manager 03/04 and up until a few days ago
it ran just fine. Now Internet Explorer just closes itself
every half an hour due to memory issues. Disk space is not
the problem as I have more free now than ever.
I have downloaded a couple of programs that are supposed to
manage the system to perform at its best but they havent
had any kind of positive effect. I dont know how many
people wil read this message or if anyone can help but I
really am at the end of my teather. I have tried over and
over again to adjust the settings and allocate more memory
but it just wont have it.
I only have something like 160MB of RAM and my processor is
rubbish but as I said, it hasn't been a problem.

I posted my actual e-mail and await any kind of assistance.
Please, someone save my life!
Thanks in advance,
Ian
 
-----Original Message-----
Due to some kind of error with my paging file, my virtual
memory settings have gone mad. Currently I have 0MB
dedicated to its cause.
The only thing besides Internet that I use this machine for
is Championship Manager 03/04 and up until a few days ago
it ran just fine. Now Internet Explorer just closes itself
every half an hour due to memory issues. Disk space is not
the problem as I have more free now than ever.
I have downloaded a couple of programs that are supposed to
manage the system to perform at its best but they havent
had any kind of positive effect. I dont know how many
people wil read this message or if anyone can help but I
really am at the end of my teather. I have tried over and
over again to adjust the settings and allocate more memory
but it just wont have it.
I only have something like 160MB of RAM and my processor is
rubbish but as I said, it hasn't been a problem.

I posted my actual e-mail and await any kind of assistance.
Please, someone save my life!
Thanks in advance,
Ian
.
sounds like your not doing something just right,don't
Click to expand...
just change the settingslet it fix it
itself .................. ........................
start--control panel--performance and maintenance,click
the system icon--click advance tab--under performance
click settings--click the advance tab on that--under
virtual memory click change--check circle next to system
managed size,after you highlighted the drive at top,if
you have more than one,do them all like this--click OK--
OK--OK--Click restart for changes to take effect button.
 
Thanks ever so much for responding.
I have done what you said about 50 times. As I click on the
advanced tab, I get a message saying that due to some
problems with the page file, windows has created a new one
(which may be bigger than I need). This is what the problem
is I reckon - this 'temporary pagefile'.
I have tried to let the system manage the size but that
doesn't get me any further.
Internet Explorer is the only thing that will run for more
than 5 minutes!
RAM Idle Pro tells me that I am constantly around the 37MB
free mark........clearly not enough at all.

Do delete this pagefile or would that fix nothing? Maybe a
'system restore' would help, although I think I may have
disabled that option ages ago.

Thanks again
Ian
 
-----Original Message-----

Thanks ever so much for responding.
I have done what you said about 50 times. As I click on the
advanced tab, I get a message saying that due to some
problems with the page file, windows has created a new one
(which may be bigger than I need). This is what the problem
is I reckon - this 'temporary pagefile'.
I have tried to let the system manage the size but that
doesn't get me any further.
Internet Explorer is the only thing that will run for more
than 5 minutes!
RAM Idle Pro tells me that I am constantly around the 37MB
free mark........clearly not enough at all.

Do delete this pagefile or would that fix nothing? Maybe a
'system restore' would help, although I think I may have
disabled that option ages ago.

Thanks again
Ian
.
Sorry that didn't help.I'm a thinking one of two things
Click to expand...
for you,either you have a RAM memory leak(you can run a
test for),or somethings eating-up you memory,like
crazy.....You can try this for #2 start---run---type in
msconfig---OK---click the startup tab---disable all---OK--
-restart---when it boots up check the box don't show
agaun ok---try it out(if it works,you don't have a memory
leak)but you still have
problems.........................go back in and check one
box at a time till your trouble starts back,then you'll
know what the problem is,start by checking the box that
looks like your antivirus...ie:Norton will have
nav.....if you like there's other way to remove these
things.I've unchecked everything and deleated it,using
kelly's fixes,then going back into my antivirus/firewall
and turning them back on at startup......thats all I've
got running at startup.Everything will be there,just not
running eating-up memory untill you need it.
 
-----Original Message-----
Maybe
for you,either you have a RAM memory leak(you can run a
test for),or somethings eating-up you memory,like
crazy.....You can try this for #2 start---run---type in
msconfig---OK---click the startup tab---disable all---OK- -
-restart---when it boots up check the box don't show
agaun ok---try it out(if it works,you don't have a memory
leak)but you still have
problems.........................go back in and check one
box at a time till your trouble starts back,then you'll
know what the problem is,start by checking the box that
looks like your antivirus...ie:Norton will have
nav.....if you like there's other way to remove these
things.I've unchecked everything and deleated it,using
kelly's fixes,then going back into my antivirus/firewall
and turning them back on at startup......thats all I've
got running at startup.Everything will be there,just not
running eating-up memory untill you need it.
.
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm
Click to expand...
line 148 on the right side if you want to remove it.
 
Hi Ian

The following article by MVP Alex Nichol will help you:

"Virtual Memory in Windows XP"
http://aumha.org/win5/a/xpvm.php

--

Will Denny
MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User


| Due to some kind of error with my paging file, my virtual
| memory settings have gone mad. Currently I have 0MB
| dedicated to its cause.
| The only thing besides Internet that I use this machine for
| is Championship Manager 03/04 and up until a few days ago
| it ran just fine. Now Internet Explorer just closes itself
| every half an hour due to memory issues. Disk space is not
| the problem as I have more free now than ever.
| I have downloaded a couple of programs that are supposed to
| manage the system to perform at its best but they havent
| had any kind of positive effect. I dont know how many
| people wil read this message or if anyone can help but I
| really am at the end of my teather. I have tried over and
| over again to adjust the settings and allocate more memory
| but it just wont have it.
| I only have something like 160MB of RAM and my processor is
| rubbish but as I said, it hasn't been a problem.
|
| I posted my actual e-mail and await any kind of assistance.
| Please, someone save my life!
| Thanks in advance,
| Ian
 
-----Original Message-----
Hi Ian

The following article by MVP Alex Nichol will help you:

"Virtual Memory in Windows XP"
http://aumha.org/win5/a/xpvm.php
Click to expand...
-------------------------------------------------------------

Thanks for that link, mate. Explained quite a lot and I
thought everything was OK.
Maybe I'm wrong, but I think I may have to delete my
pagefile somehow. I can create a new one (overwrite
existing) but that doesnt seem to fix anything at all.
The eror message I get when clicking on the 'advanced' tab
reads something like "Windows has created a temporary
paging file due to a problem that occured during your
system start-up. This file may be a lot bigger than blah
blah blah....' and thats about it.
I've never had this much disk space before. 49% free on my
(feeble, I know) 13.9 GB drive. That is the main thing that
is bewildering me. Ive ran CM 03/04 for months now with
around 3 GB free. Now I have twice as much and it wont
load!? Well that is just baffling - and very annoying
considering I have just lost my job and now have all day to
play it!
It just doesnt add up at all.

So, aside from calling some guy out from a PC shop (which I
really cant afford) I dont know what to do. I have
explained everything in detail on here and on another
message board and so far no-one can help.
Thanks for your time
Ian
 
I am no further forward with this than I was on Wednesday
morning, so I'll pose it in the form of several questions
instead, try and make it all a little clearer as my ranting
in previous posts might have confused people somewhat.

1) Where the hell is the paging file (pagefile.sys) ?
2) If its invisible, can I see it so I can delete it?
3) If I'd had System Restore available, would it have
sorted this all out?
4) Is there a program/application I can download that will
actually optimise my settings and save me a lot of time and
money? The 2 I have now (Power Pack 2003 and Memory Zipper
Plus) haven't done anything so far besides remind me how
much computers suck.
5) Can anybody actually help me out here or am I eternally
doomed?

Once again, thank you all
 
ian_wanley said:
I am no further forward with this than I was on Wednesday
morning, so I'll pose it in the form of several questions
instead, try and make it all a little clearer as my ranting
in previous posts might have confused people somewhat.

1) Where the hell is the paging file (pagefile.sys) ?
Click to expand...

By Default? C:\pagefile.sys
2) If its invisible, can I see if so I can delete it?
Click to expand...

You don't want to delete it manually. Set it so it gets cleared at every
reboot:
http://www.winguides.com/registry/display.php/244/

And yes, you can change your options so you can see all system files (In
Windows Explorer, Tools->Options->View..)
3) If I'd had System Restore available, would it have
sorted this all out?
Click to expand...

No idea. That depends on what caused your problem in the first place. It's
a good idea to get it working, however. Usually turning off the system
restore, rebooting, turning back on the system restore can do this for you.
4) Is there a program/application I can download that will
actually optimize my settings and save me a lot of time and
money? The 2 I have now (Power Pack 2003 and Memory Zipper
Plus) haven't done anything so far besides remind me how
much computers suck.
Click to expand...

I don't recommend any third party memory managers. I do recommend Customize
the Page File Size. Read this article.. Nice one:
http://www.microsoft.com/WindowsXP/expertzone/columns/mcfedries/03june16.asp

Probably answers some other questions for you as well.
5) Can anybody actually help me out here or am I eternally
doomed?
Click to expand...

Everyone is eternally doomed.
Especially if you use that email address much, you might start getting spam
there that looks like official Microsoft email - it isn't.
 
I am no further forward with this than I was on Wednesday
morning, so I'll pose it in the form of several questions
instead, try and make it all a little clearer as my ranting
in previous posts might have confused people somewhat.

1) Where the hell is the paging file (pagefile.sys) ?
2) If its invisible, can I see it so I can delete it?
Click to expand...

If settings have not been changed, it will be on the same drive that
Windows is installed on. It is a hidden file. Use Folder Options> View to
show all files and to show system protected files.
3) If I'd had System Restore available, would it have
sorted this all out?
Click to expand...

Sorry, not familiar with your problems so I don't know the answer. System
Restore is good for winding back short term and for small "oops"
situations.
4) Is there a program/application I can download that will
actually optimise my settings and save me a lot of time and
money?
Click to expand...

I don't know what programs you're using but I can do some heavy duty
editing in PhotoShop with 768 MB of RAM, 1.1 GB processor and the default
pagefile handling: Let Windows Manage. Only once or twice has Windows
notified me about increasing the pagefile size and both times it was just a
notice. Workflow continued normally.

The pagefile is currently on my primary drive but have also run this system
with it on the secondary drive, leaving only a small minimum to take care
of memory dump files. I don't notice any big gain or loss performance-wise
from its placement.

A good reference on the pagefile topic can be found here:
http://www.aumha.org/win5/a/xpvm.htm
 
Thank you Shenan for taking the time out to answer my
questions.
I have already read the article that you linked me to twice
now.
If I can, for a moment, just draw your attention to the
picture in said article. I can get to that window no
problem, but not without Windows telling me that it has
created some kind of 'temp' pagefile for me. How nice of it
to do so!

Right at the bottom of that box theres a bit that says
'Currently Allocated'. Whatever I do, I cannot get that
figure to read anything other than zero. Ive set my initial
size at 800, with a maximum of 1000, and still no joy, even
after clicking SET then restarting. It feels like the temp
file is 'read only' or something, if that is possible, I dunno.
I could try and defragment without having a pagefile but
the defrag wont work on this machine.

I'm not going to bed until this is somewhere closer to
being sorted, although at this time I feel the only thing
that may rectify the problem is a hammer, a high-powered
drilling device or some carefully-placed explosives in and
around the machine.
I bet my thread disappears off the main page soon and is
forgotten about so I have to create a new one and annoy all
of the admin or something.

Thanks again :)
 
ian said:
Thank you Shenan for taking the time out to answer my
questions.
I have already read the article that you linked me to twice
now.
If I can, for a moment, just draw your attention to the
picture in said article. I can get to that window no
problem, but not without Windows telling me that it has
created some kind of 'temp' pagefile for me. How nice of it
to do so!

Right at the bottom of that box there's a bit that says
'Currently Allocated'. Whatever I do, I cannot get that
figure to read anything other than zero. Vie set my initial
size at 800, with a maximum of 1000, and still no joy, even
after clicking SET then restarting. It feels like the temp
file is 'read only' or something, if that is possible, I dunno.
I could try and defragment without having a pagefile but
the defrag wont work on this machine.

I'm not going to bed until this is somewhere closer to
being sorted, although at this time I feel the only thing
that may rectify the problem is a hammer, a high-powered
drilling device or some carefully-placed explosives in and
around the machine.
I bet my thread disappears off the main page soon and is
forgotten about so I have to create a new one and annoy all
of the admin or something.

Thanks again :)
Click to expand...

No problem, and I may have ONE MORE idea...

To try and resolve this issue, download and then install the Intel
Application Accelerator (IAA) for Windows XP from the following Intel Web
site:

http://support.intel.com/support/chipsets/iaa

Then reboot (it may force you to, if it does not - reboot anyway.) and try
again....
 
-------------------------------------------------------------

Thanks for that link, mate. Explained quite a lot and I
thought everything was OK.
Maybe I'm wrong, but I think I may have to delete my
pagefile somehow. I can create a new one (overwrite
existing) but that doesnt seem to fix anything at all.
The eror message I get when clicking on the 'advanced' tab
reads something like "Windows has created a temporary
paging file due to a problem that occured during your
system start-up. This file may be a lot bigger than blah
blah blah....' and thats about it.
I've never had this much disk space before. 49% free on my
(feeble, I know) 13.9 GB drive. That is the main thing that
is bewildering me. Ive ran CM 03/04 for months now with
around 3 GB free. Now I have twice as much and it wont
load!? Well that is just baffling - and very annoying
considering I have just lost my job and now have all day to
play it!
It just doesnt add up at all.

So, aside from calling some guy out from a PC shop (which I
really cant afford) I dont know what to do. I have
explained everything in detail on here and on another
message board and so far no-one can help.
Thanks for your time
Ian
Click to expand...

To delete the page file, go to where you set it and set it to no paging
file.
Done, reboot and either give it a system managed size or set it your
selfself. I would suggest 2 - 3x your ram.
 
Thanks for that link, mate. Explained quite a lot and I
thought everything was OK.
Maybe I'm wrong, but I think I may have to delete my
pagefile somehow. I can create a new one (overwrite
existing) but that doesnt seem to fix anything at all.
The eror message I get when clicking on the 'advanced' tab
reads something like "Windows has created a temporary
paging file due to a problem that occured during your
system start-up. This file may be a lot bigger than blah
blah blah....' and thats about it.
I've never had this much disk space before. 49% free on my
(feeble, I know) 13.9 GB drive. That is the main thing that
is bewildering me. Ive ran CM 03/04 for months now with
around 3 GB free. Now I have twice as much and it wont
load!? Well that is just baffling - and very annoying
considering I have just lost my job and now have all day to
play it!
It just doesnt add up at all.

So, aside from calling some guy out from a PC shop (which I
really cant afford) I dont know what to do. I have
explained everything in detail on here and on another
message board and so far no-one can help.
Thanks for your time
Ian
Click to expand...

Hi Ian.

These items are a bit dated, and haven't been showing up much lately
but perhaps they do apply in your case:

1. Virtual memory errors:
Open Control Panel - Add/Remove Programs and look for an entry for
the Intel Application Accelerator. If it is listed then select it and
click on Add/Remove to uninstall it. Reboot the computer and your
problem should be resolved.

And if the Intel Application Accelerator was installed then you should
go to www.intel.com and download the latest version of the Intel
Application Accelerator and install it.


2. Virtual memory errors at shutdown:
That specific problem - low virtual memory error at shutdown (and only
at shutdown) has been associated with the Live Update feature in
Norton Internet Security.

Symantec has posted a fix for this problem. Download the file
LRSETUP.EXE from http://www.symantec.com/techsupp/files/lu/lu.html and
run it.

Hope this is of some assistance.

Good luck


Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca

"The reason computer chips are so small is computers don't eat much."
 
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